Season 1: Ryan Benson
YouTube
When Ryan Benson joined the first season of The Biggest Loser, he weighed over 300 pounds. After five grueling months of extreme workouts and diet restrictions, Benson pummeled his body into becoming, well, the biggest loser. In the end, he lost 122 pounds and weighed just 208 pounds. But, once the cameras were off and Benson received his cash prize, he started slipping back into old habits almost immediately.
“In my mind I just thought I’ve been training so hard I want to eat something I craved for a few months — a burger, fries, some ribs,” he revealed to Business Insider. “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.” In five years’ time, Benson ended up gaining back the weight he lost on the show — plus some. In an interview with Inside Edition in June 2017, Benson revealed that he was once again dieting in attempt to lose the weight.
Season 3: Erik Chopin
Facebook / Twitter
In 2006, Erik Chopin became Season 3’s Biggest Loser after dropping an incredible 200 pounds. Although his body went through a dramatic transformation in a matter of months, it would soon undergo another one. “After about a year and a half, I started to put the weight on,” Chopin admitted to Us Weekly. 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. “In my head, it sounds almost the same [as my starting weight],” he revealed.
Chopin ultimately decided to give dieting another go in the documentary Confessions of a Reality Show Loser, which first aired in 2010. While he’s been pretty quiet about his weight in recent years, he revealed to Bucks County Courier Times in 2011 that he was working as a spin instructor and got his weight down to 245 pounds.
Season 5: Ali Vincent
YouTube / Twitter
For the first time in The Biggest Loser history, a woman was crowned the winner. 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’s Where Are They Now that she was sexually assaulted while getting a massage that year. While she attempted to repress the terrifying ordeal she went through, she admitted that she dealt with her feelings by staying overly busy and through mindless eating and drinking. “I don’t share this story of me being assaulted because its an excuse or something I’m dwelling on, it’s something that I’m working through, but it doesn’t have to be the end of my story,” she explained. And it hasn’t. Since The Biggest Loser, Vincent has gotten married and, in late 2018, welcomed twin boys.
Season 6: Michelle Aguilar
YouTue / Instagram
In 2008, Michelle Aguilar lost 110 pounds and became the sixth winner of The Biggest Loser. People reported at the time that Aguilar lost over 45 percent of her body weight during her time on the show. At her final weigh in, Aguilar was 132 pounds.
Even though she no longer discloses the number on her scale, she has spoken about her experience in the years since winning. In an interview with Life Today, Aguilar said coming home from The Biggest Loser ranch was in many ways even more challenging than starring in the show. “A candy bar is just 99 cents away from you and you can choose that,” she explained. “That, I think, is when the struggle really comes in.” Aguilar also posts regularly on Instagram and, in January 2019, shared a side-by-side of her self in 2009 and 2019 — looking just as happy as she did back then.
Season 10: Patrick House
Facebook / Instagram
“Had it not been for Biggest Loser, I could be 500 [pounds]. I could be dead, I could have had a heart attack,” Patrick House, Season 10 winner, told People. During his time on the show, House lost a total of 205 pounds and got down to a slim 219 pounds by the season finale. Six years after starring on the show, he’d gained back nearly 50 pounds, but he doesn’t hold The Biggest Loser responsible for slowing down his metabolism or causing him to regain some weight. “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.”
In 2017, Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series shared a video of Patrick House participating in their 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana marathon and confirmed that the Season 10 winner “continues to embrace an active lifestyle.”
Season 12: John Rhode
When Season 12 began in 2011, contestant John Rhode stepped onto The Biggest Loser scale weighing 445 pounds. America would soon be entranced by his fast and dramatic 220-pound weight loss. When Today spoke with Rhode in 2014, he revealed that he’d gained 50 pounds since the big finale, but also became the owner of a CrossFit gym in Mesa, Arizona. He also told the site that his life is “action-packed and non-stop,” but that he was still actively trying to make the healthiest choices possible when out and about. “Usually something quick is not the best choice,” Rhode divulged.
