What it Felt like to Lose 100 Pounds

Have you ever dreamed about losing big? Plenty of us will shed 5 pounds here, or 10 pounds there, but what does truly significant weight loss feel like? What does it feel like when you find yourself 100 pounds lighter?

We took a closer look at The Biggest Loser contestants who've dropped 100 pounds to find out what it felt like and gain some inspiration.

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Matt Hoover, Season 2
Starting Weight: 339

Matt Hoover, the winner of Season 2, was the first contestant to cross the 100-pound mark while on the ranch.

In week 11 of his season, Matt lopped off 10 pounds for the week to put him at 230, down from his starting weight of 339 pounds. Before his transformation on the show, Matt said, "I couldn't stand myself, therefore I couldn't stand anyone around me. I had quit on myself and was just slowly plodding through life." That all changed and his 100-pound milestone reinforced that change.

He would go on to win his season with a total 157-pound loss (46.31% of his body weight).

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Erik Chopin, Season 3
Starting Weight: 407

When Erik Chopin started The Biggest Loser at 407 pounds, he was the heaviest man to ever go on the show. In week 9, he crossed the 100-pound weight loss threshold. "I was in disbelief," said Erik. "It was the ultimate." He went on to lose 214 pounds (52.58% of his body weight) and win Season 3.

After returning to real life, Erik slowly regained the weight and was even confronted by trainer Bob Harper in a Where Are They Now? Biggest Loser special. Erik has since recommitted to his health and weighs in the mid-200s. "I realized that I was happiest right after winning The Biggest Loser. Not because of the fame…but I talked to people struggling to lose weight…I made a commitment and want to help others do the same."

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Neil Tejwani, Season 4
Starting Weight: 421

Neil Tejwani also crossed the 100-pound marker in week 9 of his season, the first contestant to do so in his group. "If you told me when I first started The Biggest Loser that I would have lost 50 or 60 pounds, I would have been happy," said Neil. "But to lose over 100 pounds…that's absolutely incredible. That's life-changing."

Neil would go on to lose 133 pounds while still on the ranch, beating Erik Chopin's ranch loss of 124 pounds. After Neil was eliminated, he headed home and saw his family for the first time in months. "I had only seen my father cry once in his life, and he was definitely sobbing when he saw me," said Neil.

At his season's finale, after some time at home, he posted a total loss of 211 pounds (50.12% of his body weight).

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Roger Schultz, Season 5
Starting Weight: 363

Week 9 remained the magical week for 100-pound losses, and former University of Alabama lineman Roger Schultz claimed the prize as his season's first by scoring a 9-pound loss for the week, which brought him to 259 at that point.

His trainer Bob Harper bought him a 100-pound gift, an iPhone, so "now I'm officially cool," he said about that moment.

He would finish the season with a 164-pound loss (45.18% of his body weight).

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Dane Patterson, Season 7
Starting Weight: 412

Dane Patterson upped the ante in his season, pushing the 100-pound marker to the eighth week. Dane lost a whopping 13 pounds in that week to make his 100 pounds. "It's just amazing what we accomplish here," he said in wonderment. "There's no way I thought I would do it this fast."

"When I first arrived at the ranch, I was this 412-pound guy who felt like he was letting his family down by not taking care of himself," he continued. "I've rectified that."

Dane would post a 154-pound weight loss (37.38% of his body weight) at his finale.

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Kristin Steede, Season 7
Starting Weight: 360
-and-
Tara Costa, Season 7
Starting Weight: 294

It was neck and neck for two women contestants to be the first to lose 100 pounds on the ranch in week 12 of Season 7-Kristin Steede or Tara Costa? Kristin reached that goal first but Tara marked her own 100-pound loss the following week.

Kristin was eloquent on the scale in her moment of accomplishment: "I just can't believe how far I've come. This has been the most amazing experience of my life. And it's so sad that there are so many people who are out there living in their prison of a body and sitting on the couch and they don't have to.

"It just takes the right motivation," she continued, "the right people to bring this out. This is amazing. This is absolutely amazing. This is the one thing in my life I've never been able to conquer, and I feel on top of the world that I'm able to have control over this. Once you gain control over this, I feel your options are limitless, and you can do anything."

When Tara the milestone the following week, she said: "I feel I've been given this amazing gift. I've been to places I never thought I would take myself. I truly now believe in myself as a person, and what I've accomplished. I know there are people out there who are struggling with this weight loss. I want to help them. I want to let them know that they can do it. Now it's a matter of figuring out how I can give back, while figuring out doing the things I enjoy."

Kristin would post a total weight loss of 167 pounds (46.93% of her body weight) at the finale. Tara would be a finalist with a 155-pound weight loss (52.72% of her body weight).

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Shay Sorrells, Season 8
Starting Weight: 476 pounds

Shay Sorrells has the heaviest starting weight of a woman on The Biggest Loser to date. Put into the foster care system at the age of five after living on the streets with her mother, a heroin addict, Shay admitted that food had been the one pleasure in life she could depend on.

"There were a lot of disappointments in my life," she told The Biggest Loser Club. "Food never was. Cheesecake never walked away from me. Fried chicken never made a promise and didn't fulfill it. So food was something that was always there. I could always turn to it. So I did for 30 years."

That all changed in week 9 when Shay stepped on the scale for a 17-pound weight loss giving her a total of 100 pounds. She beat the previous season's women's record by a week. She shrieked with delight, "It's hard every step. But then you see the results and you say screw it, let's go again! There were two things I wanted to do when I came here--change my life and beat the record for a woman reaching 100 pounds. I've done both."

At Shay's finale she would post a loss of 172 pounds (36.13% of her body weight).

