Biggest Loser Asia Finale
Some weeks back, Agri and I made the trip up to KL as we were invited to the grand finale of
The Biggest Loser Asia.
In case you didn't know, this is the Asia-edition of the original US reality-competition series,
where obese contestants with massive weight to lose and unhealthy lifestyle habits to alter are
put through three months of vigorous boot camp. Contestants are split into two competing
teams - blue and red, and trained by fitness gurus Dave and Kristy respectively.
After 3,000 auditions, 30 pre-contest finalists, and a competition of 16 people, they had finally
reached the final four.
Name: David Gurnani
Age: 25 years old
Team: BLUE
Country: From Indonesia
Starting Weight: 157 Kg
Name: Aaron Mokhtar
Age: 30 years old
Team: BLUE
Country: From Malaysia
Starting Weight: 159 Kg
Name: Carlo Miguel
Age: 32 years old
Team: RED
Starting Weight: 132 Kg
Country: From Philippines
Name: Martha Lai
Age: 19 years old
Team: BLUE
Starting Weight: 127 Kg
Country: From Hong Kong
The Biggest Loser will win big: US$100,000 and a car sponsored by Renault!
So here we are at Finas studios where filming of the grand finals is about to take place.
David's whole tribe of Gurnanis came down in an impressive display of family support for
their "king".
They even wore custom-made t-shirts! I like the quote.
Still milling around socializing as everyone starts to make their way into the studio
Our passes
I think we broke all the 'warning' rules 
Tele-prompting makes it that much easier.
The director tries to work the audience up into an enthusiastic frenzy
We weren't allowed to take photos during the taping. I would have snuck some in if not for all
the producers and big shots sitting around us; I didn't want dirty looks or to get thrown out!
In the beginning, we were enlightened with a video recap of all the competition highlights that
had happened in all the episodes leading up to this.
Then, the 12 former eliminated contestants came to the stage one by one, greeted with raucous
cheers from the audience. A group interview followed.
One contestant that stood out for me was Gary Holden. Why?
1. He was the only white guy, how not to be noticed (He moved to Thailand after
honeymooning there)
2. He was "unjustifiably" booted out in one of the early rounds by his red team mates, despite
being the hardest worker and strongest member of the team. It resulted in the hell-raising fury
of their trainer Kristy, who made them pay for their mistake through exercise torture.
3. This guy was now SKINNY!
Gary went from this (with those man-boobs, probably did't dare to swim)
to this (swimming in his old clothes)
In his white linen pants, pale pink cotton shirt and sunglasses perched on top of his head, Gary
looked every bit the sun-tanning, beach-loving partying expat you'd imagine in Phuket, not an
overweight blob who entertained as "Mr Jelly Belly". Inspired by his life-changing experience,
he now runs a weight-loss camp in the day and deejays at night.
One more reason:
4. To our curiosity, he interrupted midway during the show, announcing he had something
important to do. He then tearfully thanked his wife for standing by him all these years,
providing him with a great deal of moral and emotional support during and after the
competition, even going so far as to work out with him in the gym everyday.
Then, to the gasps of everyone watching, he got down on one knee, whipped out a diamond
ring, and PROPOSED to his wife again! He tells the audience that he used to be "so fat" he
could not do this the first time he proposed.
AWWWW...... how incredibly touching! I assure you I was not the only one wiping away tears
from my eyes. Sniff.
The Holdens bring new meaning to holding onto love through thick and thin.
Hehe my punning not bad eh? ^.^
Soon it was time for.... The Final Weigh-In
Final 4: Aaron, Martha, Carlo and David.
Aren't their changes amazing?
Now, guess who won...
KING DAVID!
Who dropped a whopping 83kg, more than half his weight. Goodness gracious. That's like one
of me disappearing, then another one too. Losing two Dawns? Geez! Mind-boggling.
He's got fat pockets now
Doing Indonesia proud
His triumphant family celebrates with the host.
In case you think judging the winner based solely on numerical weight loss is unfair, not to
worry - scores were calculated from percentage weight loss and percentage fat loss.
David was the winner, but actually my favorite - and also the obvious fan favorite - was...
Carlo.
Interestingly, David and Carlo were arch-rivals in the show, and each other's toughest opponent
to beat.
Carlo is the executive chef of award-winning Sala Restaurant and Sala Bistro in Manila,
Philippines.
