Exposing Secrets of The Biggest Loser: What Really Happened and Where Are They Now?

Summary

Keeping It Real with Jillian Michaels: Exposing Secrets of The Biggest Loser – What Really Happened and Where Are They Now?

Podcast Information:

• Title: Keeping It Real with Jillian Michaels
• Host/Author: Jillian Michaels & Club Random Studios
• Episode Title: Exposing Secrets of The Biggest Loser: What Really Happened and Where Are They Now?
• Release Date: January 3, 2025

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1. Introduction to the Episode

In this compelling episode of "Keeping It Real with Jillian Michaels," host Jillian Michaels, alongside Club Random Studios, delves deep into the legacy of the iconic reality TV show "The Biggest Loser." The episode aims to uncover the true impact of the show on its contestants over the past two decades, exploring both the transformative successes and the lingering challenges faced by former participants.

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2. Personal Stories from Former Contestants

a. Hannah Curley's Journey

Hannah Curley, a memorable contestant from Season Six, shares her heartfelt experience of competing on "The Biggest Loser." Narrating her initial struggles, Hannah reveals how participating alongside her estranged mother forced them to confront deep-seated familial issues. She recalls:

"I tried to quit the show because it got so real so fast for me, and the reality of how broken I was was more than just weight." [02:48]

Hannah emphasizes the profound bond she developed with her mother through the rigorous and emotional journey, noting how the intense environment catalyzed their reconciliation and personal growth.

b. Michelle Aguilar's Perspective

As the host, Michelle Aguilar provides a critical yet appreciative viewpoint of "The Biggest Loser." She acknowledges the show's shortcomings, such as its game show elements and lack of comprehensive emotional support, but also highlights the significant success rate among contestants she personally coached:

"We've had a 35% success rate with contestants. So, yes, 65% didn't keep the weight off." [05:33]

Michelle argues that while the show had its flaws, it provided a crucial starting point for many participants to embark on their weight loss journeys, stressing the importance of addressing underlying emotional issues for long-term success.

c. Pete Thomas' Insights

Pete Thomas, another former contestant, shares his transformative journey and the lessons learned from "The Biggest Loser." He underscores the importance of self-belief and the continuous battle against weight loss challenges:

"Weight loss is not a straight line; it is difficult, and it's a lifetime commitment." [06:53]

Pete discusses how the show instilled in him a sense of hope and the realization that perseverance is key to overcoming obesity, advocating for a holistic approach that includes mental and emotional well-being.

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3. Criticisms of "The Biggest Loser"

a. Game Show Elements

Michelle Aguilar critiques the gamification aspect of "The Biggest Loser," highlighting how competition and elimination mechanics often undermined the show's supportive environment:

"The elimination component...isn’t real life." [29:56]

She points out that the focus on percentages and weekly eliminations added unnecessary pressure, detracting from the genuine support contestants needed.

b. Lack of Therapeutic Support

Hannah Curley expresses a desire for more comprehensive emotional and psychological support on the show:

"I wish there would have been more counseling opportunities, a little more therapy." [26:45]

She believes that integrating therapeutic sessions could have better addressed the deep-rooted issues contributing to participants' weight gain, fostering more sustainable outcomes.

c. Impact of Competition and Elimination

The competitive nature of the show often led to strained relationships among contestants and trainers. Michelle recalls:

"The show was designed to make people fight, including the trainers." [28:14]

This adversarial environment sometimes exacerbated contestants' emotional struggles, making it harder for them to maintain their weight loss post-show.

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4. Successes and Long-term Management

Despite the criticisms, several contestants have achieved lasting success by addressing both physical and emotional aspects of weight loss. Hannah Curley shares her strategy of viewing the scale as a tool rather than a measure of self-worth:

"The scale is a tool. It’s not what defines who I am." [13:13]

Pete Thomas emphasizes the importance of setting realistic goals and developing an exit strategy to maintain weight loss beyond the show:

"You have to think of your exit strategy in the sense that everything that you are consuming and learning is for when you get to maintenance." [78:24]

Both Hannah and Pete highlight the significance of continuous self-investment, emotional resilience, and building a supportive community to sustain their transformations.

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5. Advice for Listeners

The episode offers valuable insights and actionable advice for individuals embarking on their own weight loss journeys:

a. Importance of Emotional Support

Jillian Michaels stresses the need for emotional assistance alongside physical training:

"You need to get emotional help because having weight on your body is also an emotional symptom of trauma." [44:41]

b. Building Sustainable Habits

Michelle encourages listeners to develop manageable habits rather than seeking quick fixes:

"You don't have to start going 100 miles an hour. Start with cleaning out your pantry or taking a walk." [44:50]

c. Finding Personal Motivation

Hannah Curley advises individuals to identify their "why" to stay motivated:

"What is your why? What are you wanting to do that you can’t do today?" [42:50]

She suggests setting non-scale victories to maintain motivation even when the scale isn't moving.

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6. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The episode concludes with a poignant discussion on the enduring impact of "The Biggest Loser," both positive and negative. Jillian Michaels reflects on the show's ability to inspire and transform lives, while acknowledging the need for improvement in its approach to emotional and psychological support.

Michelle Aguilar articulates the ongoing challenge of countering negative narratives about the show, emphasizing that despite its imperfections, "The Biggest Loser" provided a vital platform for change:

"It can be done. The part that disturbs me is the dialogue that...you'll never break free from it." [54:32]

Hannah Curley laments the fading of the show's inspirational legacy, advocating for continued dialogue and support for those struggling with obesity.

Key Takeaways:

• Holistic Approach: Sustainable weight loss requires addressing both physical and emotional factors.
• Support Systems: Emotional support, whether through therapy or community, is crucial for long-term success.
• Personal Motivation: Identifying personal motivations and setting achievable goals helps maintain progress.
• Critique and Improvement: While reality shows like "The Biggest Loser" can inspire, they must evolve to provide comprehensive support to participants.

Overall, this episode serves as a powerful testament to the complex journey of weight loss and personal transformation, offering hope and practical advice to listeners navigating their own paths to wellness.

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Notable Quotes:

• "I tried to quit the show because it got so real so fast for me, and the reality of how broken I was was more than just weight." – Hannah Curley [02:48]
• "We've had a 35% success rate with contestants. So, yes, 65% didn't keep the weight off." – Michelle Aguilar [05:33]
• "Weight loss is not a straight line; it is difficult, and it's a lifetime commitment." – Pete Thomas [06:53]
• "The scale is a tool. It’s not what defines who I am." – Hannah Curley [13:13]
• "You need to get emotional help because having weight on your body is also an emotional symptom of trauma." – Jillian Michaels [44:41]
• "You don't have to start going 100 miles an hour. Start with cleaning out your pantry or taking a walk." – Jillian Michaels [44:50]
• "What is your why? What are you wanting to do that you can’t do today?" – Hannah Curley [42:50]
• "It can be done. The part that disturbs me is the dialogue that...you'll never break free from it." – Michelle Aguilar [54:32]

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Final Thoughts:

"Keeping It Real with Jillian Michaels" offers an unflinching exploration of "The Biggest Loser," presenting a balanced view that honors the achievements of its contestants while candidly addressing the show's inherent flaws. Through personal narratives and expert insights, the episode underscores the multifaceted nature of weight loss and personal growth, providing listeners with both inspiration and practical guidance for their own wellness journeys.

