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Get To Know 'The Biggest Loser' Season Six Contestants
My favorite reality show starts again tonight, NBC's 'The Biggest Loser." I've seen the first episode. The tears flowed. Now in it's sixth season, the show continues to inspire people with its heart, warmth and the sheer determination of the contestants. Unlike most reality shows there is no backstabbing, no gimmicks, no "clueless" assistants, no cat fights and no faux agenda. I spent the day up at the "Biggest Loser" ranch getting to know the sixteen contestants. Here is a look at the teams and my thoughts on the couples who I think are the ones to watch.
Brady and Vicky - a married couple from Houma, Louisiana. He's a pharmacist. She's an Anesthetist.Age: 36 and 37
Starting weight: 341 and 246 pounds
How they got there: Vicky says, "Right now we are eating a lot of bad food, and it's like a vicious chain. We eat the cheese burger, it makes us feel like crap. So we don't want to go work out. We are tired all the time."
Motivation: Vicky says, "My daughter is four years old and she is sixty-three pounds and so she is following in our footsteps. We actually thought something was medically wrong. She was actually not sick it was just that she was sedentary and didn't eat healthy foods. So that's when we realized we did this too her. That was one of our primary motivations. We need to change ourselves and get ourselves healthy so we can pass [it to] our kids and stop this chain of obesity."
Why they could win: In college after working out for three hours a day they lost 92 pounds and 80 pounds respectively. So, they are capable of dropping the pounds.
Ed and Heba - a married couple from Raleigh, North Carolina. He's a chef who owns his own catering business. She's a sales rep. Age: 31 and 30
Starting Weight: 335 and 294. Heba weighs in at the heaviest woman on the campus.
How they got there: Ed the chef says, "I cook a lot of southeastern America southern cuisine. Fried chicken. Macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes - just the classic comfort food kind of stuff. It's just constant temptation and addiction. Food is addictive like anything. It controls your mind and the things you do."
Motivation: Ed says he needs to stop "testing" his recipes. "This is a way for me to revamp my lifestyle so I can trust myself."
Heba says, "I'm just here to get my life back, to get myself back and to feel good about myself and you know eventually we can have kids in a few years and I want to have a healthy pregnancy."
Why they could win: At such large weights they have the capacity to drop large amounts fast.
Phillip and Amy - a married couple from Greenville, South Carolina. They are both real estate agents.Age: 41 and 40
Starting Weight: 331 and 229
How they got there: Amy says, "I've gone up and down on my weight during my adult life and I was actually at 136 six years ago but during that time my son, our youngest son, was diagnosed with autism and so that was like a blow and then at the same time we had a business and a partner left and it just went south.We turned to food for comfort."
Motivation: Amy says, "I'm happy to say that our son's doing great and we're the number one real estate agents in our company. So we conquered those two battles and this is the last frontier."
Why they could win: Trainer Bob tells me team red are the fiercest competitors in the house. They told me they hired trainers and nutritionists for when they return home.
Adam and Stacey - married couple from Cleveland, Ohio. He is a contracts manager. She is a contract pricing analyst.Age: 39 and 33
Starting Weight: 340 and 221
How they got there: Adam says, "Bad eating habits, work schedule, doing a lot of travel for work and just eating fast food - Getting older, my metabolism, I don't have the metabolism of a twenty year old anymore."
Stacey says, "I always have been over weight as a child, as an adolescent, as an adult. So it's actually become, I become complacent I think."
Motivation: Stacey says, "Absolutely want to change our lives. We have two young children at home. We have to be better role models for them. I obsess about my daughter's weight all the time and I think it's because I had such a hard time growing up, living with, being over weight."
Why they could win: Stacey says, "There are some strong competitors here but I think we are stronger."
Renee and Michelle - a mother and daughter from Dallas, Texas. Renee is an event manager.Age: 46 and 26
Starting Weight: 267 and 242
How they got there: Michelle says, "For me it's been a lot of just really bad choices."
Renee says, "It was gradual probably in the last, you know, 10 years I was like that, two pounds, or one pound every month but that adds up and adds up. I didn't work out and after I got so big I felt like oh my gosh, I don't even wanna go work out. I'm embarrassed. I'm gonna be the biggest person in the gym."
Motivation: Renee, "I think I tried every diet on the earth and so I would lose weight, go work hard in the gym and then kinda put it back on and put on more but I never made a lifestyle change."
Why they could win: They are team pink, the color that brought Ali Vincent great luck last season as the first female winner ever.
Tom Sr. and Tom Jr. - father and son from Everett, Massachusetts. Both are cab drivers
Age: 42 and 23
Starting Weight: 314 and 357
How they got there: Fast food junkies. Sitting, driving a cab all day.
Motivation: Tom Sr. says, "I don't have a choice. If it wasn't this show it would have to be something else. I have a lot of medical problems, I take nine pills a day. My doctor was pretty much like you gotta do something because you are gonna have to go have weight loss surgery. I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes. I have a kidney disease and I have a really high uric acid count which causes gout and arthritis in my body."
Tom Jr. says, "I'm also like, 40 pounds heavier than my father right now. So I'm actually on a bad path. I'm on a path that he was on as well as four other uncles that are extremely over weight. I'm talking about close to 500 pounds. They all have the same problems and if I stay on the same path that I'm on now I'm gonna fall right into their shoes and that's not something I want."
Why they could win: Tom Jr. was an active kid who played multiple sports.
Jerry and Coleen - father and daughter from Cleveland, Ohio. He is a police sergeant. She is a receptionist. Age: 52 and 23
Starting Weight: 380 and 218
How they got there: Jerry jokes, "I took a left on San. Antonio Avenue and I ran into it." On a serious note he says, "Many years ago I had so many athletic injuries, ah, back, knees. I went back into the gym and hurt them even worse. I got to the point I was actually afraid to exercise. With the lifestyle that I live, with the fast-food it all gained up on me."
Motivation: Jerry says, "I've got medications I take for high blood pressure, sleep apnea and a couple more I fail to recall right now but it's the weight. Getting healthy is my main goal."
Why they could win: Coleen says, "We have that dedication and drive to just push each other further and further."
Shellay and Amy - mother and daughter from Michigan. Shellay is a stay-at-home mom. Amy works in purchasing.
Age: 52 and 27
Starting Weight: 216 and 237
How they got there: Amy says, "After high school I gained probably 80 pounds. I had anxiety, I just started getting lazy."
Shellay says, "I just realized I never thought I was an emotional eater and I finally in the past week realize that I am."
Motivation: Shellay says, "We are out to break the cycle. So that when Amy gets married and has children our issues are behind us. So as a grandparent I'm not pushing the snacks and filling that void and neither is she as a mother."
Why they could win: Amy is a former gymnast.
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