Last night the new season of Australia’s Biggest Loser kicked off! This latest season has drawn a lot of attention thanks to a new format that sees trainers Shannon Ponton, Michelle Bridges and Steve ‘The Commando’ Willis take over an entire town.
The chosen town, Ararat in Western Victoria, has been dubbed a ‘ticking time bomb’ by Biggest Loser expert Dr Norman Swan and it is said a combined 26,000kgs would have to be lost in order to get the town under the national weight average. With more take away shops than most major cities, its not of huge surprise that sixty-nine percent of residents are overweight or obese and even the locals have nick-named their town Fatarat or Ararfat.
Although the entire town is taking part in the Biggest Loser challenge, just twenty-four of the town’s residents took part in a grueling bootcamp that included a walk up the killer Mount William in the Grampians to prove they had what it takes to earn one of the fourteen places in the house.
Earlier this month we got a sneak peek at some of the member’s audition tapes, but it wasn’t until last night that all our hopefuls were revealed.
Meet the Biggest Loser 2014 contestants:
Caitlin, at just 17, is the youngest member of the group and wants to become a medical officer in the army but believes her weight is holding her back. She says of the goal, “I really want to make a difference and help others. I also want my mum and grandmother to be proud of me.”
Callan, 34, is a part-time university student and stay-at-home dad who dreams of joining the army and becoming a good role model for his son. The fun-loving dad says, “I worry that my family don’t respect me at my current weight.”
Cameron, 34, is a supermarket store manager who wants to be a healthier role model for his kids. Camerion shared with Ten Play, “I am committed to the changes that the Biggest Loser will bring, I am so excited about the future.”
Craig, a sales manager, is 34 years of age and believes his weight is holding him back from finding love. Craig’s last relationship ended five years ago and he believes the breakdown had a lot to do with his weight.
Jane, 42, is a single electrical production supervisor and wants to fall in love and find the energy to fix her run-down home. Jane says, “It is no longer ok to live a mediocre life, I want to meet a partner, travel the world and really shine.”
Katrina, a disability services officer aged 45, dreams of travelling the world, wearing more fashion-forward clothes, and, “to be able to look in a mirror and like what I see…”
Kerry, 49, is a factory hand and has the very specific goal of wishing to fit into his wedding outfit once again to renew his vows in Vegas. Kerry is married to fellow contestant Toni. He says, “I am so glad that my partner in crime is by my side, although I’ll never pick her for a challenge, she can’t catch.” Good call!
Mary, a customer service officer, is 48 years of age and was unable to have children because of her weight. Although she admits her time has now passed for children, she wants to lose the weight for herself saying, “I can’t wait to go traveling in comfort and be able to participate in all the activities that I am unable to do at my current weight.”
Matt, 37, has a weight-loss goal that so many of us have had in the past — to be healthy and look fantastic at his wedding! He said he has become lazy and complacent in his relationship.
Natalie is 38 and a nurse and wishes to be fit enough to become a paramedic. The cancer survivor also wants to beat her fears of thyroid cancer returning and become her healthiest self.
The eldest member of the Biggest Loser house is Rodger who is 51 and says, “There is a lot of life left in me yet. I can not wait to take my dog for a proper run.”
Shannon is 36 and a console operator at the local BP. Her kids are her main motivation for losing weight and she shared, “I know that by going on the Biggest Loser I’ll be able to break out of my cage, face my demons and become the woman, wife and mother I have always wanted to be.”
Sharon, 31, is an office worker and dreams of having more energy and wearing more fabulous clothes. She says she wants to feel feminine and be more like her brothers and sister who are all, “tall and skinny.”
And last but not least, Toni, 48, is an arts teacher and the wife of fellow contestant Kerry.Toni believes losing weight will be her ticket to more energy and travel and says she is, “…hungry for knowledge on how I can cook healthier meals and would give anything to make my Uncle and Aunt proud.”
For every kilogram that the household members lose, they will raise money for their country town which is a socially disadvantaged town with a higher than average number of people living in public housing.
With a whole town on the line, this season is set to be a big one! Stay tuned for more from the show.
All quotes and images credit TenPlay Biggest Loser Page https://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/the-biggest-loser