Transcript

[Jillian Michaels]

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[Hannah Curley]

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[Hannah Curley]

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[Hannah Curley]

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[Michelle Aguilar]

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[Hannah Curley]

Get in there. Dennis. Stop.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And I am sick and tired of seeing the incredible transformations my contestants. I'll speak for myself, my contestants went through and all the good they continue to do in the world, paying it forward.

[Pete Thomas]

There is victory for everyone out there, not just people that go on a reality show and stand under a confetti.

[Michelle Aguilar]

So today you're going to see some of these success stories. You're going to hear from some of your favorite contestants, what they went through on the show, their criticisms of the show. What they loved about the show.

[Jillian Michaels]

I was prepared to know that this was gonna be a battle.

[Hannah Curley]

I tried to quit the show. I tried to leave because it got so real so fast for me, and the reality of how broken I was and that it was more than just weight.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And most importantly, how they have kept the weight off, what it took to lose it and what it took to stay the course. I cannot wait. Let's get into it. Keeping it real with Jillian Michaels.

[Hannah Curley]

Keeping it real. Real, real.

[Michelle Aguilar]

State your name.

[Hannah Curley]

State my name. Michelle.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Wrong.

[Hannah Curley]

No. Okay.

[Michelle Aguilar]

You don't remember your name?

[Hannah Curley]

No. I was five.

[Pete Thomas]

You were five?

[Hannah Curley]

I was five.

[Michelle Aguilar]

You were five.

[Hannah Curley]

I mean, you yelled six for a long time.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I did.

[Hannah Curley]

And I was very confused. And then you yelled at me. You're like, get over here. And I'm like, but I'm five. I was five.

[Michelle Aguilar]

That's right. Oh, my gosh, mom, what is your real name?

[Hannah Curley]

Okay. Michelle Aguilar Whitehead. Married now. Which is kind of crazy, but, yeah.

[Michelle Aguilar]

For people just tuning in, Michelle was the winner of biggest loser season.

[Hannah Curley]

Season six.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Six.

[Hannah Curley]

Yeah.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Wow.

[Hannah Curley]

Believe it feels like a lifetime ago.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It was a lifetime ago. It was how many years ago?

[Hannah Curley]

We're now. I mean, over 15 years now, which is crazy to me that it's been that long. Cause there are times where it feels like it was yesterday, and then it feels like that was a whole other life that I lived and experienced and lived through. It's just wild. But then something will happen or I'll hear something or see something, and it' take me right back as though it was yesterday.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Right. You came with your mom.

[Hannah Curley]

I did. We were on the family edition. So it was my mom and I, and we were going through a lot during that time. We had been estranged for a number of years prior to going there. And so kind of being thrown into this environment where we were together 24 7, nonstop. And then there's the addition of all the. The camera part of it. And then just the physical nature of Was a lot. It was really intense. And I mean, what an experience. And then to be able to do it with my mom. And now, so many years later, people ask me all the time, like, how are you and your mom? You know, is everything okay? And I'm like, yes, actually. I personally believe, you know, because of the show that we have a better relationship because we spent so much time together kind of in the nitty gritty of life, that it really forced us to kind of work through so many things at a pace that probably most people don't get to deal with if you're having a difficult relationship or difficult friendship or whether it be a family issue or a friend issue, when you're together for all day, every day, for months on end, I mean, you really have to confront all those thoughts and all those feelings every single day.

[Michelle Aguilar]

That makes me want to ask you this question, because I have just my standard questions I want to ask you guys, and we'll let it all flow. But we've all seen contestants come out of the woodwork and bash the show. I gave my weight back. It was the end of the world. And I'm constantly out there saying, hold on a second. We've had a 35% success rate with contestants. So, yes, 65% didn't keep the weight off. But first of all, some were there for a week, maybe two, maybe three. Okay. Second of all, there's deeper issues that didn't get resolved, unfortunately. It was a game show. It had its good parts, it had its bad parts. But a 35% success rate is massive. Most people lose weight, and 95% of them gain it back. And one of the key reasons is because the issues that brought them to Biggest loser in the first place, that caused them to gain weight in the first place, didn't get resolved on a game show. So I can help you guys learn calories in, calories out, build the confidence to do it. But ultimately, if those things don't get resolved, just like everybody else who gains weight, loses weight, gains weight, loses weight, the demons are not dealt with. Do you think that having your mom there is part of the reason you've continued to do so well, because you were able to work through some of those historical demons?

[Hannah Curley]

Well, you know, I think that for me, being on the show with my mom was such a needed thing. I was at a place in my life, and I think at 26 years old, I think is when I started the show.

[Michelle Aguilar]

My gosh, Michelle.

[Hannah Curley]

26, just a little kid.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Okay, keep going.

[Hannah Curley]

