Tiffany lost 54.1kg

Gorgeous number two in The Biggest Loser Couples series is slim 28-year-old Tiffany Herdsman. She went from a hefty 113.6kg to a stunning 59.5kg, all with father-in-law Bob by her side.

Clocking up the kilos

Growing up, Tiffany wasn’t overweight but that changed when her husband of eight years, Ben, was away with the army in East Timor. When he returned home the couple had a great time going out to tasty restaurants. Ben continued to be physically active but Tiffany’s office job in an employment agency meant that she didn’t burn off the extra calories she was consuming.

Tiff says, “While Ben maintained his weight, my figure was growing. Around then I was about 70-75kg and going from someone who was pretty happy to thinking 'oh my goodness, I am so overweight!’

“Lunch was the worst time for me. I would put my daughter, Isabelle, down for her afternoon sleep and then switch on a movie and devour a huge bar of chocolate. I wouldn’t do it at night because Ben would be home and he would know, so I ate in secret.

“Getting bigger and unhappier about my weight made me want to eat to soothe my emotions. If Ben and I were due to go out, I would go into my wardrobe, try on my clothes and just cry. I would avoid social situations with friends and family so that, more often than not, we would end up with a takeout pizza and a movie.  I didn’t feel or look like the person I really was and I had lost all my happiness and my spark. When I had Isabelle (who will be four years of age in July) I was 88kg, which is pretty big for my height of 162cm.

“My family was becoming concerned about my weight. In fact, it was Bob who would sometimes try and give me incentives to lose weight. For example, he would say things like 'If you lose 20kg, I will send you on a trip to Bali or America or Hawaii’.

“It is not like I didn’t try to diet before, but now I see that my idea of a diet was just too extreme. I used to go three or four days on rabbit food or follow whatever fad diet was popular at the time. I used to do OK for a few days but then I would ‘reward’ myself. This would lead to a major diet derailment and I would go straight back to my old ways."

The start of the dream

Tiff says that living in country WA (Bunbury, to be precise) she had never actually seen The Biggest Loser before, but friends talked about it and she was toying with the idea of applying for the show.

“I remember waking up in the middle of the night and going downstairs to log onto the computer. I sent the application and somehow I knew I was in. I even told my friend about it before we heard anything.

“When I told Bob that I wanted him to be my partner on the show, he said, ‘Oh no! I was afraid that this day would come’. Being such a wonderful person though, he did it, perhaps more for me than for him.

“Going on the show was so confronting. Imagine standing in your underwear in front of the whole country! It was also the first time that anyone actually knew my real weight, but I knew that I had to do it to gain the ultimate freedom.

“I had to draw upon all of my inner strength when Bob was eliminated from the house and secretly taken back to Fitzroy Island. When he wasn't there I was under the spotlight and I knew I had to do everything under my own merit. I knew I had to do the best I could.

“What kept me going was that although it was one more day away from my daughter and my family, it was one day closer to my goal of a happier future. The visit from Alison Braun to Camp Biggest Loser helped me to understand this as she was in the same position last year being away from her own family."

Life after The Biggest Loser

Tiff explains that there were three reasons she needed to fulfil her Biggest Loser journey: "Firstly, I wanted to be happier again and I am.

"Secondly, I wanted to regain the spark in my life. The spark is certainly back. I have changed so much that Ben sometimes feels like he is with a new woman! He loves to spend time with the new Tiff, because we are both so much more positive.

"Finally, I wanted to be a good role model for my daughter, Isabelle, and now I am. Chocolate used to be my downfall and I used to reward her with it. There was a time when she fell over and skinned her knee; the first thing she said through her tears was 'chocolate frog!' and at that moment I knew that if I started to change my life, she wouldn’t go the same way as me. I knew I had the choice."

Fish, lean meat, cottage cheese, vegies, fruit and diet yoghurts are now staples for Tiff, but she also enjoys a treat of chocolate. “Everyone needs an indulgence from time to time. Food wise, I’m doing pretty much what I did at Camp Biggest Loser until I get used to being back to normal life again."

Tiff will also be relying on The Biggest Loser Club to help her maintain her weight now the show has finished. "I always read the weekly features and the ‘Did you knows’ while I was in Camp Biggest Loser.” Tiffany continues, "I was amazed how quickly The Club taught me to eat the right foods and the right portion sizes for me, which is something I really had to get to grips with.”

Tiffany also reveals just how popular the online diary was with all the contestants. “I used the diary most days – that was when I could turf Teresa off it! She was on The Club website all day, every day, and she became a walking diet encyclopaedia! Bob became The Biggest Loser Club diary king!  There is no way I am going back to the old Tiff; I am going to keep firmly on track with The Club!"

Tiff was also motivated by The Club's fat blobs chart. By the time she left Camp Biggest Loser, she had lost nearly 50 blobs and even more by the time Finale arrived.

“At Finale I felt really grateful that I was there and very lucky to have known just how horrible it felt to be the old me. The difference is completely amazing. I wish everyone could appreciate this feeling, but I wouldn’t want anyone to feel as I did when I was so overweight. It was wonderful to choose freedom instead of being confined to a 'prison'.”

Tiff’s good health habits have rubbed off. Having left the army, Ben's own weight had crept up to 96kg and due to Tiffany's very public journey he has taken up exercising and eating better and has lost 20kg himself.

At 162cm, Tiff weighed in at a trim 59.5kg at Finale. She says, “Life is surreal. I am now up at 5am, my eyes open wide and I am ready for the day. I do one hour on the treadmill and I look forward to the great day ahead. It’s a far cry to my morning just a few months ago. I am so glad that I did this. You have to lose weight for yourself. After all, if I don’t love and respect myself, how could anyone else do so?”