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Rudy Pauls, Season 8
Starting Weight: 442 pounds

In week 7, Rudy Pauls set out to beat Season 7's Dane Patterson's 100-pound weight loss by a week. Expectations were high, and even more so when Dane himself walked out on the stage to witness the potentially record-breaking weigh-in.

Rudy needed to post a 13-pound weight loss for the week to blow Dane's record off the charts. And he did-with a pound to spare! The 14-pound loss ensured that Rudy's 100 pounds came off in a ranch record time.

Up on the scale a relieved Rudy said, "Losing weight is hard work. I've done it before and not put nearly this effort into it. I was a college athlete, and I don't think I've ever been pushed as hard as Jillian and Bob have pushed me."

Rudy went on to be a finalist in his season, losing 234 pounds (52.94% of his body weight).

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Michael Ventrella, Season 9
Starting Weight: 526 pounds

Michael Ventrella arrived at the ranch posting the heaviest starting weight to date. "I can't imagine at my weight I'm going to live more than a couple of years longer. It's not just a couple of pounds I have to shed. I'm double an overweight person. It's killing me."

He scored big the seventh week, posting a 15-pound loss that put him over 100 pounds lost. He would end up setting a record for most weight loss in a season for a male-264 pounds (50.19% % of her body weight)-and becoming The Biggest Loser for that season.

At his seminal week 7 weigh-in he noted, "Every week is just a monumental thing for me. Being proud of my accomplishments makes me want to work harder and more intensely than the week before."

His appearance was changing so rapidly that he said, "Every morning I get up and am excited to run to the bathroom and look in the mirror to see what I look like!"

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Ashley Johnston, Season 9
Starting Weight: 374 pounds

On starting her weight journey, Ashley Johnston said she felt "stuck in a body that did not allow me to live life."

By week 11, Ashley was starting to live as she became the first woman of her season to reach a 100-pound loss. She would also go on to set a record for most weight loss in a season by a female with a 183-pound loss (48.93% % of her body weight).

Standing on the scale that week, she admitted, "I never thought I would make it this far. Ever. At home I would wake up sore from doing nothing, always sick and tired all the time from carrying around all that weight. Now, I when I wake up, I have energy. I get out of bed and eat a healthy breakfast. I feel happy when I wake up!"

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Mark Pinhasovich, Season 10
Staring Weight: 421 pounds

Mark Pinhasovich came to the ranch with concerns about himself and his family. "My mother is overweight," he said. "Her health problems are starting to pile up now. I want to succeed, and I want her to succeed as well, because she's miserable. I know exactly where she is."

Mark made his milestone also in week 8, losing 12 pounds for the week brought him to a loss of 104 pounds. "I know how I used to feel," said Mark. "I know how good I feel now. No way I'm going back. That's already been decided. No way in hell I'm going back."

At the finale he posted an overall loss of 213 pounds (50.59% of his body weight).

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Irene Alvarado, Season 11
Starting weight: 255

When Irene Alvarado arrived at the ranch she felt her life was spinning out of control. Knowing she would be the first in her family to graduate from college, she pressured herself with a heavy class load. "I wasn't sleeping or eating regularly," she said. "And what I was eating was making me feel worse. My mom and boyfriend begged me to slow down and take a break."

That break came in the form of the ranch. She became the first woman of her season to drop 100 pounds, and she did it in week 17. "I'm in shock," she said, savoring the moment on the scale. "I'm so used to celebrating for other people. It's weird to have people celebrating for me."

But gathering herself, she owned her accomplishment. "It was a lot of hard work, and I can honestly say I'm proud of myself."

At the finale, she showed a total weight loss of 116 pounds (45.49% of her body weight).

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Olivia Ward, Season 11
Starting weight: 261 pounds

Olivia Ward, the Season 11 winner, would reach her 100-pound loss the week after Irene. And she did one thing no one has done before or since. She sang on the scale.

An opera singer from New York, Olivia broke into Charlotte's aria from "Werther," reducing her sister Hannah Curlee and trainer Bob Harper to tears. "I have never been that blown away at a weigh-in before," said Harper.

"To stand tonight on The Biggest Loser scale, a new person in my new body, I can't explain to you how liberating it is," she said. "It is a very special moment. It is beyond fairytale."

At her finale, Olivia posted a total loss of 129 pounds (49.43% of her body weight).

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Moses Kinikini, Season 11
Starting weight: 440 pounds

On the men's side of Season 11, it would be another record buster as Moses Kinikini broke through the 100-pound barrier in 6 weeks, throwing out record-winning 7-week stats from previous seasons.

In the beginning of his season, Moses could only work out by sitting on his bed and shadow boxing, so crippled was he from bad knees and excess weight. But by week 6, it was a different story.

"I wanted my name cemented in Biggest Loser history," he said of his accomplishment. "What I learned from my trainers changed my life. I realized I could surpass limits that I never thought I could."

At the finale, Moses posted a total weight loss of 153 pounds (34.77% of his body weight).

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John Rhode, Season 12
Starting weight: 445

Leaving his wife at home to care for two young boys, one of them autistic, John Rhode was determined to make every moment on the ranch count.

"It would be fun to blast out or tie Moses in the 6th weigh-in," said John before he stepped on the scale. "But I didn't come here to make records or break records. I just want to get healthy."

Even so, when the scale showed he had lost 101 pounds in 6 weeks, John motioned to host Alison Sweeney to come up to the scale for a hug. She did, and he swept her off her feet. "How about that?" she said laughing when he put her down. "How about that!" he replied.

"John is unstoppable," said his trainer Bob Harper. "He won't be happy until he's pulling the confetti out of his hair."

John achieved happiness on Dec. 13, 2011, when he was crowned The Biggest Loser. He took off 220 pounds (49.44% of his body weight).

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--By Melissa Roberson, Prevention

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