Let's not tell her age. But at 26, when I looked at the opportunity to go on a show like the, there was this, like, hope of if I go on there, something will change. Yes, weight will change. But I feel like there's more to it, because when I would watch, as a. As a fan of the show, the inspiration and the motivation that you get because you connect with someone or you connect with their story was as appealing as the weight loss. And if I'm being perfectly honest, this probably. You know, you're gonna probably laugh, but I never Thought I could win the show. And you probably are like, yes, I know, Michelle. Like, I was like, the most reluctant winner of all time. Cause I was like, I had no desire. I was not interested in that part of it. I was like, I just want to go, let's lose, like, £50. I want to make it to a makeover, get my hair done, maybe a new dress. And that would have been good for me. I would have been great with that. And let me tell you, when I walked through the doors of the Biggest Loser and realized that my mom and I were on the family edition and that there wasn't going to be a lot of places to hide, if I'm being perfectly honest, I panicked. I was like, hold on, wait a minute. I thought maybe I could, you know, lay low over here and maybe we wouldn't have to deal with our issues. Maybe I could just kind of fly under the radar, make some other friends. I mean, surely we're not going to be a team in that sense. Or, you know, we could make friends with other teams. But would other parents and children and then other husbands and wives that were there? All these people had these built in teammates, and yet my mom and I were the only two with such an estranged relationship that it was so difficult. And quite frankly, most people don't remember, I feel like, because this end of the story is so good. But I tried to quit the show. I tried to leave because it got so real so fast for me, and the reality of how broken I was, and that it was more than just weight. It was more than skin deep. It was more than what the scale said. But that my little life was falling. I felt like I couldn't get ahold of it. And so to see something like a TV show and, you know, I'm gonna go there, and that's gonna be what fixes it. The fact that I even had that thought makes me laugh. But for me then to go and then to feel all those feelings. And I remember telling my mom, I was like, you're gonna have to go tell Jillian. Like, you owe me. Like, I pretty much told her she owed me. I'm like, I'm gonna go hide in the bathroom, and I need you to go tell Gillian I'm gonna quit the show, and then she can come find me in the bathroom. And I thought I was just like. I remember being in. Oh, we're gonna hear her. I'm gonna hear her just start screaming, and I'm gonna be in so much trouble. I was terrified, but I was like, mom, you have to do this for me. Like, you owe me. Like, this is what you have to do. And I'll never forget when you walked in and I was there in the bathroom. And you're like, what is wrong? What's the matter? And, Jillian, let me tell you, you were so kind and you were so gracious and you were so patient. I know. I don't wanna ruin your reputation, but you were so. I mean, just. It was everything I wasn't expecting, but it was everything that I needed at that time of my life. Like, I was like. I felt like everyone, you know, that they were gonna quit on me if I didn't do and didn't live a certain way. That, like, this doormat lifestyle I was living. Like, I needed to please everyone. And then you came along and you were like, I'm gonna be here for you. I don't want you to quit. I don't want you to give up. I don't want you to fall apart. We can work on these things. And I was like, but I don't want to. You know, and it's television. And it took about a week. And, you know, I had kind of a come to Jesus about it on an internal level and really just kind of said, okay, God, if this is where you want me, I'll do it. Cause at one point you were like, I think your God wants you to be here. And I was like, whoa, whoa, don't use them against me. Hold on. And I was like, I do remember that. God, could you really use a show like this? Could you really use this environment? Is this really a safe place to fall apart and to be broken? Can I trust my trainer, my coach? Can I really trust that when she says she's gonna be here for me, that she is? And let me tell without a doubt, without a doubt, you were 100%, every bit of what I needed in my life for all that time. And I'm forever grateful because my life was different after that. The way that I viewed trusting people was different after that. There was my life before the Biggest Loser and my life since. And I don't think that I would have become the person I am had I not experienced all those things and worked on so many issues that had nothing to do with the scale.

[Michelle Aguilar]

You bring up the most important point that I've been trying to make for decades as the show has come under criticism. And listen, I was the first one to critique the show. We all know this. I was not a producer. I hated the Temptations. I didn't like the gamification. But I was just some trainer that got plucked and I made the best out of it. I am very aware it had its limitations. However, there is a classic horse to water analogy here. Not to say my contestants were horses, but the point is that the opportunity's there and we can take you to it. It's not going to be perfect, but what you make of it is up to you. Because I'm the same trainer and still 65% of the people I worked with, I can't speak for the other trainers, I can only speak for the people I worked with and probably 65% of them did not make it. Because as I've steel manned myself in these arguments where the show constantly comes under fire, it's like, well, there's Julie Hatton and there's Tara Costa and there's Seth and there's this, and there's this and there's this. It's probably around that number. That's where I kind of came up with 35% win, 65% fell backwards. So it isn't me, babe. And that's really what I'm hoping you can impart to everybody listening. Biggest Loser. No, Biggest Loser. Right. Whatever opportunity presents itself to you, how do you make the most of it, do you think?

[Hannah Curley]

Well, and I would tell you that over these last 15 plus years, I will say that I've still gained and lost, gained and lost, gained and lost. But I look at it now as the scale isn't what defines who I am. The scale is a tool. And that is great. And so I'm a numbers person. I like to get on the scale. I'm one of those every day I'm going to weigh myself, I'm going to know where I'm at every day. And I also, I'm old school, so I write it down, but I make notes about, like, what's going on in my life. Are there things that have kind of shifted in my life? You know, becoming a mom, I mean, that is physically life changing, not to mention emotionally and spiritually life changing. But, you know, there's definitely been seasons where I have put myself back on the back burner in these last 15 years. But it's when I go to start again or I go to refocus or to reprioritize my health because I look at my children and say I need to be better for them. I need to make sure that I'm the mom that they need today so that I show up for them in a healthy and positive way. And When I think back to the lessons that were learned there, one of the things you would tell us all the time is, I can't do it for you. I can't want this for you. You know, like, I reluctant to be there and reluctant to make it to the end. And you were like, michelle, you've got to want this for you. And those are the words and those are the phrases, and those are the things that I keep with me. It's not a certain exercise, it's not a certain amount of steps. It's not however many calories are you eating. It's, michelle, do you want this for you? Do you want to see your life better because you are capable, you are more than able. And that encouragement back then. And when I look back, all of us can look back on our lives and see where we worked hard and we were able to come through a difficult situation. At least I hope for most people that they can. For me, some of those times we're on television and there's, you know, video evidence of it. But I'm often reminded, you know, that, you know, I'm much stronger than I give myself credit for, and so many of us are. If we would just focus on that part of ourselves, that hopeful part that says, I can do it. If that person can do it, I can do it. And I think the biggest Loser in general was something that I felt gave hope to people because they saw inspiration. I mean, my even wanting to be on the show was another co worker of mine saying she was applying. And I thought, well, if she's gonna apply, then maybe I could do it. I mean, if she's gonna, if she's willing to do it, maybe I should be willing to do it. And so much of it is the conversations that we have in our head and the things that we think about ourselves and whether or not we think we can do it makes all the difference. And I think that was a key element to being on the show and to learning and growing. And it' that I now teach my children. I'm like, well, of course you can do it. You're learning. Or this is the first time you've done that. It's okay if you make a mistake, but you've got to keep getting back up every day and doing it. And those lessons, I mean, there was plenty of times where you're like, michelle, if it was just about weight, if I could just help you to get thin and we didn't have to deal with all of the nitty gritty, then I would do It. But the reality is they go hand in hand. You can't take one away from the other. She's like, because you will just be a mess. Is those are the things that I hear. Those are the things I remember. Is that Michelle, you have to deal with the fact that you are upset or there is something going on. And so you can't leave that alone and still think you're going to physically see different results in the end.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Oh, my God. As you're talking, I really feel the gravity of my age. And I say that simply because those were things that were said to me when I was a kid in martial arts. Then I went on to say them to you guys. It's like if you picked up what I laid down, you did. And I remember my martial arts instructor saying that to me. You can pick up what I'm laying down or not. It falls on your shoulders and you gotta make that choice for yourself. And now you're saying it to your kids and it's passing that down. You know, we talk about multi generational trauma of your parents or hurt people. Hurt people. But at the same time helped people help people.

[Hannah Curley]

That's right.