In 2014, he also revealed that he was working on writing a book about his experience on the show, but it never came to fruition. In the years since his interview with Today, he hasn’t spoken publicly about his weight, but Rhode does remain active on social media.
Season 13: Jeremy Britt
YouTube / Facebook
Nearly 200 pounds — 199 to be exact — lighter, Jeremy Britt walked away the winner of The Biggest Loser Season 13. When Digital Spy asked Britt how he planned to keep the weight off after the show, he explained, saying, “All these things that I’ve learned have helped me to do that going forward here.” He further added, “Definitely if I do something that keeps me in the public eye, it just keeps me accountable and that will be good for me just to try and keep at it.” Though, he wasn’t sure he even needed the public accountability at the time.
However, in the years since his big win — or rather, loss — Britt has kept an incredibly low profile. Even online, he keeps pretty quiet. According to a Christmas photo he posted to Facebook back in 2017, though, Britt is likely just busy raising his four children alongside his wife.
Season 17: Roberto Hernandez
YouTube / Instagram
Although viewers weren’t exactly aware of it at the time, Roberto Hernandez would be the last person to ever win The Biggest Loser. Hernandez weighed 348 pounds when he first premiered on the 17th and final season, but by the end he’d lost 160 of those pounds and weighed a total of 188 pounds. Six months after the finale aired, Hernandez told Chicago Tribune that he’d put back on about 40 pounds, but had also just ran his first half-marathon.
The weight didn’t worry him, he revealed, because he had been eating more carbs and building muscle. And while many have faulted the show for the seemingly inevitable weight gain that (more often that not) follows, Hernandez said he’s “holding [himself] accountable” instead. Hernandez revealed that “keeping the weight off” has been the most difficult thing he’s had to overcome in his life, but he also disclosed in 2019 that he’s determined to keep on keepin’ on.
What The Winners Of The Biggest Loser Look Like Now
Getty Images
Although there’s no official word on why the show wasn’t picked up for an 18th season, poor ratings may have been at least partially responsible. During what would become its final season, the National Institute of Health also released a study into Biggest Loser contestants. And the results weren’t exactly positive. Of the 14 past contestants who participated in the study, 13 regained a substantial amount of weight — and four of them actually became heavier than when they premiered on the show. But, what of the winners? Here’s how they’ve faired since their time on The Biggest Loser.
Season 1: Ryan Benson
YouTube
When Ryan Benson joined the first season of The Biggest Loser, he weighed over 300 pounds. After five grueling months of extreme workouts and diet restrictions, Benson pummeled his body into becoming, well, the biggest loser. In the end, he lost 122 pounds and weighed just 208 pounds. But, once the cameras were off and Benson received his cash prize, he started slipping back into old habits almost immediately.
“In my mind I just thought I’ve been training so hard I want to eat something I craved for a few months — a burger, fries, some ribs,” he revealed to Business Insider. “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.” In five years’ time, Benson ended up gaining back the weight he lost on the show — plus some. In an interview with Inside Edition in June 2017, Benson revealed that he was once again dieting in attempt to lose the weight.
“In my mind I just thought I’ve been training so hard I want to eat something I craved for a few months — a burger, fries, some ribs,” he revealed to Business Insider. “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.” In five years’ time, Benson ended up gaining back the weight he lost on the show — plus some. In an interview with Inside Edition in June 2017, Benson revealed that he was once again dieting in attempt to lose the weight.
Season 2: Matt Hoover
YouTube / Instagram
Season 3: Erik Chopin
Facebook / Twitter
In 2006, Erik Chopin became Season 3’s Biggest Loser after dropping an incredible 200 pounds. Although his body went through a dramatic transformation in a matter of months, it would soon undergo another one. “After about a year and a half, I started to put the weight on,” Chopin admitted to Us Weekly. 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. “In my head, it sounds almost the same [as my starting weight],” he revealed.
Chopin ultimately decided to give dieting another go in the documentary Confessions of a Reality Show Loser, which first aired in 2010. While he’s been pretty quiet about his weight in recent years, he revealed to Bucks County Courier Times in 2011 that he was working as a spin instructor and got his weight down to 245 pounds.
