Yahoo! Answers Blog Malaysia

Being the “Biggest Loser’ in Asia is certainly not a bad thing.

After all’s been said and done, the stars of Asia’s very own ‘Biggest Loser” series are beside themselves with joy. Though only one of them took the crown, there is no question that all of them feel like winners.

Aaron

‘I feel great! I’m really happy for David (Gurnani) for winning it,” Malaysia’s Aaron Mokhtar told Yahoo! Southeast Asia in a phone interview.

Aaron, who took third place in the show after losing to the Philippines’ Carlos Miguel by a single point, is just happy to have lost the 60 kilograms that threatened his health just a few months back.

Carlos

‘From the moment I first saw him (David), I knew there was no way I would win,“ Carlos admitted. “The amount of weight David lost was just staggering,” Carlos admitted.

Staggering is right. David lost 83 kg and now weighs only 78 kg.

But despite the suspected rift between the two, Carlos and David were happy to pat each other’s backs at the end of the day.

David

“I just thank God for this opportunity,” David says. “Carlos is one of those who pushed me to work hard, and I’m sure I pushed him too. But after the competition, we will always be friends. We got to know each other a little but later.”

Now that the show is over though, David plans to take a holiday, buy a house and plan his wedding. On the other hand, Carlos will return to his job as a less-diet-worried chef, while Aaron plans to teach his friends and family to cook and eat healthy.

So what’s next for our biggest winners? To live a fuller, healthier life. Sounds like a good plan

What about you? Can we lose weight like the Biggest Loser Asia contestants without help from a coach? How?

As the only Malaysian on the final leg of The Biggest Loser Asia, Aaron Mokhtar has changed a lot – but in good ways.

For starters, he’s shed weight. Okay. A lot of weight.

Initially weighing 159 kg, 30-year-old Aaron has already lost as much as 46 kg overall (as of the last weigh-in) in about three months time.

Second, he now knows more about food than the average Joe – and he’s not hesitant to share his new-found knowledge to fellow weight-watchers.

“It’s not how much you eat but what you eat,” Aaron explains.

When in the past, he used to eat anything, Aaron says this has changed. “I’ve learned about calories…I am eating healthier now.  And because I am eating healthier, my family is eating healthier too.”

Of course, losing weight isn’t an easy task, even for someone like Aaron who used to have an active lifestyle.

So what keeps Aaron going? One word. Family.

‘I have been blessed. I have a lot of weight to lose. (Although) I was never faced with a brick wall…it is hard to be away from my family, but that is also what motivates me.”

But for Aaron, being on the show has changed him in other ways as well.

“My weight used to dictate my way of life,” Aaron shares. “I used to wear black all the time – not because it was my favourite colour, but because it made me feel better. I don’t want to get to that point ever again. “

“The show has definitely changed the people in the show but it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about winning and getting a bonus. “

Bonus, indeed. But is Aaron going to win the show? We’ll soon find out. But even then, it’s clear that he’s already a winner.

PS. We also have Sarimah Ibrahim here. She has been asking questions about health on Yahoo! Answers Malaysia in the last few weeks. This is her seventh question. What are other cooking methods that will make tasty chicken breasts without the guilt?

By Jeffrey Oon
Yahoo! South-East Asia

As TV premieres go, The Biggest Loser Asia pretty much has everything.

Tears, laughter, drama and comedy, weaved in between inspiring and heart-warming tales of hope and heart-break, make for a compelling season-opener.

Tonight’s big kick-off of Asia’s inaugural version of hit weight-loss reality TV show, The Biggest Loser, revolves around the auditions held in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines.

Over 2,000 super-sized hopefuls from all over the region suffer the sweaty ignominy of punishing push-ups and jiggly jumping jacks in the full glare of the TV spotlight.

Their reasons for joining run the gamut from pure hard cash (winner gets US$100,000), fame, love, health, family and repairing major image and self-confidence problems

New Zealand trainer Dave Nuku, who coaches the Blue Team, warns the combustible mix of the intense nature of the show and the fact that the severely obese contestants are away from home, lonely (and often hungry) and living out their vulnerabilities in the full glare of the TV spotlight means only one thing — plenty of drama.

“We’ve had multiple hospital visits, people suffering from hypoglycemic shock and kidney problems, busted knees and ankles, emotional breakdowns, mental collapse, fights between teams. Everyday I come onto the set expecting the unexpected,” says Dave.

“It takes a lot of courage from them to do this and I commend them.”

Watch out also for the fireworks between the Blue and Red Teams.

Australian Kristy Curtis who guides the Red Team, says, “Dave and me are very different. Dave is very reserved, quiet, and laid-back. I’m the opposite and my training is very different from his. We call the Blue Team ‘tree huggers’ because they’re all about hugging, cuddly encouragement and waving their arms while singing ‘Kumbaya’. The Red Team is a little bit more bitchy and our training much more intense, direct and in- your-face.”

Meeee-ooooowww.

And what about the chances of a Singaporean winning the first season of the Biggest Loser Asia?

