Yep. The time of year where everyone is advertising their new season of TV shows in between political commercials.
Of course, that also means time for another season of my "favorite" show, Biggest Loser... not that I have any intention of watching the show.
But it did get me to thinking... I wonder what has happened to all the losers of seasons past?
With the help of Google, that question was quickly answered. Thanks to this article, I got a little (although slightly outdated) snapshot of where folks are at.
Which lead me to thinking... that article is nice and all, but it doesn't really speak to the hard facts. How are the losers REALLY doing post-show?
DATA CRUNCH TIME!
Season One
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Andrea Baptise | 215 | 156 | 59 | 155 | -1 | -2% |
| Ryan Benson | 330 | 208 | 122 | 300 | 92 | 75% |
| Kelly Minner | 242 | 163 | 79 | Not Disclosed | ||
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | 46 | |||||
| Percent | 37% |
Season Two
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Jeff Levine | 370 | 217 | 153 | 240 | 23 | 15% |
| Matt Hoover | 339 | 182 | 157 | 237 | 55 | 35% |
| Suzy Hoover | 227 | 132 | 95 | 175 | 43 | 45% |
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | 40 | |||||
| Percent | 32% |
Season Three
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Marty Wolff | 365 | 219 | 146 | 260 | 41 | 28% |
| Mark Wylie | 307 | 178 | 129 | 225 | 47 | 36% |
| Erik Chopin | 407 | 193 | 214 | 368 | 175 | 82% |
| Amy Wolff | 260 | 154 | 106 | Pregnant | ||
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | 88 | |||||
| Percent | 49% |
Season Four
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Nicole Michalik | 279 | 174 | 105 | 178 | 4 | 4% |
| Hollie Self | 225 | 150 | 75 | 158 | 8 | 11% |
| Jim Germanakos | 361 | 175 | 186 | 198 | 23 | 12% |
| Bill Germanakos | 334 | 170 | 164 | 207 | 37 | 23% |
| Jerry Lisenby | 297 | 187 | 110 | 213 | 26 | 24% |
| Isabeau Miller | 298 | 185 | 113 | 220 | 35 | 31% |
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | 22 | |||||
| Percent | 17% |
Season Five
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Ali Vincent | 234 | 122 | 112 | 125 | 3 | 3% |
| Dan Evans | 310 | 174 | 136 | 180 | 6 | 4% |
| Bernie Salazar | 283 | 153 | 130 | 165 | 12 | 9% |
| Trent Patterson | 436 | 301 | 135 | 324 | 23 | 17% |
| Roger Shultz | 364 | 199 | 165 | 235 | 36 | 22% |
| Mark Kruger | 285 | 156 | 129 | 189 | 33 | 26% |
| Kelly Fields | 271 | 162 | 109 | 190 | 28 | 26% |
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | 20 | |||||
| Percent | 15% |
Season Six
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Jerry Skeabeck | 380 | 265 | 115 | 261 | -4 | -3% |
| Vicky Vilcan | 246 | 145 | 101 | 150 | 5 | 5% |
| Phil Parham | 331 | 185 | 146 | 193 | 8 | 5% |
| Amy Parham | 229 | 124 | 105 | 137 | 13 | 12% |
| Heba Salama | 294 | 156 | 138 | 175 | 19 | 14% |
| Ed Brantley | 335 | 197 | 138 | 230 | 33 | 24% |
| Amy Cremen | 239 | 135 | 104 | 160 | 25 | 24% |
| Shellay Cremen | 216 | 142 | 74 | 165 | 23 | 31% |
| Coleen Skeabeck | 218 | 154 | 64 | 179 | 25 | 39% |
| Michelle Aguilar | 242 | 132 | 110 | Not Disclosed | ||
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | 16 | |||||
| Percent | 17% |
Season Seven
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Estella Hayes | 242 | 159 | 83 | 158 | -1 | -1% |
| Jerry Hayes | 369 | 192 | 177 | 198 | 6 | 3% |
| Nicole Brewer | 269 | 146 | 123 | 151 | 5 | 4% |
| Ron Morelli | 430 | 238 | 192 | 251 | 13 | 7% |
| Sione Fa | 372 | 226 | 146 | 239 | 13 | 9% |
| Damien Gurganious | 381 | 245 | 136 | 260 | 15 | 11% |
| Helen Phillips | 257 | 117 | 140 | 135 | 18 | 13% |
| Tara Costa | 294 | 139 | 155 | 161 | 22 | 14% |
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | 11 | |||||
| Percent | 8% |
Season Eight
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Sean Algaier | 444 | 289 | 155 | 240 | -49 | -32% |
| Abby Rike | 247 | 147 | 100 | 150 | 3 | 3% |
| Danny Cahill | 430 | 191 | 239 | 215 | 24 | 10% |
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | -7 | |||||
| Percent | -6% |
Season Nine
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| O'Neal Hampton | 389 | 230 | 159 | 225 | -5 | -3% |
| Stephanie Anderson | 264 | 165 | 99 | 170 | 5 | 5% |
| Sam Poueu | 372 | 230 | 142 | 242 | 12 | 8% |
| Michael Ventrella | 526 | 262 | 264 | 289 | 27 | 10% |
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | 10 | |||||
| Percent | 5% |
Season Ten
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Ada Wong | 258 | 159 | 99 | 165 | 6 | 6% |
| Patrick House | 400 | 219 | 181 | 235 | 16 | 9% |
| Mark Pinhasovich | 421 | 208 | 213 | 250 | 42 | 20% |
| Alfredo Dinten | 367 | 205 | 162 | 247 | 42 | 26% |
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | 27 | |||||
| Percent | 15% |
Season Eleven
| Name | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Denise Hill | 256 | 131 | 125 | 140 | 9 | 7% |
| Oliva Ward | 261 | 132 | 129 | 142 | 10 | 8% |
| Hannah Curlee | 248 | 128 | 120 | 138 | 10 | 8% |
| Moses Kinikini | 440 | 287 | 153 | 315 | 28 | 18% |
| Average Regain | ||||||
| Pounds | 14 | |||||
| Percent | 10% |
OK, ok, yes... that's a lot of data. Let's condense it and make some sense of it.
