When strangers Tanya and Conrad were put together, nobody realised their joint forces would create such a determined duo.
Tanya Gathercole
Age: 32
Occupation: Personal Assistant
State: VIC
Now: 129kg
Goal: 76kg
Personal assistant Tanya Gathercole is determined to break out of the cycle of dieting and weight gain she has been stuck in for some years. At 129kg, the 32-year-old feels as if she has been on every diet there is. She now accepts that she needs to focus on lifelong changes saying, “Taking it all day-by-day and forming good habits for life is what’s important now.”
Until her early 20s, Tanya used to keep fit and active with competitive marching. “I was always overweight, even though I was pretty fit. After giving up marching my weight really started to affect me as I stopped doing the things that I loved and began to feel self conscious.”
Tanya hadn’t met Conrad, her partner in The Biggest Loser Club Second Chance Challenge, before the challenge started. Being buddied up with someone she doesn’t know has its pros and cons, but Tanya’s competitive spirit is already beginning to show through. “I love a challenge. Bring it on!”
Read Tanya's weekly diary updates.
Click to enlarge photos
Tanya before
Conrad before
Conrad Makin
Age: 34
Occupation: Customer Service Specialist
State: SA
Now: 166.2kg
Goal: 100kg
Thirty-four-year-old Conrad Makin is taking on his challenge to lose weight and get healthy. Conrad says he has been big all his life and although, “I like the person I am, I don’t like the shell it’s in.”
Conrad suffers from Sleep Apnoea causing him to stop breathing when he sleeps. “My condition was diagnosed about five years ago when I was admitted to hospital with a burst appendix. The medical staff couldn’t believe how many times I stopped breathing,” reveals Conrad.
As a result, Conrad has to wear what he calls a ‘Darth Vador’ mask every night to help get enough oxygen while he sleep.
“Once I have lost my first 25kg I plan to go back to hospital and get it checked out again to see if I still need to wear the mask. I hope I will be able to get some rest without having to wear this thing with wires coming out from all sides!”
Conrad is aiming to lose over 60kg off his current frame of 166kg by binning his habit of late fast food eating (the local pizza parlour knows him by name!) and eating more regularly. He has also said goodbye to his hard boozing lifestyle.
Read Conrad's weight-loss diary.
Meet the Second Chance couples