What The Winners Of The Biggest Loser Look Like Now

While USA Network never confirmed the reason for failing to renew the show, it's no secret that the return of the series was met with negative reactions from many. Additionally, a 2016 study of 14 "Biggest Loser" participants was published in Obesity, revealing what happens to contestants upon returning home. The study found that contestants regained a significant amount of weight in the years after the competition ended; however, the study authors did note that contestants "were quite successful at long-term weight loss compared with other lifestyle interventions." Still, since most participants did regain weight — and nearly 30% of the contestants studied surpassed their starting weight on the show – it is likely that some people no longer saw the reality series as something that helps people but rather something that uses them for entertainment.

Some of the backlash against the show even affected the trainers. As Jillian Michaels recounted to People, her daughter was once approached by someone who told her, "I know who your mom is — she's a cheater. I saw it on TV." Michaels told the publication that she did feel misrepresented as "too harsh" on the show. This factored into her decision to leave, as did issues she had with producers. However, it should be noted that Michaels also once said on air that she enjoys "watching people suffer," which may allude to some general toxicity within the program.

Nevertheless, some past winners are thankful for their time on the show and have experienced enduring success.

Matt Hoover premiered on Season 2 weighing 339 pounds. By the time we was crowned the second-ever winner of the series, he'd lost 157 pounds. Second runner-up Suzy Preston, who initially weighed 227 pounds, lost a total of 95 pounds and took home a $25,000 prize. Unbeknownst to viewers at the time, Hoover and Preston had fallen in love during their time on the show. "I saw him at his worst, absolutely. And he saw me at my worst," Preston told People. In a private ceremony in Jamaica in 2006, the couple said "I do." In the years since, the "losers" have welcomed two sons.

By 2010, Hoover had regained some weight. He revealed to NBC News Chicago that he weighed 237 pounds. Preston, too, had put back on over 40 pounds. In a video from 2011, Hoover and Preston revealed that they feel guilty for gaining weight, but pictures of the family shared on social media show that they're doing great. In October 2023, Preston captioned a sweet family photo: "This is something we do every year regardless of how any of us feel or look."

After losing 164 pounds on "The Biggest Loser," Bill Germanakos was chosen as the winner of Season 4. Not unlike past winners, Germanakos revealed that he faced challenges after returning home. "I'm a morbidly obese person in a fit body," he explained to Today in 2009. "I'm hungry all the time." The winner also revealed that he was working hard to make healthy choices. 

By the end of 2010, he revealed his new weight. "I'm at 214 — maintaining about 120 pounds off my weight loss," he said in an interview with Newsday. Even though he was a bit above his goal weight — 205 pounds — he was regularly involved in teaching spinning classes and helping other people get fit. "My mantra on the show was to become half the man so I could become twice the man," he explained. "Now, I'm trying to reach that second half by trying to educate people." Germanakos remains fairly active on social media but hasn't revealed the number on the scale in some time.

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 herself in 2009 and 2019 — looking just as happy as she did back then.

When Danny Cahill was announced as the Season 8 winner of "The Biggest Loser," he was 239 pounds lighter than when he started. This dramatic weight loss resulted in Cahill not only being crowned the eighth winner, but also the only contestant, up until that time, who'd lost that much weight during their time on the show. Hey may have been headed into 2010 feeling like "a million bucks," but he would soon begin to gain weight. By 2016, he had put back on over a hundred pounds.

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.

"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."

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.

For the first time since Season 11, a woman took home the win. Danni Allen started her weight loss journey at 258 pounds and weighed 137 by the finale. The Season 14 winner revealed to Today that, by 2014, she'd gained a little over ten pounds back. All the while, though, Allen became a managing partner of a yoga and fitness studio, a motivational speaker, and even ran her first marathon.

Allen continues to encourage others to get fit and works on her own fitness goals, despite having been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in 2016 — a condition she's likely had her whole life. In an interview with Fox 32, Allen also revealed that "losing so much weight so quickly" on The Biggest Loser had some unintended consequences. "Your fat cells are full of estrogen — I lost over 140 pounds of estrogen," she explained. Despite her challenges, she continues to live a healthy lifestyle and strives to bring awareness to PCOS.

"I feel incredible," Toma Dobrosavljevic told Us Weekly after being named the winner of Season 16. "It's so mind-boggling and overwhelming, I look in the mirror and I still have a hard time recognizing myself. Knowing that I've lost, in the last year, over 200 pounds, it's just amazing." Dobrosavljevic revealed that he started the show at 366 pounds, but he was 377 pounds at his heaviest. "It's unbelievable," he said of his extreme weight loss.

By January 2016, though, Dobrosavljevic revealed in a Facebook post that his weight was "starting to creep up" on him after sustaining a calf injury a few months prior. In an effort to "never go back to where [he] was," he hosted a diet bet to lose the weight he'd gained. The Season 16 winner hasn't spoken publicly about his weight since and remains private on Instagram.

Jim DiBattista was 47 years old when he starred in the 18th season of "The Biggest Loser," which aired in 2020. He went from 385 pounds to 241 on the program, losing a total of 144 pounds — over 37% of his starting weight. Jim is a high school football coach in Pennsylvania and, according to his Instagram, a motivational speaker for hire. Although his season appears to be the last one for "The Biggest Loser," he has been an outspoken supporter of the show.

He told Hollywood Life, "It wasn't about winning. It was about changing my brain ... and building it back up in a way that made it healthy. Because, obviously, something was wrong with my brain to allow me to be 400 pounds." 

After being on the show, DiBattista feels it is important not to "live on the scale" and said he'll still occasionally eat desserts as he wants to enjoy himself. "There's going to be good days and bad days, and there's going to be high weeks and low weeks," he said.