First off, the big picture:
Season
|
Average Regain -
Pounds
|
Average Regain -
%
|
One
|
46
|
37%
|
Two
|
40
|
32%
|
Three
|
88
|
49%
|
Four
|
22
|
17%
|
Five
|
20
|
15%
|
Six
|
16
|
17%
|
Seven
|
11
|
8%
|
Eight
|
-7
|
-6%
|
Nine
|
10
|
5%
|
Ten
|
27
|
15%
|
Eleven
|
14
|
10%
|
Average Loser Regain (by season)
|
26
|
18%
|
If you average out the seasons, and then take the average of THAT... well... it doesn't look that great. The typical contestant leaves biggest loser and regains almost 20% of what they've lost, or an approximate 26 pounds.
And it gets worse if you think about that a little. What do I mean about that?
Well, it takes time to fall back into old habits.
Anyone who's been on a recent season is still in the limelight, and fresh on the "I'm gonna be healthy" bandwagon. For them, it's easy to keep the weight off for a year, or two, or three or four even. But what happens after the losers have been off the show and out of the public's eye years down the road?
By eliminating the more recent contestants, and looking at the first five seasons, you can answer that question fairly quickly:
Season
|
Average Regain -
Pounds
|
Average Regain -
%
|
One
|
46
|
37%
|
Two
|
40
|
32%
|
Three
|
88
|
49%
|
Four
|
22
|
17%
|
Five
|
20
|
15%
|
Average Loser Regain (by season)
|
43
|
30%
|
Yikes. Those off the show 6 seasons or longer are up an average of 40 pounds, or 30% of the weight regained.
You might be saying at this point - but Natalie, at least they are keeping SOME of the weight off. Plus, not all the contestants have done poorly. For example, look at Andrea. She was all the way back on season one, and she's not only maintained but lost MORE weight.
Yes, it's true. It's great these folks have managed to keep even a portion of the weight off. And I'm very pleased for Andrea. It warms my heart to see someone has had long term positive results from this show. But look at her season's male counter part - he regained 75% of his weight (92 pounds!), and is back up over 300 pounds. When you look at that and other season's contestants, Andrea seems to be more the exception than the rule.
I say this because I also looked at the above data in terms of who were the biggest re-gainers and who were the best maintainers (as individuals).
