The Biggest Loser Asia Season 1:Red Team MembersThe Biggest Loser Asia Season 1:Red Team Members

Here are the eight contestants chosen by The Biggest Loser Asia trainer Kristy Curtis for her Red team.

1.

An easy-going and soft-spoken guy,Carlos was born into a family of chefs and foodies. His mother is an excellent cook whose dishes are featured in magazines,and his great grandfather was a famous pastry chef in Manila in the early 1900s.

When he was 11,he learned how to cook,helping his mom with her catering business. When his older brother became a chef,he quickly followed in his footsteps and has now been a professional chef for 14 years.

Having lived in major cities Sydney,Australia and San Francisco,California,USA,Carlo has cooked in many prestigious restaurants,like Luke Mangan’s Salt Restaurant,and David Rayner’s Vault in Sydney. He moved back home to the Philippines in 2003 and is currently the executive chef of award-winning restaurants Sala Restaurant and Sala Bistro in Manila.

Being around food all the time has caused Carlos and his entire family to be overweight. And now that Carlos is married,his new bride is encouraging him to live healthily. The newlyweds are keen to start a family and Carlos wants to have the health and energy needed to cope with small children.

He heard about the show from his sister-in-law who is currently battling cancer. The Biggest Loser is her favorite show. He was excited to be a part of the show as he has already been trying to lose weight and saw it as his golden opportunity.

Diagnosed with hypertension,high cholesterol and obstructive sleep apnea,Carlos now sees that he is killing himself slowly on a diet of pork belly,duck confit and foie gras! Carlo says,“I want to be Asia’s first Biggest Loser to be a better husband and chef.

2.

When Del isn’t writing for a men’s magazine,he’s busy working as a freelance Fight Director,Sports Commentator and Event Host.

Del is an intense character with heaps of attitude,who says what he thinks and is not afraid to be himself. He is proud of his involvement in mixed martial arts but no longer gets in the ring as a fighter.

Del admits that the reason he is overweight is due to “pure laziness”. For years he has made excuses not to work out or diet because he loves eating more than anything. Del feels that being on the show is just what he needs as he can focus on nothing else but dieting and training instead of having to worry about family,work and life responsibilities.

Easily annoyed by people,Del says he can be mean and unpredictable and admits he can sometimes be a jerk too.

On the weekends he shows his gentler side,as he loves to spend time with his two children,watching movies,hanging out and just being a dad. He wants to stick around a bit longer to see his kids reach their future potential and he wants to receive a gift from them that actually fits without seeing their disappointed faces. Even though he wants a future with his kids,don’t be fooled. Del says “money drives him” and he has the prize money firmly in his sights.

3.

Garry is an extremely emotionally open person,who is willing to share his stories and frustrations with others. He took a daring chance in traveling to Malaysia from Thailand to audition for The Biggest Loser Asia at the last minute and is thrilled that his spontaneous decision paid off.

While honeymooning in Phuket,Garry and his wife fell in love with Thailand’s beauty and culture. They packed up their lives in the UK to pursue their dreams of living there permanently and now call Thailand home.

A massive part of Garry’s previous life was his career as Mr. Jelly Belly,a children’s entertainer. As the name would suggest,the character certainly suited his physique and was the ideal excuse to retain his ‘rotund’ shape. Whilst Mr Jelly Belly was often in the spotlight,Garry now realizes that his persona was a mask to hide behind the reality of his weight problems.

Garry has followed the journeys of past Biggest Loser contestants in awe and has always yearned for such an opportunity. He says,“I want it to be me at the finals,to make my wife so proud and see her jaw drop to the floor. Goodness knows I owe it to her after putting up with me for so long!”

Garry sees the Biggest Loser Asia as an opportunity for a new beginning,and is willing to do whatever it takes –give blood,sweat and tears –to be successful on this journey.

4.

Kevin is one of the largest applicants to The Biggest Loser Asia and one of the bravest. Kevin found the courage to audition even though he had not left his house in the daytime for 5 years now because of his weight. Kevin’s father and brother are also morbidly obese and he thinks it high time that he gets a new lease of life.

Kevin says,“I don’t have a job,I still live with my parents and I never had a girlfriend. When I look into the mirror I see a little boy who has been fat all his life,I feel like I’m still stuck there and my real life has yet to begin.”

