Biggest Loser Winners - What They Weigh Now

The Biggest Loser Season 9 is almost upon us. After we all ring in the New Year, Tuesday, January 5 will start another long and winding road of weight loss for a list of all new contestants. For five years, Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper having inspired its obese contestants with tough love. While sometimes it seems like they are a little too rough, Jillian in particular, the end results appear to justify the means.

But, are previous winners keeping the weight off after they leave the confines of the Biggest Loser campus? Let's take a look, obviously with the exception of Danny, the Season 8 winner:

1. Ryan Benson - Season one winner Ryan Benson finished the show at 208 pounds, down 122 pounds from the 330 he started at. That's a stunning 55 percent of body weight lost! But, unfortunately he gained most of the weight back after leaving the ranch.

"Unfortunately, keeping the weight off has been tough for me," Ryan said. "So the biggest way it's changed my life is I feel really guilty for gaining the weight back. I know the show inspires a lot of people, so I don't like being the guy to disappoint."

According to MSNBC, Ryan is now 300 pounds.

2. Matt Hoover - Matt began the second season of The Biggest Loser at 339 pounds, and won at 182 pounds. While he has gained some of his weight back - he's now 237 pounds - he also gained a wife and two children (Season 2 co-contestant Suzy Hoover). This past fall Matt completed the Iron Man challenge in Kona, Hawaii.

3. Erik Chopin - Erik began season three more than the 400-pound mark (407). He went on to win by losing 52 percent of his weight, finishing at 193 pounds. But, when trainer Bob Harper heard that Erik had gained most of his weight back (now about 360), he paid the former contestant a surprise visit. Bob challenged Erik to lose the weight again, and show up for a weigh-in at the end of Season 9. Erik accepted.

4. Bill Germanakos - The winner of season four started his journey at 334 pounds, and won at the svelte weight of 170 pounds. While he is back up some at 207 pounds, he can still be considered a long-term success. Bill now works as a health ambassador attending speaking engagements and leading spinning classes.

5. Ali Vincent - Ali was the first-ever female Biggest Loser. And, she's still making a splash as a fit graduate of the show. Ali started season five at 234 pounds. She won at the weight of 122 pounds, and is now 125 pounds. She's obviously retained an amazing motivation to keep her weight off! This fall she published her first book, "Believe It, Be It."

6. Michelle Aguilar - Michelle's weight is conspicuously absent from the MSNBC report, but by all photographic evidence, she has seemed to stay on top of her weight management. Michele was 242 pounds when she entered the Biggest Loser campus, and left season six at 132 pounds.

7. Helen Phillips - Helen continued the trend of female Biggest Loser winners. She started season seven at 257 pounds, and weighed 117 pounds at the finale. She's currently at a very respectable 135 pounds, looking better than ever.

While many of the former winners have continued to battle with weight after they left the show, all have seemed to have had a positive outcome, since nobody returned to their old weight. And not only has the show made a positive impact on the contestants, but viewers around the world are inspired every week when they see how determined they are to lose weight.

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