Let's start with the positive - the top 20 maintainers:
| Name | Season/Year | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Sean Algaier | Eight | 444 | 289 | 155 | 240 | -49 | -32% |
| Jerry Skeabeck | Six | 380 | 265 | 115 | 261 | -4 | -3% |
| O'Neal Hampton | Nine | 389 | 230 | 159 | 225 | -5 | -3% |
| Adrea Baptise | One | 215 | 156 | 59 | 155 | -1 | -2% |
| Estella Hayes | Seven | 242 | 159 | 83 | 158 | -1 | -1% |
| Ali Vincent | Five | 234 | 122 | 112 | 125 | 3 | 3% |
| Abby Rike | Eight | 247 | 147 | 100 | 150 | 3 | 3% |
| Jerry Hayes | Seven | 369 | 192 | 177 | 198 | 6 | 3% |
| Nicole Michalik | Four | 279 | 174 | 105 | 178 | 4 | 4% |
| Nicole Brewer | Seven | 269 | 146 | 123 | 151 | 5 | 4% |
| Dan Evans | Five | 310 | 174 | 136 | 180 | 6 | 4% |
| Vicky Vilcan | Six | 246 | 145 | 101 | 150 | 5 | 5% |
| Stephanie Anderson | Nine | 264 | 165 | 99 | 170 | 5 | 5% |
| Phil Parham | Six | 331 | 185 | 146 | 193 | 8 | 5% |
| Ada Wong | Ten | 258 | 159 | 99 | 165 | 6 | 6% |
| Ron Morelli | Seven | 430 | 238 | 192 | 251 | 13 | 7% |
| Denise Hill | Eleven | 256 | 131 | 125 | 140 | 9 | 7% |
| Oliva Ward | Eleven | 261 | 132 | 129 | 142 | 10 | 8% |
| Hannah Curlee | Eleven | 248 | 128 | 120 | 138 | 10 | 8% |
| Sam Poueu | Nine | 372 | 230 | 142 | 242 | 12 | 8% |
And now, brass tacks time - the top 20 biggest re-gainers:
| Name | Season/Year | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Trent Patterson | Five | 436 | 301 | 135 | 324 | 23 | 17% |
| Moses Kinikini | Eleven | 440 | 287 | 153 | 315 | 28 | 18% |
| Mark Pinhasovich | Ten | 421 | 208 | 213 | 250 | 42 | 20% |
| Roger Shultz | Five | 364 | 199 | 165 | 235 | 36 | 22% |
| Bill Germanakos | Four | 334 | 170 | 164 | 207 | 37 | 23% |
| Jerry Lisenby | Four | 297 | 187 | 110 | 213 | 26 | 24% |
| Ed Brantley | Six | 335 | 197 | 138 | 230 | 33 | 24% |
| Amy Cremen | Six | 239 | 135 | 104 | 160 | 25 | 24% |
| Mark Kruger | Five | 285 | 156 | 129 | 189 | 33 | 26% |
| Kelly Fields | Five | 271 | 162 | 109 | 190 | 28 | 26% |
| Alfredo Dinten | Ten | 367 | 205 | 162 | 247 | 42 | 26% |
| Marty Wolff | Three | 365 | 219 | 146 | 260 | 41 | 28% |
| Isabeau Miller | Four | 298 | 185 | 113 | 220 | 35 | 31% |
| Shellay Cremen | Six | 216 | 142 | 74 | 165 | 23 | 31% |
| Matt Hoover | Two | 339 | 182 | 157 | 237 | 55 | 35% |
| Mark Wylie | Three | 307 | 178 | 129 | 225 | 47 | 36% |
| Coleen Skeabeck | Six | 218 | 154 | 64 | 179 | 25 | 39% |
| Suzy Hoover | Two | 227 | 132 | 95 | 175 | 43 | 45% |
| Ryan Benson | One | 330 | 208 | 122 | 300 | 92 | 75% |
| Erik Chopin | Three | 407 | 193 | 214 | 368 | 175 | 82% |
Notice anything there?
Here, let me show you:
| Seasons 1-5 | Seasons 6+ | |
| 20 biggest re-gainers | 13 | 7 |
| 20 best maintainers | 4 | 16 |
If you look at who has been able to maintain their weight the best (IE keep it off), 16 of the top 20 people in this category have come from seasons 6+.
Meanwhile, those who have struggled the most with re-gain have come more commonly from seasons 1-5.
I feel this proves my theory - the longer you're off the show, the harder it is to maintain the weight loss.
---
Another thing I want to point out about the show is the "type" of contestant they've been featuring in the more recent seasons.
Let's look at the overall pounds lost for the contestants (percentages aside - we're looking at just pounds of weight lost regardless of how large the person was to begin with).
