Ruben Studdard On The Biggest Loser: American Idol Winner Weighs In At 462 Pounds [VIDEO]; I Need An Angel Singer Made "Sick" By Extreme Diets Before; Does The Biggest Loser Promote Unhealthy Weight Loss Habits?
Ruben Studdard on the Biggest Loser: will he take the $250,000 grand prize?
Ruben Studdard, who was made famous as "The Velvet Teddy Bear" on American Idol, is now competing on the television show The Biggest Loser. Weighing in at 462 pounds, Studdard is ready to compete with the show's other contestants to see who can lose the most weight.
Ruben Studdard told People magazine about his reasons for competing on the Biggest Loser, saying: "I've never had an issue with my weight, [but] my family has a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart-related issues - things I didn't have to deal with yet because I'm young."
"I don't want to be worried at 40, and if I don't fix things now, I will be."
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Studdard has tried to lose weight before, working with trainer Gunnar Peterson in 2006. However, the intense exercise combined with an extremely low level of calories - 1200 - left him feeling sick.
Studdard told People magazine: "I was losing weight, but I was exhausted. It was making me sick."
"I'm a big man. There was no ways to do these workouts on that amount of food, so everything was contradicting itself."
The Biggest Loser has come under fire from fitness experts due to the extreme nature of the weight loss promoted by the TV show. Losing weight as fast as possible can often have deleterious effects, and can predispose people to regain weight.
According to US News and World Report, "Normal, sustainable weight loss is 1 or 2 pounds a week, not the 15 pounds that some contestants drop. The show's cocreator responds that the more substantial weight loss is more compelling and that it's hard for contestants to stay motivated without it. But in the real world, dietitians recommend adopting a food and exercise regimen you can live with for the rest of your life, and slow, steady weight loss powered by nonextreme dieting and exercise is the way to do that."