Chopin ultimately decided to give dieting another go in the documentary Confessions of a Reality Show Loser, which first aired in 2010. While he’s been pretty quiet about his weight in recent years, he revealed to Bucks County Courier Times in 2011 that he was working as a spin instructor and got his weight down to 245 pounds.
Season 4: Bill Germanakos
YouTube / Twitter
Season 5: Ali Vincent
For the first time in The Biggest Loser history, a woman was crowned the winner. 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’s Where Are They Now that she was sexually assaulted while getting a massage that year. While she attempted to repress the terrifying ordeal she went through, she admitted that she dealt with her feelings by staying overly busy and through mindless eating and drinking. “I don’t share this story of me being assaulted because its an excuse or something I’m dwelling on, it’s something that I’m working through, but it doesn’t have to be the end of my story,” she explained. And it hasn’t. Since The Biggest Loser, Vincent has gotten married and, in late 2018, welcomed twin boys.
Vincent revealed on OWN’s Where Are They Now that she was sexually assaulted while getting a massage that year. While she attempted to repress the terrifying ordeal she went through, she admitted that she dealt with her feelings by staying overly busy and through mindless eating and drinking. “I don’t share this story of me being assaulted because its an excuse or something I’m dwelling on, it’s something that I’m working through, but it doesn’t have to be the end of my story,” she explained. And it hasn’t. Since The Biggest Loser, Vincent has gotten married and, in late 2018, welcomed twin boys.
Season 6: Michelle Aguilar
YouTue / Instagram
In 2008, Michelle Aguilar lost 110 pounds and became the sixth winner of The Biggest Loser. People reported at the time that Aguilar lost over 45 percent of her body weight during her time on the show. At her final weigh in, Aguilar was 132 pounds.
Even though she no longer discloses the number on her scale, she has spoken about her experience in the years since winning. In an interview with Life Today, Aguilar said coming home from The Biggest Loser ranch was in many ways even more challenging than starring in the show. “A candy bar is just 99 cents away from you and you can choose that,” she explained. “That, I think, is when the struggle really comes in.” Aguilar also posts regularly on Instagram and, in January 2019, shared a side-by-side of her self in 2009 and 2019 — looking just as happy as she did back then.
Even though she no longer discloses the number on her scale, she has spoken about her experience in the years since winning. In an interview with Life Today, Aguilar said coming home from The Biggest Loser ranch was in many ways even more challenging than starring in the show. “A candy bar is just 99 cents away from you and you can choose that,” she explained. “That, I think, is when the struggle really comes in.” Aguilar also posts regularly on Instagram and, in January 2019, shared a side-by-side of her self in 2009 and 2019 — looking just as happy as she did back then.
Season 7: Helen Phillips
Season 8: Danny Cahill
Through the process of losing and regaining weight, Cahill’s metabolism has essentially come to a screeching halt. As The New York Times reported, the Season 8 winner has to eat a whopping 800 fewer calories than men of the same size, otherwise it will result in gaining fat. Michael Rosenbaum, an obesity researcher at Columbia University explained, “The difficulty in keeping weight off reflects biology, not a pathological lack of willpower affecting two-thirds of the U.S.A.” Cahill revealed that the “shame that was on [his] shoulders went off” after learning that.
Season 9: Michael Ventrella
He hoped to do something related to his success on the show, but was unable to find a reputable agent. Ventrella also started gaining weight immediately after returning home. Despite putting on 20 pounds, though, Ventrella said he wasn’t so focused on his weight, but on bodybuilding. As of at least 2018, Ventrella is an independent associate of Isagenix, a multi-level marketing company that specializes in weight loss products.
Season 10: Patrick House
Facebook / Instagram
“Had it not been for Biggest Loser, I could be 500 [pounds]. I could be dead, I could have had a heart attack,” Patrick House, Season 10 winner, told People. During his time on the show, House lost a total of 205 pounds and got down to a slim 219 pounds by the season finale. Six years after starring on the show, he’d gained back nearly 50 pounds, but he doesn’t hold The Biggest Loser responsible for slowing down his metabolism or causing him to regain some weight. “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.”