[Michelle Aguilar]

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[Hannah Curley]

I can look back in my life and I know that food has always been there. Food has been a part of celebrations. Food's a part of, you know, birthday parties and gatherings, coming from a big family like you get together for a dinner or something. And so initially, I think it starts off in a very healthy and positive celebratory way. But the things that you love in those moments when you are sad and depressed and hurting, you want that Feeling again, you want something that is comforting. So when people say comfort food, for me, it became that. It became something that I just don't want to be left alone with my thoughts. And so if I'm doing something else, if I'm keeping myself busy, then I will do. I'll turn to a snack or I'm not mindful of it. And I, for most of it, is probably just a mindfulness that it just wasn't that big of a deal or it wasn't a huge issue. And then it began to snowball. As you get older and as your, you know, your lifestyle begins to change, you go from an active kid to then a teenager who maybe has different interests. And then as you become an adult and we become sedentary, if those things are not ingrained in you or you're not, you know, disciplined in that physical nature already, I've. I've never been somebody who enjoys sweating, ever. I have no desire to do it today. If it's hot outside, I'm like, that's a pass for me. I'd rather be someplace, you know, with a nice, cool breeze. And so I wasn't an athlete before the show, and I'm, you know, to no one's surprise, I'm not an athlete today, but I recognize that.

[Jillian Michaels]

Me either.

[Hannah Curley]

Dude, there's things I need to do in order to stay healthy. You know, these hands, they're not just, you know, like. Or my arms. Like, I don't just need them to be toned. To be toned, but, you know, when my kids were little, these arms need to be able to pick up your kids. You have to be able to hug your friends and hold your friends and pull them along with you. Like, the bodies we have are a gift. And every single day with them, you know, we have a choice.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Okay, let's have a little fun with this. Worst moment with me.

[Hannah Curley]

Gosh. Worst moment with you. Oh, there's so many. Don't just.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I know, I know.

[Hannah Curley]

I don't know. I mean, I remember, okay, there was a moment where I wanted to confront you. So we had gotten past and we had built some trust in the. Michelle's quitting, Michelle's leaving. And you had really proven yourself to be this just amazing person to me. But then I remember you would yell at me all the time when we would do these workouts and when the cameras were around and I was.

[Michelle Aguilar]

For me, I was like, in all transparency, the screaming of the last chance workout was totally staged. However, when I would scream for real, you would know it. And I absolutely would. There'd be a bag of tools, and I would try different ones. If I felt some resistance, I would try this one. I'd try that one. I'd try this one. And when it didn't work, I would get out the sledgehammer.

[Hannah Curley]

Oh, my gosh.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And you guys would get pounded.

[Hannah Curley]

Oh. And well.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And so.

[Hannah Curley]

And I would just. I remember thinking, like, this is not. I don't like this. I don't like the way it makes me feel. And people ask me all the time, like, you know, is Jillian really as mean as you sing? And I'm like, guys, she is terrifying when she's yelling in your face. And they're like, oh, I just. I would love it if she yelled at me. I'm like, I promise you, it's not that much fun. I go. And so I finally reached a point where I was like, I'm gonna talk to her mom. But I had been so upset because, you know, I'm not a confrontational person. I'm like, I'll just let it go. It'll be fine. And I was like, no, I need to do this. And I remember I'd been kind of crying about it, and so it shows on my face. If I cry for one minute or ten, it shows on my face. And I remember I kind of came up to you, and I was just like. And you're like, what? And we had finished working out and all the things, and. And you're like, what? What is it? And I was like, I don't want you to yell at me anymore. And you're like, okay, okay. And then you're like, what's wrong with your face? And I was like, what's wrong with my face? Like, have you been crying about it? I'm like. I go. I just. I just wanted to tell you.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And you're like, okay.

[Hannah Curley]

And from there on, it was so different. Like, I. But I also watched you not only say yes in that moment, but then every moment after that, every opportunity where you could have yelled or you could have gotten upset, you didn't. And when we would do last chance workouts after that, you would come to me like, okay, just so you know. I'm like, I know. I know. And I think probably half of those after that point, I'm probably, like, looking like I'm upset, but I'm probably keeping from laughing because it was so funny. Like, you're like, I'm gonna yell at you. I'm like, okay, it's gonna be fine.

[Michelle Aguilar]

God, you know what? Here's I remember that, actually, now that you bring it up very clearly, because the goal was for you to take a stand, and you did.

[Hannah Curley]

Right.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And then I was gonna reward that.

[Jillian Michaels]

Right.

[Michelle Aguilar]

So it took a lot of courage. You stepped up to the plate, you defended yourself. You spoke your truth. And you're like, I hate when you yell at me. And I was like, all right. And then the key was to make sure that that effort was rewarded, to reinforce it.

[Hannah Curley]

Right.

[Michelle Aguilar]

But it depended on the contestant, you know, when that technique was used. The worst one, I think, ever, I'll never forget, was Shay, and I think that was season seven. And for anybody who's familiar with the show, Shea was the biggest female ever on the show. Like 500, right around 500 pounds. And I could not even get her to get on the step mill for 15 seconds. And it was week one. And the percentages were against her. Cause it's a percentage of body weight. And, man, I almost threw her through a wall. It was the end of that first day, and, you know, Bob wanted to run in and, like, virtue signal. And I tossed that woman through the wall, and I was like, I swear to God, I will kill you. But she ended up doing it, and she, you know, the next morning, she's like, I want you to know, I got back on the stairs that night, and I, you know, I did 10 more. However, like I said, it doesn't always work out. I wasn't the right trainer for everybody. A percentage of people did not succeed, and the show was imperfect. So let's dig into that as well. I want to know, looking back, because I could easily outline the things I didn't like about it.

[Hannah Curley]

Right.

[Michelle Aguilar]

For you, what do you wish had been different about the show?

[Hannah Curley]

One of the things I feel like that would have probably been helpful, even for my mom and I, and our relationship is probably more of a Counseling opportunities, a little more therapy, a little bit more just commonality. I think that you can kind of get separated into your teams and your trainer and things like that, and I wish there would have been a little more. Let's come together. Because what I have learned in talking to the hundreds and thousands of people that I've been so blessed to meet through the years for various reasons, is that we're more alike than we are different. And the things that, you know, make us more relatable are what connects us. And when you realize that you're not the only one going through something, you know, it's like, I have that same thought, and you do, too. Like it makes it so much less scary and so much less intimidating. And so even as two teams go, I wish there would have been more opportunity to really come together and say, how did you get here? What are you going through? Oh, you think that same way too? And I think it would have just even given us just maybe more compassion amongst each other. Not that there weren't designed that way.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It was a reality TV show.

[Hannah Curley]

But I wish there would have been.

[Michelle Aguilar]

You guys did amazing in spite of it. And you're 100% right. And that's why they wrap so much recovery around Community. It's a massive tool.

[Hannah Curley]

Absolutely.

[Michelle Aguilar]

You're spot on. I mean, aa, you have a sponsor, you have a Community oa. Same concept. And it again, the show was designed to be a game show.

