The premise of the show was for health experts to show overweight contestants how they can quickly lose weight.
But it also had to be entertaining television, so they made it into a competition.
As is often the case, poor ratings may have been at least partially responsible.
But whatever became of the past winners, and why has the show since received backlash?
Some of the backlash against the show even affected the trainers.
I saw it on TV."
Michaels told the publication that she did feel misrepresented as “too harsh” on the show.
This factored into her decision to leave, as did issues she had with producers.
Nevertheless, some past winners are thankful for their time on the show and have experienced enduring success.
In the end,he lost 122 poundsand weighed just 208 pounds.
“That was one of the things that propelled me to the finish line.
I thought, when I’m done I’m going to get this.
It was a reward.”
Season 2: Matt Hoover
Matt Hoover premiered on Season 2 weighing 339 pounds.
By the time we was crowned the second-ever winner of the series, he’d lost157 pounds.
“I saw him at his worst, absolutely.
And he saw me at my worst,” Preston toldPeople.
In a private ceremony in Jamaica in 2006, the couple said “I do.”
In the years since, the “losers” have welcomed two sons.
By 2010, Hoover had regained some weight.
He revealed to NBC News Chicago that he weighed 237 pounds.
Preston, too, had put back on over 40 pounds.
Within two years, he gained back all but 25 pounds of the weight he lost on the show.
“I got back to 368 pounds,” he says.
Not unlike past winners, Germanakos revealed that he faced challenges after returning home.
“I’m a morbidly obese person in a fit body,” he explained toTodayin 2009.
“I’m hungry all the time.”
The winner also revealed that he was working hard to make healthy choices.
By the end of 2010, he revealed his new weight.
“Now, I’m trying to reach that second half by trying to educate people.”
Germanakos remains fairly active onsocial mediabut hasn’t revealed the number on the scale in some time.
When Ali Vincent first premiered on Season 5, she weighed in at 234 pounds.
Vincent ended up losing 112 pounds during her time on the show.
Although she maintained her weight loss for seven years, she started putting weight back on in 2015.
Vincent revealed on OWN’sWhere Are They Nowthat she was sexually assaulted while getting a massage that year.
And it hasn’t.
At her final weigh in, Aguilar was 132 pounds.
“That, I think, is when the struggle really comes in.”
At 48 years old, Helen Phillips was also the oldest person to win the competition.
With 140 pounds gone, her end weight was just 117 pounds.
“Never in a million years did I think I was going to win,” she toldTodayin 2009.
Maybe I was going to lose 50 pounds, maybe 60, but here I am."
By the time Phillips turned 51,she revealedshe was still exercising every day.
By 2016, he had put back on over a hundred pounds.
Through the process of losing and regaining weight, Cahill’s metabolism has essentially come to a screeching halt.
He went through his prize money quickly and struggled to find footing in Los Angeles, California.
“That scares me to death.”
Ventrella also started gaining weight immediately after returning home.
“The weight I have gained back is directly proportional to my time focused on diet and gym time.
The only place to point the finger is at the man in the mirror,” he explained.
“Maintenance is tough, but it’s not impossible.”
By the season finale, she had lost nearly half of her body weight and weighed 132 pounds.
Ward is one of the very few Biggest Losers who has managed to maintain their finale weight.
It hasn’t been perfect, but I have [toed] the line for a decade.
I have never gone back & I have never given up."
America would soon be entranced by his fast and dramatic 220-pound weight loss.
“Usually something quick is not the best choice,” Rhode divulged.
Though, he wasn’t sure he even needed the public accountability at the time.
Even online, he keeps pretty quiet.
Danni Allen started her weight loss journey at 258 pounds and weighed 137 by the finale.
The Season 14 winner revealed toTodaythat, by 2014, she’d gained a little over ten pounds back.
“Your fat cells are full of estrogen I lost over 140 pounds of estrogen,” she explained.
Despite her challenges, she continues to live a healthy lifestyle andstrives to bring awareness to PCOS.
Many viewers were concerned that she’d lost too much weight.
She also denied having an eating disorder as some had speculated at the time.
By April 2014, Frederickson revealed toUs Weeklythat she had put on around 20 pounds.
“I think I’m at my perfect weight!”
Dobrosavljevic revealed that he started the show at 366 pounds, but he was 377 pounds at his heaviest.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said of hisextreme weight loss.
The Season 16 winner hasn’t spoken publicly about his weight since and remains private onInstagram.
He toldHollywood Life, “It wasn’t about winning.
It was about changing my brain … and building it back up in a way that made it healthy.
Because, obviously, something was wrong with my brain to allow me to be 400 pounds.”
