The Most Dramatic ‘Biggest Loser’ Before-And-After Transformations Of All Time
The Most Dramatic ‘Biggest Loser’ Before-And-After Transformations Of All Time
The Biggest Loser has featured tons of seriously impressive transformations during its 18 seasons. After three years off the air, the show underwent its own transformation with the 2020 reboot for the USA network.
The new show focused on overall wellness and not just the numbers on the scale, but the shocking transformations were certainly still a big part of the program.
New trainers like Erica Lugo, who went through a crazy body transformation herself, saw to that. Lugo led the most recent season's winner, Jim DiBattista, to an incredible weight loss and the Biggest Loser title.
Season 19 hasn't been announced yet, but it's likely the show will be renewed and premiere in early 2021. In the meantime, you can relive the past seasons with this recap of the most jaw-dropping before and after results in the show's history.
BEFORE: Jim DiBattista
Jim, 47, started the most recent season of The Biggest Loser at 385 pounds. He got the nickname "Coach" because he is one in real life (for a youth football team). The name stuck as he proved himself to be a team leader and motivator right from the beginning of filming.
AFTER: Jim DiBattista
Jim lost 144 pounds (!) and ended the show at the new weight of 241 pounds. He told People Magazine, “That final moment on stage—when I knew I was The Biggest Loser winner—I looked over at my wife, my three sons and my trainer, Erica, and I had a feeling of accomplishment that I had never felt before in my life."
BEFORE: Rachel Frederickson
Rachel was 260 pounds when she joined the show. She made it clear from the start that she was there to work hard and change her life—and she did.
AFTER: Rachel Frederickson
Fans were shocked when Rachel revealed at the finale that she was just 105 pounds. She lost 60 percent of her body weight, and people were concerned it was too much. Rachel later said she lost the weight by eating 1,600 calories a day and working out. "I'm extremely proud of the way I lost the weight," she said during a media conference call, per the Los Angeles Times.
BEFORE: Allen Smith
Allen, who started at 325 pounds, went on the show because his weight was impacting his career as a firefighter. He also said he was worried that he wouldn't pass his next physical at work.
AFTER: Allen Smith
Allen didn't win season 8, but he definitely accomplished what he set out to do. He lost 116 pounds, or 35 percent of his body weight, on the show.
BEFORE: Rebecca Meyer
Rebecca was 279 pounds when she started the show. She made it to the makeover portion of the show, but unfortunately didn't win the overall title.
AFTER: Rebecca Meyer
By the end, Rebecca lost 139 pounds and nearly 50 percent of her starting body weight, which earned her the $100,000 prize for most weight lost by an eliminated player.
BEFORE: Bill Germanakos
Bill started the show at 334 pounds and competed alongside his twin brother, Jim. At the start, he admitted that he had a "body built by baklava." Steady weight loss, combined with a serious dose of grit, eventually helped him win season four.
AFTER: Bill Germanakos
Bill didn't mess around: He lost 164 pounds—nearly 50 percent of his body weight. Bill later said that being around his family and kids helped keep him motivated. "The Biggest Loser campus is a place of hope," he told People.
BEFORE: Michelle Aguilar
Michelle started season 6 at 242 pounds and said that she worried her weight was holding her back in life. Michelle competed in the season alongside her mom, Renee.
AFTER: Michelle Aguilar
Michelle ended up winning the title after losing 110 pounds. She later told Access Hollywood that she spent "hours, upon hours, upon hours" at the gym to lose the weight.
BEFORE: Olivia Ward
Olivia started the show at 261 pounds, and competed alongside her sister Hannah. The opera singer said she joined the show because her weight and polycystic ovary syndrome diagnosis meant she probably wouldn't be able to have children if she didn't lose a significant amount of weight.
AFTER: Olivia Ward
Olivia ended up losing 129 pounds and took the title for the season. She's now a master instructor at SoulCycle.
BEFORE: Hannah Curlee
Olivia's younger sister, Hannah, also competed on the show. Hannah started out at 248 pounds, and made it to the final round.
AFTER: Hannah Curlee
Hannah lost 120 pounds, which was 48 percent of her body weight. She didn't win the title, though—she was edged out by her big sister.
BEFORE: Danny Cahill
Danny weighed 430 pounds when he started season 8. He said on the show that he wanted to lose the weight so he could be healthy for his wife and children.
AFTER: Danny Cahill
Danny lost 239 pounds by the end—nearly 56 percent of his body weight—to claim the title. He kept the weight off for a couple years with daily workouts and using his bike as transportation. He also created a self-help, motivational company.
BEFORE: Abby Rike
Abby's reason for going on the show was truly heart-breaking: She gained weight after her husband and two children died in a car accident. She weighed in at 247 pounds when she started her journey.
AFTER: Abby Rike
Abby ended up losing 100 pounds, which was 40 percent of her body weight. She's now a motivational speaker.