[Hannah Curley]

Absolutely.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It was meant to first, it was without question, it was meant to embarrass people who were overweight. The Biggest Loser. And I remember having arguments with the network and the producers. I said no one about the name. And they were like, who the fuck are you? You're nobody. You're like a 30 year old trainer. Get out of here.

[Hannah Curley]

Right.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And I remember flipping over. This is before you. I think I had gotten rid of most of those temptations by the time you came along, but I can't recall. And they brought them back later. Right. When I ended up leaving the show. Okay. But they wanted those temptations there to fuck with people. That's why they were there. And I would like spit in them and flip them over. I mean, I was 30. It was quite some time ago. And I'll never forget that one of the producers who was gone by the time you got there, came out of the control room and he's like, you're never gonna work again. And I remember saying to him, gonna call like every soccer mom in Los Angeles. What are you gonna do? God. I had a really intense, cantankerous relationship with production and the network for a long time for a lot of reasons. That was also a huge issue. And the show was designed to make people fight. Including the trainers. Including the trainers. To pit us against each other. And Bob and I fought to work as a team. I think we got there right around season seven. And that was when the show ironically did its absolute best.

[Hannah Curley]

Wow.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Is when we were allowed to work as a team. And another massive shortfall, unfortunately, twofold, was the elimination component. But it's a game show, so what do you do? There's no stakes, right?

[Hannah Curley]

Yeah.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And like, who gets eliminated when they're working their ass off it's like, oh, you're working the hardest. You're gone.

[Hannah Curley]

Yeah.

[Michelle Aguilar]

That's not real life.

[Hannah Curley]

Yeah. Your body didn't respond today. Right.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Sorry. You worked so hard that you held some water. You're out of here because you're the biggest. And conversely, the other part, it's like the cash prize. I don't know if that was the best, but again, who am I to, you know, the gamification piece, it should be enough. The long term part. And those would be my top issues. But this is where I say there was more good than bad. And everybody here today is proof of that.

[Hannah Curley]

That's right.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Which leads me to bring in another contestant from another season. Next up, Hannah Curley.

[Hannah Curley]

Did you ever meet Hannah? I have never met Hannah in person, so this is gonna be great.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Get excited.

[Hannah Curley]

Okay.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Hannah.

[Jillian Michaels]

Oh, my gosh.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Hello.

[Hannah Curley]

Hi, Hannah.

[Jillian Michaels]

Hi.

[Michelle Aguilar]

You've never met Michelle?

[Jillian Michaels]

Never.

[Hannah Curley]

We've never met. I was on season six. And so I think as the years kind of kept going, you know, I came back less and less, you know, but it's so good to see.

[Jillian Michaels]

We talked about you. We've heard about you, of course.

[Hannah Curley]

Oh, that terrifies me.

[Michelle Aguilar]

So, Hannah, what season was yours? I don't even remember.

[Jillian Michaels]

So I was season 11.

[Hannah Curley]

Oh, my gosh.

[E]

Wow.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Wow. And I just had a beat on. Oh, wait, that was me and Bob, right? Together.

[Jillian Michaels]

Yes. And against Brett and Cara.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Oh, my God. Oh, God, you guys got such a tough season. I feel so bad for you.

[Pete Thomas]

I don't, I don't.

[Jillian Michaels]

I disagree.

[Pete Thomas]

Really?

[Michelle Aguilar]

It was correct?

[Jillian Michaels]

Yes, absolutely.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Oh, my goodness. Okay, this is bizarre. Simply because it's like having children from different marriages and they've never met.

[Jillian Michaels]

Right.

[Hannah Curley]

Okay, sweetheart, first of all, catch everybody up. How many kids do you have?

[Jillian Michaels]

Now?

[Michelle Aguilar]

This is another thing. Like, these were single girls when. When I met these two. Like single and carefree now, like married babies. Share. Swap mommy stories here.

[Jillian Michaels]

Yes. So I'm 45, and when I met Jillian, obviously I was swinging single, flirting with all the production. All the production guys, you know, shamelessly. But I have two kids. I have an eight year old and a new baby actually that I had this year. And so, yeah, none of that would have ever happened if I wouldn't have done the show, which is incredible that we're able to have babies in our mid-40s.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Right.

[Jillian Michaels]

So. And I'm married to a 25 year personal trainer, which is crazy.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I don't think it is crazy though, because you. You sought out people who were like minded after leaving the show. Which I think is really important in being successful. And one of things that I would always note as part of the problem, and I've often wondered. I swear to God, guys, I don't know how to find him. But Austin and Ken. Austin was not on your season, was he, mama? He wasn't, right?

[Jillian Michaels]

No, he was. He was.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Okay, but he was. Wasn't he on the other team?

[Jillian Michaels]

He was on the other team until the end, remember? And he was in the final five.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Okay.

[Jillian Michaels]

So you. You worked with him towards the end.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I remember working with him, and I remember he had done so well. Right. And I remember the story, and I tell it all the time about how you guys went home for the holidays. But we would just pretend like I don't know. Cause nobody knew what time of the year it was when we were taping. You would go home and see your family and whatever. I can't remember the excuse we made up to the audience. Nevertheless, he goes home and he and his dad, Ken, see his mom, and she starts sobbing. And they weren't tears of joy. She was really threatened by the fact that they had both lost so much weight. And she became depressed and she emotionally withdrew. And he not only stopped losing weight while he was at home, but I think he put on something like five or seven pounds. Remember that, Hannah?

[Jillian Michaels]

I did. Yes.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Okay. And when I sat down with him and I was like, walk me through it. And I was a complete bitch about it, as always. You know, I was like, what happened? Don't tell me it's. Cause you couldn't find food at the airport. Like, dug into his head. It was obviously this primal connection with his mom, who had withdrawn after seeing how much weight he'd lost and feeling like they broke the contract. We were all doing this together. You broke the contract. And in fact, it's. One of the top reasons people cite for giving up on a weight loss regimen is that the husband or the friends or the family are not on board. And not maliciously, but unconsciously, out of their own insecurities, they sabotage it. But you did the opposite, Hannah. So tell me about when you left the show. What happened for you?

