The Biggest Loser

The name of reality TV show “The Biggest Loser” should be understood as “the one who lost the most.” Here we’re talking about weight. And here, the word “loser” is used in a completely different meaning. The fact is that in this reality show participants are trying to “lose” extra weight fighting for a cash prize. The one who loses more weight, gets more money.

Ashley Johnston

Age: 27

Starting weight: 374

Current weight: 191

Lost: 183 pounds, 48.93%

The heaviest woman on the show this season, Ashley, a 27-year-old esthetician from Knoxville, Tenn., dropped more weight on campus than any woman in “Biggest Loser” history. Though she fell off the treadmill the first day, she recovered to become this season’s fierce “pink ninja.”

Sherry Johnston

Age: 51

Starting weight: 218

Current weight: 119

Lost: 99 pounds, 45.41%

A widow at age 51, Sherry of Knoxville, Tenn., had written off finding happiness again. She came on the show to start the next chapter of her life.

Cherita Andrews

Age: 50

Starting weight: 277

Current weight: 186

Lost: 91 pounds, 32.85%

Though this 50-year-old homemaker from Houston, Texas., only lasted in the competition for two weeks, she never quit. She accomplished her entire weight loss at home. “I’m fighting for my life,” she says.

Victoria Andrews

Age: 22

Starting weight: 358

Current weight: 222

Lost: 136 pounds, 37.99%

Vicki, a 22-year-old student, came on the show to become the person she always wanted to be and to make her partner, her mom, proud.

Cheryl George

Age: 50

Starting weight: 227

Current weight: 151

Lost: 76 pounds, 33.48%

After raising a family, Cheryl, a 50-year-old shop owner from Ardmore, Okla., wanted to do something to empower herself.

Daris George

Age: 25

Starting weight: 346

Current weight: 178

Lost: 168 pounds, 48.55%

Before he came on the “Biggest Loser,” Daris, 25-year-old salesman from Ardmore, Okla., had never had a girlfriend and never been kissed. “I know I want a wife and a family one day,” he says. “I need to jumpstart my life.” Though he struggled with stress, Daris set a record by running the “Biggest Loser” marathon in slightly more than 4 hours. And, yes, he now has a girlfriend too.

Darrell Hough

Age: 51

Starting weight: 413

Current weight: 224

Lost: 189 pounds, 45.76%

He wasn’t the largest man on the “Biggest Loser” campus, but Darrell, a press operator from Ann Arbor, Mich., was told that he was the sickest man with the most health problems. “I just sat back and let things happen for too long.” After losing an astounding 189 pounds, his health is better than it’s been in years.

Drea Hough

Age: 24

Starting weight: 298

Current weight: 214

Lost: 84 pounds, 28.19%

Drea had difficulty forming close relationships because her weight made her afraid to touch other people. “But that changed on the ranch,” says the 24-year-old executive assistant.

James Crutchfield

Age: 30

Starting weight: 485

Current weight: 357

Lost: 128 pounds, 26.39%

James, half of this season’s identical twins, says he came to “The Biggest Loser” because his only other alternative was surgery. Though he was hurt by injuries and restricted to the pool, he never gave up.

John Crutchfield

Age: 30

Starting weight: 484

Current weight: 335

Lost: 149 pounds, 30.78%

John, who lives with his wife and children in Orlando, Florida, came on the show to stop the cycle of tragedy and premature death that has affected his family for years.

Sam Poueu

Age: 24

Starting weight: 372

Current weight: 230

Lost: 142 pounds, 38.17%

Sam, a former bar bouncer from California, says that getting fit and finding love on the “Biggest Loser” with fellow contestant Stephanie Anderson was “the greatest thing I have ever done in my life — hands down!”

Koli Palu

Age: 29

Starting weight: 403

Current weight: 188

Lost: 215 pounds, 53.35%

Final four contestant Koli was eliminated by popular vote from the competition to become this season’s “Biggest Loser,” but his impressive 215 pound weight loss won him the at home prize of $100,000. He came on the show in hopes of becoming an inspiration to the American Samoan community and he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

Lance Morgan

Age: 38

Starting weight: 365

Current weight: 237

Lost: 128 pounds, 35.07%

Lance, a commercial diver from Texas, was unable to find work because his obesity put him over the safety limits. He went on the show to reclaim his career and revive his marriage with Melissa.

Melissa Morgan

Age: 39

Starting weight: 233

Current weight: 143

Lost: 90 pounds, 38.63%

Strong-willed Melissa, a lawyer from Texas, says she came on the show to become a better role model for her children. “This was never about the money,” she says. “It was about changing our lives.”

Maria Ventrella

Age: 51

Starting weight: 281

Current weight: 167

Lost: 114 pounds, 40.57%

On the Biggest Loser campus, Maria, a mom from Chicago, Ill., not only conquered her weight problem, but she also overcame her fear of water.

Migdalia Cancel

Age: 28

Starting weight: 265

Current weight: 213

Lost: 52 pounds, 19.62%

This military wife from Sanford, N.C., suffered from homesickness but in the end refused to give up her dream of living a better, more active life.

Miggy Sebren

Age: 48

Starting weight: 240

Current weight: 149

Lost: 91 pounds, 37.9%

Miggy, a chef from New Jersey, was one of the season’s fiercest competitors. Days after receiving an emergency appendectomy she was back on campus training for the week’s weigh in.

Patti Anderson

Age: 55

Starting weight: 243

Current weight: 170

Lost: 73 pounds, 30.04%

Patti, a California business owner, lost her father at age 55. Now at the same age herself, she came to the “Biggest Loser” to avoid suffering the same fate.

Stephanie Anderson

Age: 29

Starting weight: 264

Current weight: 165

Lost: 99 pounds, 37.5%

“I came to the ranch with my mom to get healthy and to start our new life,” says Stephanie, 29. “And I fell in love with Sam.” She and fellow contestant Sam Poueu have moved in together in West Hollywood, Calif.

Sunshine Hampton

Age: 24

Starting weight: 275

Current weight: 161

Lost: 114 pounds, 41.45%

As the only two overweight people in their family, Sunshine formed an extra close bond with her father O’Neal, but was afraid to stand on her own. Her journey on the “Biggest Loser” made her much more independent. “I’m a woman now,” she says.

O’Neal Hampton Jr.

Age: 51

Starting weight: 389

Current weight: 230

Lost: 159 pounds, 40.87%

O’Neal, a postal worker from Minneapolis, Minn., was everyone’s favorite father figure on the ranch. Though he struggled with injuries, his fighting spirit helped him succeed in his weight loss journey. “It’s a brand new me,” he says today.

WINNER: Mike Ventrella

Age: 30

Starting weight: 526

Current weight: 262

Lost: 264 pounds, 50.19%

This season’s “Biggest Loser,” Michael came on the show as the heaviest contestant in the show’s nine season history. The 30-year-old DJ from Chicago, Ill., shattered a number of records on the show. “I had to save my life,” he says. “Now I know that the sky is the limit.”

The ninth season of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser: Couples” was the show’s biggest season yet. Among the 22 contestants, five of them started the show at over 400 pounds. And even though only one took the title, everyone ended the season a winner and with a new chance at life.

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