BEFORE: Shay Sorrells
Shay started season 8 as the biggest contestant the show had ever seen. She was 476 pounds at the initial weigh-in.
AFTER: Shay Sorrells
Shay ended up losing 172 pounds by the show's finale, which was 36 percent of her body weight. She was later challenged to try to lose even more weight by the end of season 9—and she dropped an additional 52 pounds. Shay earned $52,000 from Subway for her continued weight loss, per the OC Register.
BEFORE: Heba Salama
When Heba joined the show, she was 294 pounds. She quickly won fans over with her outspoken nature.
AFTER: Heba Salama
Heba ended up losing a whopping 156 pounds. She didn't win the overall title, but she was named the Biggest Loser of the eliminated contestants and won $100,000. Heba also ran her first half marathon and became a Lululemon ambassador following her dramatic weight loss, according to her website.
BEFORE: Ryan Benson
Ryan was one of the original cast members of The Biggest Loser in season 1. He weighed 330 pounds at the beginning of the show.
AFTER: Ryan Benson
Ryan lost 122 pounds—about 37 percent of his body weight—to become the show's first winner ever. Unfortunately, he gained the weight back, but he told Yahoo Health that he's on a new weight-loss journey.
BEFORE: Matt Hoover
Matt weighed 339 pounds when he first joined the show. He ended up meeting (and falling in love with) Suzy Preston during filming.
AFTER: Matt Hoover
Matt lost an amazing 157 pounds, which was 46 percent of his body weight, to become the season 2 champ—and he ended up marrying Suzy. Matt ended up gaining weight back, so he had gastric sleeve surgery and documented his journey on his Fat to Fit Dad Youtube channel.
BEFORE: Suzy Hoover
Speaking of Suzy, she weighed 227 pounds at the start of the show. Like her future husband, she also made it to the finale.
AFTER: Suzy Hoover
Suzy's transformation was jaw-dropping. She lost 95 pounds to end up at 132 pounds by the end of her run on the show. She and Matt now have two children together.
BEFORE: Erik Chopin
The 35-year-old New Yorker was 407 pounds at the start of the show, making him the largest contestant the show had ever seen at that point. Given his size, many people didn't think he could win.
AFTER: Erik Chopin
Erik proved everyone wrong: He lost 214 pounds, which was nearly 53 percent of his body weight. Erik later went on to become a motivational speaker, but struggled to keep the weight off. “I came from such a high of winning then the reality sets in of not being on the show and not being accountable, then I went into the real world and it all started up again," he told People.
BEFORE: Ali Vincent
Ali, who competed alongside her mother in season 5, was 234 pounds at the start of the show. She worked hard and eventually made it to the finale.
AFTER: Ali Vincent
Ali became the first-ever female winner of The Biggest Loser in 2008, losing 112 pounds. She went on to write a book about her experience called Believe It, Be It: How The Biggest Loser Won Me Back My Life.
BEFORE: Helen Phillips
The Michigan native was 48 years old when the competition started. She weighed 258 pounds, with a BMI of 41.5.
AFTER: Helen Phillips
Helen ended up losing 140 pounds, dropping down to 117 pounds at her final weigh-in. She also lost an impressive 54 percent of her body weight.
BEFORE: Michael Ventrella
Michael appeared on season 9 of the show. At the start of the season he weighed 526 pounds, making him the heaviest person to compete on the show at that time.
AFTER: Michael Ventrella
Michael lost an amazing 264 pounds, or half of his body weight. He ended up breaking Danny Cahill's previous record of 239 pounds lost at the finale. His total weight loss was enough to crown him the winner of season 9.
BEFORE: Jeremy Britt
Jeremy was just 22 when he joined the show. He weighed 389 pounds at the start and had a BMI of 59.1.
AFTER: Jeremy Britt
Jeremy became the youngest-ever winner of the show, losing 199 pounds—more than half of his body weight. After winning, he set new goals for himself. He focused on building strength and muscle with a combined cardio and strength training routine, Daily News reported.
BEFORE: Toma Dobrosavljevic
The 36-year-old from Illinois was 336 pounds at the start of season 16. His BMI was 46.9.
AFTER: Toma Dobrosavljevic
Toma lost 171 pounds to become the winner of The Biggest Loser. He beat runner-up Sonya Jones by just one pound, making it the closest percentage between the winner and runner-up in any season.
BEFORE: Sonya Jones
The teacher and coach from Illinois felt embarrassed when she weighed in at 283 pounds to start season 16. As a former semi-professional softball player, she knew she could be the "model of health and fitness," per her website.
AFTER: Sonya Jones
Sonya made it to the finale and dropped a whopping 144 pounds. She lost over 50 percent of her body weight, but lost the season 16 title by .01 percent. Sonya went on to become an author of 44 Lessons From A Loser and a motivational speaker.
You gotta see these before and after photos to believe 'em.