Kevin has been overweight since he was a child and had to take his own chair to school. He says that being overweight is tough and he finds it difficult to endure the ridicule of others. He feels trapped in his body and powerless to change.

“It felt like I won the lottery when I got the call,” Kevin about being chosen for the show. He says he already feels like a winner. Finally,he has found THE motivation to do something about his massive weight.

5.

This vivacious tutor has been through serious marital and financial problems and still remains positive. She is the mother of two gorgeous children and works full time to support them.

Last year,her husband married another woman and Aisha felt very betrayed by this experience. She also recently lost her tuition business and may be threatened with bankruptcy. Even though she faces these challenges,Aisha refuses to give up and says,“I resolve to emerge from this NOT broken”.

Aisha has systematically put on weight over the years and acknowledges that it is probably an unconscious effort to comfort her soul from the emotional struggles and pain.

At school she was active and energetic and with the weight gain,she feels that her health has deteriorated. A hormonal imbalance problem has made it even tougher for Aisha to slim down. And like many mothers she has invested a lot in the lives of others she loves deeply and feels she has forgotten to care for herself.

Aisha saw the advertisement to audition for The Biggest Loser Asia on the Hallmark Channel on the first day she had her cable installed and knew in an instant that it was her calling for a life-changing experience.

6.

This single mother of 2 beautiful kids is not afraid to admit that she really wants to win the US$100,000 prize money!

Nadia started putting on weight when she was a teenager and would eat hamburgers on the bus on the way home from school. She continued this habit for 2 years despite tipping the scale and becoming increasingly depressed. Her schoolmates would tease her and this just made the problem worse as she grew angry and turned to food for comfort.

Nadia believes that “beauty sells” and was recently demoted from a sales position because she was not confident when presenting to clients. The lesser role meant a reduction in salary and she feels that she was demoted because of her looks.

Nadia says her biggest motivation for joining the show is her children,but places the prize money as a close second as it will change their lives forever. She says,“my goals are to lose 80 kilos and to look and feel good,to win USD 100k and to be able to wear a size 10 and not 24.”

7.

Christine’s motto is to “live life with no regrets!” and she joined The Biggest Loser Asia because she is fed up with her weight getting in the way of her living life to the fullest.

Born in Japan,the chirpy and vivacious Christine is what you would call a global citizen. She has lived in many countries,as her father was in the US military and moving was part of her life. She traveled a lot and with that comes a lot of eating out.

Christine’s weight has been her lifelong struggle. As a child she was very shy and was constantly teased by kids at school. As early as 9 years old she had already started on fad diets,but when she became a teenager she got over her shyness and fell in love with fashion,hair and makeup. In high school she became known for trying new trends and constantly changing her look. Nowadays Christine says,“It’s frustrating looking for stylish clothes in my size. I just want to fit into a pair of skinny jeans. When I can do that,I’ll be the happiest person in the world!”

Christine wants to show the entire world how determined she is to succeed. For the trainers,Christine has three words for them “BRING IT ON!”

8.

Rashmi is a persistent and strong lady who was determined to pursue her dream of being part of The Biggest Loser Asia. A proud homemaker from India she traveled from Bangalore,India to Singapore in hopes of getting professional help to lose the pounds once and for all.

Rashmi’s biggest motivation in life is her daughter. Rashmi says she that she wants to enjoy the simple things in life and show her daughter how wonderful the world is. She does not want her daughter to grow up overweight too. Because of her lack of energy,she feels that playing with her daughter has been pretty much torture. She is unable to run around and interact with her daughter as much as she would have liked.

Rashmi has suffered from serious thyroid problems for the past seven years and this has contributed to her weight gain. She has all sorts of diets and going to the gym to no avail,which has been intensely frustrating.

Her husband says she is the most beautiful woman in the world and loves her just as much as when he met her and fell in love 10 years ago. Rashmi thinks he deserves the good looking and slim woman that she was as a reward for loving her so unconditionally.

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Images and profiles courtesy of The Official Biggest Loser Asia Website

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1. The Biggest Loser Asia Season 1:Blue Team Members
2. The Biggest Loser Asia Season 1:Episode 5
3. The Biggest Loser Asia Season 1:Episode 3
4. The Biggest Loser Asia Season 1:Audition
5. The Biggest Loser Asia Season 1:Episode 7