In 2017, Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series shared a video of Patrick House participating in their 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana marathon and confirmed that the Season 10 winner “continues to embrace an active lifestyle.”
In 2017, Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon Series shared a video of Patrick House participating in their 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana marathon and confirmed that the Season 10 winner “continues to embrace an active lifestyle.”
Season 11: Olivia Ward
As of January 2019, Ward continues to work on her fitness goals by not only taking fitness classes, but also working as a senior SoulCycle instructor in Atlanta, Georgia.
Season 12: John Rhode
When Season 12 began in 2011, contestant John Rhode stepped onto The Biggest Loser scale weighing 445 pounds. America would soon be entranced by his fast and dramatic 220-pound weight loss. When Today spoke with Rhode in 2014, he revealed that he’d gained 50 pounds since the big finale, but also became the owner of a CrossFit gym in Mesa, Arizona. He also told the site that his life is “action-packed and non-stop,” but that he was still actively trying to make the healthiest choices possible when out and about. “Usually something quick is not the best choice,” Rhode divulged.
In 2014, he also revealed that he was working on writing a book about his experience on the show, but it never came to fruition. In the years since his interview with Today, he hasn’t spoken publicly about his weight, but Rhode does remain active on social media.
In 2014, he also revealed that he was working on writing a book about his experience on the show, but it never came to fruition. In the years since his interview with Today, he hasn’t spoken publicly about his weight, but Rhode does remain active on social media.
Season 13: Jeremy Britt
YouTube / Facebook
Nearly 200 pounds — 199 to be exact — lighter, Jeremy Britt walked away the winner of The Biggest Loser Season 13. When Digital Spy asked Britt how he planned to keep the weight off after the show, he explained, saying, “All these things that I’ve learned have helped me to do that going forward here.” He further added, “Definitely if I do something that keeps me in the public eye, it just keeps me accountable and that will be good for me just to try and keep at it.” Though, he wasn’t sure he even needed the public accountability at the time.
However, in the years since his big win — or rather, loss — Britt has kept an incredibly low profile. Even online, he keeps pretty quiet. According to a Christmas photo he posted to Facebook back in 2017, though, Britt is likely just busy raising his four children alongside his wife.
However, in the years since his big win — or rather, loss — Britt has kept an incredibly low profile. Even online, he keeps pretty quiet. According to a Christmas photo he posted to Facebook back in 2017, though, Britt is likely just busy raising his four children alongside his wife.
Season 14: Danni Allen
Season 15: Rachel Frederickson
Season 16: Toma Dobrosavljevic
Season 17: Roberto Hernandez
Although viewers weren’t exactly aware of it at the time, Roberto Hernandez would be the last person to ever win The Biggest Loser. Hernandez weighed 348 pounds when he first premiered on the 17th and final season, but by the end he’d lost 160 of those pounds and weighed a total of 188 pounds. Six months after the finale aired, Hernandez told Chicago Tribune that he’d put back on about 40 pounds, but had also just ran his first half-marathon.
The weight didn’t worry him, he revealed, because he had been eating more carbs and building muscle. And while many have faulted the show for the seemingly inevitable weight gain that (more often that not) follows, Hernandez said he’s “holding [himself] accountable” instead. Hernandez revealed that “keeping the weight off” has been the most difficult thing he’s had to overcome in his life, but he also disclosed in 2019 that he’s determined to keep on keepin’ on.
The weight didn’t worry him, he revealed, because he had been eating more carbs and building muscle. And while many have faulted the show for the seemingly inevitable weight gain that (more often that not) follows, Hernandez said he’s “holding [himself] accountable” instead. Hernandez revealed that “keeping the weight off” has been the most difficult thing he’s had to overcome in his life, but he also disclosed in 2019 that he’s determined to keep on keepin’ on.