[Jillian Michaels]

So when I left the show, and you've had so many moments with contestants, but you gave me a piece of advice that I literally. I know you're probably nervous that I. I repeat to myself every. I repeat to myself every day it has carried me so far is one of the things you said in the beginning to me and in the end is you said, when are you gonna stop Breaking promises that you make to yourself. And I had realized that I promised myself so many times I was gonna do this, I was gonna lose weight, I was gonna go farther in my career, I was gonna make more money. And I was always breaking those promises. So when I left the show, my first goal was, you have to make some promises that you're gonna keep. And we knew that keeping the weight off was gonna be hard. I felt completely prepared. We talked about going home every day. We talked about this on the, I'm sure Michelle, you guys did too. We talked about. So has it been hard? Of course you have children, you're a female, you have hormones. But I really did feel prepared to fight a battle. And so every day I wake up, you know, I, I do a lot of the same things we do. I'm obviously, I still, I'm a food logger. And I know some people think that's crazy that I've done that for so many years. But I, I, I write on like a piece of paper. I like to see what my day looks like. I, I eat normal everyday food. I don't cut out any food groups. I work out five days a week. I mean, I just do a lot of the things that we were taught to do. Now this has been hard, having two children at an older age going through, I think that that's been the hardest thing for me is going through like, you know, postpartum and then into pre menopause has been also. But I mean, not to toot my horn, but I'm really proud of what I've been able to do. I'm proud of where my body is. My body has worked so hard and I think I've, I've kind of gotten to another place of. It's not so much about, it was so much about vanity in the beginning. Like we're getting in jeans, we're getting in bathing suits. Like all these things are happening. But it's become more about how strong can I get, how long can I live? I'm an older Mom, I'm 45. I have a baby, right? Like I gotta, I'm gonna be at the high school graduation with the oxygen tank. Like I'm older so like I have to keep this really going. It's true. I cannot, Yeah, I can't be the oldie Goldie at all of my kids events. You know, I live in the South. A lot of the parents are 20.

[Hannah Curley]

You know what I mean? I was trying to explain this to Jill earlier. I was like, I feel like I'm the oldest mom with a first gr. I go, I look around, and none of the other moms. I live in Texas. And so I'm like, none of the other moms are my age. They're all much older than me. I feel very old walking in with my, you know, first grader, like, hi. You know.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Really?

[Hannah Curley]

Absolutely. In the South? Yes. Yes.

[Jillian Michaels]

Yeah. Wow.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Okay.

[Pete Thomas]

For sure.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Well, I think you guys are great. All right, keep going, Keep going.

[Hannah Curley]

Keep telling me.

[Jillian Michaels]

I think, you know, and I think also when I first got off the show, I mean, Gillian knows this, but. But I had never seen an episode. I had never seen an episode of the show before. I think I was kind of in the minority. I mean, Jillian will tell you I fainted before the cameras even came on. I was like, we're gonna have to do what. We're gonna have to wear what I didn't know about taking your shirt off. I mean, there was a lot of things happening on that night. 1. And I probably, to be honest, would have said no if I knew. I mean, now, like, looking back, I would say yes a hundred times. That this being on the show and doing what we did and getting all the help that I really needed. I mean, Jillian. I mean, I was clinically depressed, had no idea. Completely anxious, a ball of stress. And, you know, I took everything that they gave me. I took advantage of every opportunity. I met with a therapist. Of course, I had extra time with Jillian, Bob, because we went far, which was great. And I just have input all the things that I felt like I've learned. And I've also learned more about my specific body, which was something you encouraged us to do. And so I've spent the last. Last 13 years in research, and I. You know, I. I didn't think I was going to change my whole career into the weight loss industry, because the weight loss industry is tough. But that's kind of where we ended up, or I ended up after the show. And so, you know, being able to help other people is great, but being able to help yourself is even better. And so my husband has his own business, of course, and. But I also work with people that are morbidly obese. And right now, we are in a major crisis, obviously, in the United States, of course, and it keeps me accountable and keeps me going, and I just work really hard. And, you know, I'm. Like I said, there's ups and downs with anyone that's lost £100 or more. We know that. But I do feel like I was prepared to know that this was going to be a battle. And so I just pick up my sword and my armor every day. And some days I win, some days I don't. But I just do all the things, probably just like Michelle does. You know, you think about companies with.

[Michelle Aguilar]

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[Jillian Michaels]

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[Hannah Curley]

That's so good. And I feel like, you know, I was telling Jill this too, especially as women, our bodies go through so much. And so, yes, these young 20something girls leaving the show, you know, there was still so much life left to live and there's still so many things to experience. And the vanity things that were a success in those early years don't motivate you the same when you're, you know, trying to take off baby weight or you are dealing with postpartum or you've got, you know, new anxieties now that you have children. I mean, I know for me that was a huge thing. Just, you know, now I've got other people that are counting on me and they're looking to me to you know, help, you know, them grow up and to learn things. And so, you know, we really do. Our bodies go through so much, and I think people oftentimes think, well, it's either a pass, fail, but really, it's like, you've gotta stay in the game. You've got. I love that you still write it down. I told Jill, I write my weight down every single day. I like to, you know, pen and paper it, I wanna see it, I wanna go back, and I need to touch it and feel it because it holds me accountable. And, you know, it's those little things, it's those little that are done over time that are habits that I think are what give a long. The longevity of success and that keep your mindset of, you know, a bad day doesn't have to be a bad week or a bad month or a bad decade. You know, you can have a bad day and you can pick up and you can move forward.

[Michelle Aguilar]

You guys are talking about combating this on several different fronts. One, behavioral, which, you know, bct, Behavioral cognitive therapy. I've often referred to it as like a band aid in that, you know, you remove the bad flu, you get on the scale, you track your weight, you change the habits. That does go a long way. Where it will fail you is if you still refuse to do the deeper work. And each and every one of you had a story, a story that was relatable to the tens of millions of people around the world that watched the show. And each and every one of you who kept it off did the deeper work. And then to take it a step further, many of you became coaches, wellness experts, went into the world and paid it forward, which is exactly my story. I was the overweight kid. I had a martial arts teacher. He helped me. I went into the world, I said, okay, guys, these are the tools. You guys went into the world, paid it forward. But for everybody listening, you have to attack this on multiple fronts. You've got to get real. You got to deal with your shit, no matter how you need to do it. Whether it's a community, whether it's a therapist, you gotta remove the negative influences in your life, surround yourself. You married a personal trainer. Micah couldn't be more loving and supportive. You're gonna hear those themes. People divorcing from bad marriages, abusive relationships, and then tackling it in a very everyday, real way of removing bad food from the environment, getting on the scale, staying accountable. Hannah, to the people watching this right now who are struggling with that first step, actually, what best advice, speak to Them right now. H, you go first. Five, you go next.

[Jillian Michaels]

Well, number one, you need to get emotional help, because having weight on your body is also an emotional symptom of trauma, and we all know that you have to get that emotional help.

[Hannah Curley]

B.

[Jillian Michaels]

This is kind of controversial. A lot of coaches don't agree with this, but you don't have to start going 100 miles an hour. We know that's not gonna last. Our situation was very different. But can't you just start with cleaning out your pantry? Can't you start with taking a walk? Like, I always tell people all the time, you don't have to run a marathon your first month of losing weight. Like, that's because they're intimidated.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It's overwhelming.