Hailing from a family of excellent cooks, it is perhaps no wonder why he was the size he was
in the picture above.
The determined contestant won over viewers (and many ladies) with his friendly, good-natured
and easy-going charisma. Plus, did I mention the man CAN COOK?! 
I admit, the fact that he transformed from cute and huggable rotund teddy bear to a suave and
handsome hunk added to his appeal and my growing crush..... check this out:
Shuai ge alert!! 
Weight loss can really make someone look like an entirely new person.
Oh and too bad girls... Carlo is happily married with a baby along the way.
Me with Carlo and his wife at Sunway shopping mall.
Lets wish them more bliss ahead when their bundle of joy comes along
So back to why I prefer Carlo over David. Or, at least why I think that Carlo was a more
deserving winner, although he came in second place.
Carlo = healthy weight loss. He was lean, trim, muscular, toned,, a picture of glowing
attractiveness. In the month before the grand finale, he juggled work, family and workout
commitments - a balanced life.
David on the other hand, shocked me when he burst onto stage that day. I thought I was seeing
a skeleton come back to life!
He was shrunken and sunken, practically haggard looking. It seems like he may have lost some
hair from dieting too much. His was not the kind of look I would imagine the champion of role
models to overweight people out there watching the show to have.
Also, he quit his job to purely focus on shedding the pounds for the competition. That isn't
very realistic for most normal working people.
I do not know what kind of regime David put himself through and it's not for me to judge - he
did win fair and square after all. But I sincerely hope those of us out there looking to get into
shape will take a leaf out of Carlo's book.... being the skinniest is not the goal; being healthy
and fit is!
Later that evening, we got all dressed up for the after-party.
Waiting for the lobby staff to call a cab for us.
From experience, we had learnt the painful way that getting a cab outside the hotel was
surmountable to being ripped off three times over.
It's clearly stated - in fact plastered all over the taxi doors - that fares are only by meter and
"HAGGLING IS PROHIBITED". Don't know how they can so blatantly flout those rules. Grr.
At Indo-Chine:
With Martha and Carlo in the middle. Wow, still can't get over the major change.
Inside:
Got my snapshot with David the Biggest Loser, who won big
Unfortunately, all the talk about weight loss and eating right did little to deter us from indulging in yummy Malaysian food.
Suppers....
.... And more huge suppers.
We bade farewell to our home for two nights Sunway Hotel.
View from our suite, courtesy of Agri's camera
Had fun in the coach ride back to Singapore. The entire lower deck was ours!
Large comfy sofas to stretch out and sink into, as we watched movies on the TV screen and
chomped on the food served by our very attentive and funny coach host. Felt like we were rock
stars on tour, lol.
I did not follow The Biggest Loser before attending this finale in KL, but I can safely say I will
be staying tuned to Season 2. (Coming soon!)
The show and it's contestants leave an indelible mark on you, as you the viewer are taken
along their life-changing journeys of struggles and triumphs as they strive for a new lease of
life. Not only was it entertaining, I couldn't help but feel incredibly inspired and moved. They
are all ordinary people who achieved the extraordinary through sweat, tears, sheer drive and
determination. These unlikely warriors show to millions of people who suffer obesity that a
new and healthy way of living is within their reach, if they really want it.
How many times do we tell ourselves self-defeating things like "It's too hard to change, that's
just the way I am", or "Cannot lah, it's impossible for me". I know from personal experience
that yes, bad habits are like a comfortable bed - easy to get into but awfully hard to get out of.
Well, I also believe that when there is a will, there is a way, as the Biggest Loser contestants
have proven. They went through most of their lives wading through mountains of big Macs
and XXL sized clothing, thinking they were a lost cause. But they decided to take the first step
to change, and were committed to it, eventually overcoming their life obstacles. When you see
the triumph and satisfaction on their happy faces, it is truly priceless.
We can improve ourselves in any area of our lives if we truly seek the change. It probably
won't come overnight, and it will likely be a difficult process with a ton of effort involved, but
you will nonetheless reap the rewards gradually, a step at a time.
In the end, it ultimately boils down to - HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT IT? DO YOU
REALLY WANT IT?
(I suppose for the Biggest Losers, they also had a car and giant cheque to give them that much
needed kick in the butt!)
True change comes from within.
xo, till next time
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