Let's start with the lowest 20 - meaning those who lost the fewest pounds on the show:
| Name | Season/Year | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Adrea Baptise | One | 215 | 156 | 59 | 155 | -1 | -2% |
| Coleen Skeabeck | Six | 218 | 154 | 64 | 179 | 25 | 39% |
| Shellay Cremen | Six | 216 | 142 | 74 | 165 | 23 | 31% |
| Hollie Self | Four | 225 | 150 | 75 | 158 | 8 | 11% |
| Kelly Minner | One | 242 | 163 | 79 | Not Disclosed | ||
| Estella Hayes | Seven | 242 | 159 | 83 | 158 | -1 | -1% |
| Suzy Hoover | Two | 227 | 132 | 95 | 175 | 43 | 45% |
| Stephanie Anderson | Nine | 264 | 165 | 99 | 170 | 5 | 5% |
| Ada Wong | Ten | 258 | 159 | 99 | 165 | 6 | 6% |
| Abby Rike | Eight | 247 | 147 | 100 | 150 | 3 | 3% |
| Vicky Vilcan | Six | 246 | 145 | 101 | 150 | 5 | 5% |
| Amy Cremen | Six | 239 | 135 | 104 | 160 | 25 | 24% |
| Nicole Michalik | Four | 279 | 174 | 105 | 178 | 4 | 4% |
| Amy Parham | Six | 229 | 124 | 105 | 137 | 13 | 12% |
| Amy Wolff | Three | 260 | 154 | 106 | Pregnant | ||
| Kelly Fields | Five | 271 | 162 | 109 | 190 | 28 | 26% |
| Jerry Lisenby | Four | 297 | 187 | 110 | 213 | 26 | 24% |
| Michelle Aguilar | Six | 242 | 132 | 110 | Not Disclosed | ||
| Ali Vincent | Five | 234 | 122 | 112 | 125 | 3 | 3% |
| Isabeau Miller | Four | 298 | 185 | 113 | 220 | 35 | 31% |
Compare that to the highest 20 - meaning those who lost the most pounds on the show:
| Name | Season/Year | Original Weight | Weight Post Show | Pounds Lost | Weight as of 2012 | Pounds Gained Back | Percent Regained |
| Phil Parham | Six | 331 | 185 | 146 | 193 | 8 | 5% |
| Sione Fa | Seven | 372 | 226 | 146 | 239 | 13 | 9% |
| Marty Wolff | Three | 365 | 219 | 146 | 260 | 41 | 28% |
| Jeff Levine | Two | 370 | 217 | 153 | 240 | 23 | 15% |
| Moses Kinikini | Eleven | 440 | 287 | 153 | 315 | 28 | 18% |
| Sean Algaier | Eight | 444 | 289 | 155 | 240 | -49 | -32% |
| Tara Costa | Seven | 294 | 139 | 155 | 161 | 22 | 14% |
| Matt Hoover | Two | 339 | 182 | 157 | 237 | 55 | 35% |
| O'Neal Hampton | Nine | 389 | 230 | 159 | 225 | -5 | -3% |
| Alfredo Dinten | Ten | 367 | 205 | 162 | 247 | 42 | 26% |
| Bill Germanakos | Four | 334 | 170 | 164 | 207 | 37 | 23% |
| Roger Shultz | Five | 364 | 199 | 165 | 235 | 36 | 22% |
| Jerry Hayes | Seven | 369 | 192 | 177 | 198 | 6 | 3% |
| Patrick House | Ten | 400 | 219 | 181 | 235 | 16 | 9% |
| Jim Germanakos | Four | 361 | 175 | 186 | 198 | 23 | 12% |
| Ron Morelli | Seven | 430 | 238 | 192 | 251 | 13 | 7% |
| Mark Pinhasovich | Ten | 421 | 208 | 213 | 250 | 42 | 20% |
| Erik Chopin | Three | 407 | 193 | 214 | 368 | 175 | 82% |
| Danny Cahill | Eight | 430 | 191 | 239 | 215 | 24 | 10% |
| Michael Ventrella | Nine | 526 | 262 | 264 | 289 | 27 | 10% |
Here's the summary:
| Seasons 1-5 | Seasons 6+ | |
| 20 biggest losers | 7 | 13 |
| 20 least losers | 10 | 10 |
Interestingly enough, those who lost the least amount of weight were well distributed over early and late seasons. However, those who lost the MOST amount of weight were more heavily distributed in the later seasons of the show.
To me, this highlights something I've always thought in my head... Biggest Loser has become more and more focused how BIG of a contestant they can find, and how MANY pounds they can shave off them.
Not to mention one other factor. Did you notice in the two charts above how I kept the yellow and green marks on the percent regained column? If you go back to my first comparison - the top 20 who kept it off and the top 20 who regained it - you'll notice many of those names are repeated again in this section.
Pulling those repeat names out, you can do a double comparison - who lost the most amount of pounds, and how did they do in keeping it off? I saw an interesting trend in that sample:
| Lowest Re-Gain | Highest Re-Gain | |
| 20 biggest losers | 5 | 8 |
| 20 least losers | 8 | 7 |
What does this tell me?
(1) Of those who lost the MOST pounds - only 5 of them were able to also maintain the least re-gain, while 8 of them were on the top on the list for those who had the most re-gained.
(2) Of those who lost the LEAST pounds - 8 of them were able to also maintain the least re-gain, while 7 of them were on the top on the list for those who had the most re-gained.
Or, in other words - those who lost the LEAST pounds did the best in trying to keep the weight off.
Or, in even more other words - as Biggest Loser trends more and more towards massive weight loss, fewer and fewer contestants in the future are likely to be able to keep the weight off.
And this, folks, is why I do not like this show. Living a healthy lifestyle and trying to lose weight isn't about being over 400 pounds, losing almost 200 of it as fast as you can for TV, and then regaining most of it later and weighing back in at 370.
As you can see in the above numbers, doing it slower is much easier to maintain. And that's the true success in weight loss - keeping it off.
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