[Jillian Michaels]

They're so intimidated. And I also want to say everybody's weight loss looks different. You cannot compare your weight loss to someone you see on Instagram or someone that you see on tv. You have to take your own journey, and you have to take responsibility for that. That.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Not only that, take credit for when the scale stays put for holding ground. People don't understand that they were gradually putting it on. So the fact that they're not able to work out four hours a day and have somebody pick out their calories meticulously and lose five, six, seven pounds a week, if you hold your ground, that means you've made massive changes, because you're not putting on two pounds a month, 24 pounds a year, 50 pounds in two years. Even if it's a pound a month, guys, 100 extra calories a day is roughly a pound a month, 12 pounds a year, two years. We're 25 pounds in.

[Hannah Curley]

Right?

[Michelle Aguilar]

I mean, it's like, perspective is key. Mish.

[Hannah Curley]

Okay. So, you know, I think for me, I would say to someone, because I think I've been just really blessed to meet so many people who have watched the show, and many of them, I will be honest with you, have never struggled with weight, and I find that to be absolutely fascinating. But when you say, you know, they related to the stories and our lives and the things about us, like, I am blown away by that. And so I feel like it is equally as important if you're struggling with weight and you're looking for where to start. Yes. Like, you've got to start moving. You've got to start doing those things. But I also need people to look at, like, well, what is your why? Like, why would you want to make a change? What is it you're wanting to do that you can't do today or that you think you can't do today. Because if you could start with that, then you can start to build on that. You really need something you can work towards. In my writing my weight down every day, one of the things I do is I'm like, what does a non scale victory look like for me this month? And I'm like, I need something other. Because the scale over time, you look at the numbers and they all, they all kind of just run together. You know, that, that 0.2 loss here and there just kind of is a blur. But it's like, is there a non scale victory for me that will motivate me a little bit more? Not so much in a vanity sense, you know, I mean, I flew down here and it's never lost on me when that seatbelt buckles and you don't need an extender or you feel comfortable and you feel normal and so little things like that will be those motivators when the scale isn't moving, when the scale isn't giving you what you want, you still need something that keeps inching you forward. And if you can keep yourself accountable in that way. And I've told people when they come to me and they're like, oh, I lost this much weight, but I did it. It took me like two years or what? I'm like, that's great. I'm like, the easiest thing to do is to lose weight on the Biggest Loser. I'm like, you got a camera in your face, a trainer yelling at you, someone's buying your food. If you don't lose weight there, you're probably doing something wrong. But I was like, and if you have taken two, three, four years to take off £100 or £50, I'm like, that's success, guys. That, that is success. And they should be proud. They should be proud that it takes time and that they've stayed committed to it for all of that because their life is better on the other side and they're living healthier, happier lives because of it.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Let's get dirty here for a second. I don't want this to be a glowing reflection of the show because the show had a host of imperfections. I've spoken about them very publicly. Why do you think, what do you. What are your initial feelings, by the way? Every time you see. And the truth of the matter is it's like a handful of the same people that continue to come out. Like Kai. I never even met Kai. Ryan Benson, season one, 20 years ago. And like a handful of other people that are Disgruntled. I remember it was like Daniel and Rebecca. If I recall correctly, there were hundreds of contestants on this show around the world. So when you see that, and I'm not trying to discredit it, what comes up for you when you see people just bash it and they it like, what are your thoughts? Why do you think? And what's real for you there?

[Jillian Michaels]

I have a really hard time with this, and I've spoken about it a couple times. And with a lot of alumni, there's a lot of mixed feelings about people that go on the show. I think my biggest thing is we're all adults. We start the show at 18 years old. Right. So. And a lot of contestants, which I didn't understand this until I got on the show, have tried out for multiples. 10 seasons, 12 seasons. Right. They. They meet previous contestants before they go on the show. They learn about, you know, the game part of it. Like, Olivia and I showed up with our tiny little waters. We just didn't know a lot about what was going on. So my biggest thing is we also. And I know Michelle probably did, too. We've been to multiple finales after our season because you get to come back and watch, which was really incredible. Everyone's happy at their finale. I've never met a contestant that is not happy at their finale. Not one. And I've met. I have probably met over a hundred contestants at this point. And here's the thing. Anyone that's lost a hundred pounds or more is going to struggle later on. We know that. We know that. It's in the science, it's in the research. That's part of the human body experience. So to leave the show and think that your life is just going to be back to normal and you're just going to keep the weight off without changing everything. Not everything in like a. A crazy, controlling way. But you do have to make significant changes.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Everything. I think it's everything. Mindset, environment, relationships. I'm with you. It's okay.

[Jillian Michaels]

You can say emotional support. Yeah, your emotional support. Your community, like, and I, to be honest, we talked about this. So, I mean, I get really heated talking about this.

[Michelle Aguilar]

No, I want you to do it.

[Jillian Michaels]

We talked about this every single day. Jillian would say, when you go home, it's going to be so hard. Your friends are not going to be as supportive as you think. You're going to have to figure out your community. You have to talk to your parents. You're going to have to sit down with people. Before I got engaged, I had to sit down with my husband and say, I don't know if my body's going to look like this in 20 years. We had to have this weird conversation. I mean, he was, of course, completely supportive and amazing. And it had been, like, I don't know, eight years since the show when we got married or whatever, something like that. And he was like, well, I've never seen you ever wait. And I said, doesn't mean that you might not. Like, I have this footprint in my background, and I'm not ashamed of it. It's where I was. It's before I knew better. Also, you know, I think Sione said this one time to us when we met him years ago is he said, biggest loser gives us a conscience. So now we know better, and we have to do better. And that is such a huge. I think about these little nuggets that people have said to me over the years, and I'm like, wow, that is so true. True. That is so true. And my thing is, do I want to be, you know, thin forever? Who doesn't? But I want to feel good in my body. I want to feel healthy. I want to have clear skin. I want to be able to, you know, climb a mountain if I want to. I want to be able to do life. I don't want to sit down the rest of my life in a chair because my body hurts.

[Hannah Curley]

Yep.

[Jillian Michaels]

And these people, I just. And I also feel like you can lose weight at any time. Anyone can Can. There's no starting over. You're starting from experience. We all got the same education on the show, so I have such a hard time when people are so disgruntled. I understand. Was production perfect? No. I mean, my season was great because we all really loved each other. We didn't really have a lot of, like, villainous people.

[Michelle Aguilar]

You definitely had the very unfortunate part of, like, the network trying to make the. My God, the trainers hate each other. That was a nightmare, right? That was like. It was a constant of, like, stirring up drama between the contestants, stirring up drama between the trainers, until Bob and I finally were like, enough of this. We do the same job. We have the same agenda. We're not gonna fight with each other. It's not gonna happen. And then the minute. You know, and they got behind it, and then they changed guard, and then they tried to make us go to war with Brett and Kara. It was just always.

[Jillian Michaels]

That's my personal.

