For the past few months the Second Chance contestants have been on a mission to shed at least 20% of their body weight to secure their place at The Biggest Loser Finale, be crowned the winning weight-loss couple and bag the $10,000 prize.
Throughout their journey they have been relying on The Biggest Loser Club Meal Replacement Program and have cut their combined weight by a staggering 493.6kg. Now, as the life-changing Challenge enters its final stage, they take a look at the lives they left behind and the people they’ve become.
Biggest Loser Couple of the week
Strangers: Tanya and Conrad
With only weeks to go, Ben and Kate are currently at the top of the leaderboard having shed a combined 60.1kg and 21.6% of their body weight, but this week’s Biggest Loser Couple goes to Tanya and Conrad with a 6.8kg weight loss.
This week Tanya started a new job to match her new lifestyle, but her first morning didn’t quite go to plan. “I put on a new suit that I bought a long time ago. To my mixture of horror and joy the skirt fell off! So I never actually got to wear that suit as it was too small before and now it’s too big!”
Tanya’s Challenge partner Conrad also had a nostalgic moment. He says, “The other day I decided to lift a 30kg dumbbell. I can’t believe that’s the weight I used to carry around on me!”
He also reveals, “This week I caught a plane and it was the first time in years that I have not needed to ask for an extender belt. It is a great feeling.”
Life changes
It's not just Tanya and Conrad that are seeing changes either.
School teacher Jodie Weber can also see a positive change at work since she began the Second Chance Challenge. “I now do fitness with my pupils, whereas I used to just watch before. I can’t believe how good I feel and I am bursting with energy.”
As a sufferer of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Donna-Louise began her weight-loss journey to prove she can live a healthier lifestyle and restart fertility treatment. Now, just a few months on, she is factoring her possible future pregnancy into her long-term weight-loss plans.
“I am on a timeline to conceive and it may well take another year to fall pregnant. However, in that time I will continue to lose weight and once I have a baby I will use everything I have learnt to give my family a healthy lifestyle,” says Donna-Louise.
The twenty-eight-year-old puts her weight-loss success down to her new healthy-eating regime. “The Meal Replacement Program has been a great tool to help reduce my meal sizes and control my calories.”
Following the Meal Replacement Program has also given Donna-Louise the ability to continue her journey alone. “What I have learnt over the past few months has given me the knowledge, confidence and willpower to do this journey on my own, even after the Second Chance Challenge ends.”
Never one to grow complacent Donna-Louise says, “My new goal now is to be down to double digits for Finale and I know I can do it!”
As a father of two, Jamie always struggled to keep up with his children before the Second Chance Challenge, but today it’s a different story. Jamie explains, “Three months ago I was walking at a slow, turtle-like pace. Now I can run and do things I couldn’t do before, like run for the bus, run into the surf, run to the shops. The world is a different place now I am running. I feel like I am keeping up. No, I am now setting the pace!”
In Jamie’s newfound haste, he needs food that is quick, easy and nutritious. “I love the convenience of the Meal Replacement Shakes. By just adding water I can get the right amount of nutrients that my body needs and I know I’m not going over my calorie intake, whether I’m at work, a party, a hotel room or the gym.”