While the exact lineup of 16 contestants will only be revealed in the second episode, Dave lets on that “two Singaporeans are among the strongest contestants in the show. One set a record for total amount of weight loss in a single week in TBL worldwide.”

Stay tuned.

*Start sharing your views on the show and health, exercise and living right in the Answers categories of Health, Reality Television today.

The Biggest Loser Asia premieres on 24 November on Hallmark Channel.
Catch one-hour weekly episodes on Tuesday at 9pm (SG, MY, PH, HK), 8pm (TH, WIB)

You don’t need to wait for The Biggest Loser Asia to show you how to start living more healthily.

Here are some personal top tips from TBLA trainers Dave Nuku and Kristy Curtis.

DAVE’S TOP TIPS
1. Train hard, don’t leave anything in the gym always aim for one more (rep, set, weight, mile, meter etc) than the day before
2. Eat right – several meals a day that are; portion-controlled and full of good carbohydrates, lean protein, loads of veggies and fruit plus liters of water each day
3. Rest well – get 8 hours a night of uninterrupted sleep
4. Get emotionally connected – Being emotionally connected will ensure that the quality of energy you have is positive
5. Love the ones you are with by spending time with them and appreciating the impact they have on your life
6. Sharpen your mind to become mentally focused so that your energy is directed towards your goals
7. Set goals in each area of your life, financial, social, physical, career, spiritually, relationships
8. Make sure your goals are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Action-planned, Realistic and Time-bound
9. Remain spiritually aligned – the force of energy that comes with living your life in line with your deepest values is incredibly powerful
10. Commit to a charitable cause if this makes you feel good
11. Live according to your faith
12. Pray and or meditate as often as possible

KRISTY’S TOP TIPS
1. Think positive
2. Learn to take quiet time each day (yoga, tai-chi and breathing exercises help)
3. Get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep a night
4. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day
5. Exercise for at least an hour 6 days a week
6. Watch what you eat (Use the 80/20 rule – 80% of the time, be strict with what you eat and when it comes to the weekend, you can indulge in “sin” foods)
7. If you smoke, kick the habit
8. Live a balanced lifestyle revolving around work, family and personal time

*Start sharing your views on the show and health, exercise and living right in the Answers categories of Health, Reality Television today.

Malaysia-based New Zealand fitness trainer Dave Nuku and his Australian-Chinese counterpart Kristy Curtis will lead the Blue and Red teams respectively.

By Jeffrey Oon
Yahoo! South-East Asia

Life’s guilty pleasures are about to end.

Munching those crisps in between meals? Check.
Skipping exercise by lazing around the house? Check.
Staying up past bedtime to catch your favourite TV series? Check.

Yup, be prepared to kiss those artery-clogging days goodbye.

That’s because Hallmark Channel’s Asian spin-off of the popular weight-loss reality TV competition, The Biggest Loser, is about to hit your TV screens in a big way.

The show, in which 30 Asian contestants battle it out to see who can lose the most weight to land the top prize of US$100,000, promotes not just sweat and exercise, but also the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Yes, that means you out there too.

Watching the show might help you kick those nasty habits above and the bonus is, if the Asian spin-off is anything like its US version, get set for plenty of tears, drama, heart-break and betrayal.

Tasked with the mighty job of whipping the weighty contestants into shape are Malaysia-based Kiwi personal trainer, Dave Nuku, and his Australian counterpart, Kristy Curtis, who themselves were hand-picked for the show.

Don’t be fooled by their sunny, smiling disposition.

When they get down to business, the duo will push aching sinews and tired muscles to breaking point and test the limits of physical and emotional endurance from each of their plus-sized team members.

As “Blue Team” leader, Dave, 30, says, “I’m going to ask that they train hard and never leave anything behind in the gym. That means always aiming for one more rep or set or metre than the day before.”

Dave, who counts having trained the Lord of the Rings movie crew among his career highlights (“Liv Tyler is even more beautiful in person, Orlando Bloom is the coolest laid-back kind of guy and Viggo [Mortensen] is a real down-to-earth, gentleman”), will also engage his team to adopt his philosophy of living right.

“Energy is everything and everything is energy. It’s not just about being fit and strong-looking. You need to transform your life physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually to reach your full potential,” he says.

“Red Team” leader, Kristy, plans to use a different tack.

The 31-year-old Australian-Chinese, who herself battled an eating disorder when she was young, will use her personal experience to connect with her super-sized team.

“You need to find out what motivates them and the emotional issues they may have. I understand what it feels like to have a poor body image and poor self-esteem, and overall, a poor relationship with yourself,” she says.

“These contestants all have struggles and stories to tell and their bodies are testaments to the struggles that they have in their life. I think people will really relate to the stories they tell,” she adds.

Sounds like TV reality heaven to me.

Let the battle begin.

The Biggest Loser Asia premieres on 24 November on Hallmark Channel.
Catch one-hour weekly episodes on Tuesday at 9pm (SG, MY, PH, HK), 8pm (TH, WIB)

*Start sharing your views on the show and health, exercise and living right in the Answers categories of Health, Reality Television today.