[Michelle Aguilar]

That's my little. It was like, fuck, can't we just have some harmony? My God, it's Enough every week that we have an elimination. I have my. We all know I have my problems with it, but I want to take responsibility also for benefiting off of a platform that wasn't perfect. I own it. I left the show after Rachel came out looking dangerously unhealthy, and it had its flaw. But again, what I want people to look towards is the fact that it can be done. The part that disturbs me is the dialogue that, oh, this is a disease, and you'll never break free from it, so you need medicalization or don't worry about it. We're healthy at any size. That's the narrative, and we know it. It's a fact. They pay for it. They pay off nutrition and dietitians. Say it on Social. And if you don't believe me, there's a great article about it in the Washington Post. And then big narrative is, you're totally effed. You need drugs, so you don't even bother to try. And in case you remember things like Biggest Loser, they're all effed, so don't forget it. And that's why, for me, it's so important that people hear from you guys.

[Hannah Curley]

Well, because it's like, where does hope come into anything?

[E]

Bingo.

[Hannah Curley]

You know, I am nearing the age, and this is frightening to say, and my mother's gonna love this, but my mom and I did the show together, and I am nearing her age that she went on the show, and I'm like, huh? Like, oh, wait, how could I be so old? No, but I looked at it, and my mom made it to final Five.

[Michelle Aguilar]

She sure did.

[Hannah Curley]

And at her age, and it sounded so old at, you know, I don't.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Remember how old Helen was. But didn't she win?

[Hannah Curley]

Yes.

[Michelle Aguilar]

You guys remember that she was in her 60s. She either won the home or she won the first. I can't even recall the one.

[Hannah Curley]

To me, it's a thing of. I look at that, you know, as her daughter, but also as saying she started over at 46 and started from there and went forward and is doing well. And it's a thing of, like you said, at any age, you can choose to say no more. Today's the last day that I'm gonna just accept that, you know, my body is going to be this way or that I'm not gonna ever look this way. Like, you can start at any point and move forward. And I think when you remove the Biggest Loser element when the show is now off the air and these other narratives have kind of risen up, I feel like, where's the hope? Where's the inspiration? Where's the. If you can do it, I can do it. Where's the. We're all in this together? And, you know, that inspiration is. It feels like it has fizzled a little bit. And at least when the show was on, I felt like you gave yourself the opportunity to see yourself in somebody else's story and somebody else's journey and go, man, I am encouraged by that. I am motivated by that. And I want to do something today. You know, I'm gonna get up, and I'm gonna do something today, and then tomorrow, I'm gonna keep going, and I'm gonna keep moving. Cause they're doing it. I know. You know, there were plenty of times at the gym, you know, watching the show and watching people work out, and I would see them, and they wouldn't realize, like, they're watching me on the show and I'm still training. Cause our show was airing while I was still home before the finale. And I'd watch them, and I'm like, do they know that I'm right here? Like, they have no idea. But it was. And I would see them, and, like, the show would end and, like, they would work harder. And I'm like, people are inspired. And they were varying fitness levels. And I feel like with, you know, the show no longer being on the air, that we're missing something. We're missing some part of this story. It's not just food and it's not just bodies, but that there is. The human spirit is kind of. And that our ownness and our, you know, that we gotta own up to. These are our bodies, and we're gonna do something with them today, and we've gotta move them today, and we gotta be healthy today for our children, for our families. You know, I'm not just. I'm not just Michelle, a sister and a mom.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I've been stripped away. And then to diminish it. What's so disturbing is that you take the inspiration that all of you provided away from not just the people who watch it, but any possible hope for future generations. They could have gone back and watched those shows. They're evergreen, and they're available and followed everyone's stories.

[Hannah Curley]

Oh, yeah.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And your stories catalyzed a global change for millions.

[Jillian Michaels]

Absolutely.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Hannah, where do they find you? Where do they get more from you? Because I got to bring your sister on next.

[Jillian Michaels]

Yeah. So I'm well. Well, I'm getting ready to change all this, but I'm still BL11. Hannah on Instagram which is annoying. I just. Because Hannah Young is take. Is like, everybody's named Hannah Young. So like I can't. So that's gonna change. And I'm habit Hannah on TikTok. And I just want to say one more thing before you bring out the overd. One of my favorite things about the show and I had a great experience. Was it hard? Absolutely. Were there tough things about it? Sure. But to be able to see what your body can do as an obese person is incredible. It was my greatest honor to push myself in that way. And at the time where I was physically, emotionally, you know, clinically depressed, I wasn't able to do that without that community and without the help of you, of course, and Bob. But at the same time, I mean, to watch a 500 pound man jog on a treadmill. Arthur, I know you remember that moment. That was like day 10 or something. He was sobbing, he collapsed in tears. So whoever's watching this, I know you all know this because everybody loves Jillian and we, we, we know that. But what your body is capable of as an obese person is unbelievable. The human body is unbelievable. And that's what I hold on to every single day.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It was those moments in particular for myself included, because again, nobody saw me as that overweight kid. Nobody saw me when I was standing in your shoes when you were on Biggest Loser. But it was my martial arts instructor beating the shit out of me. And I was like, I've told this story a million times. There's the time when I broke the two words with a psychic. I thought I couldn't do it. There's the time he kicked me through the wall of the studio and was like, I swear to God, get up and fight out of that corner or I will break every rib in your body. And I got up and I fought my way out of the corner. There's the time he had everybody in the studio kick my ass. And the reality is that you survive it. And he's like, this is life. Life does not stop punching you. So you can sit there and you can cry and you can be a victim about it, or you can figure out how to get up and get out of the corner. And I would beat your asses. I would beat your asses. In the hopes that even in the moment, if you're like, she's victimizing me, ultimately you would be left with the, holy shit, I just ran a mile. Oh, my God. I just ran a half marathon. Oh, my God. It is those moments that shatter that defeating prison of identity. I'm weak. I'm lazy. I'm fat. I'm this, I'm that. I was picked last. I can't do it. I'm incapable. And when you open up that possibility of wow, look what I'm capable of. None of this story I told about myself is true. It opens up the. What else is possible?

[Hannah Curley]

Yeah.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And that's the most powerful tool. You're spot on, Hannah. Thank you for bringing us back to that, because you're spot on. Absolutely. I love you madly. All right.

[Jillian Michaels]

I love you, too. Michelle. It was so nice to meet you. Anti aging.

[Hannah Curley]

I know what you're saying. It's not fair. What? And I'm in person.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It's not fair.

[Hannah Curley]

She looks the same. Exact same.

[Michelle Aguilar]

But I love you for it. Exact same, same. Exact same.

[Pete Thomas]

Ms.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I had a baby at 45, which is. Proof is in the pudding, guys. It isn't just about being fit. It is about being vital. All right, more from Hannah. We're gonna link to it in the show notes. And now, Olivia Ward. Here we go. Oh, my God.

[Hannah Curley]

You look gorgeous. Holy mother of God.

[Michelle Aguilar]

See, I've seen Hannah Moore, because I haven't seen. I haven't got a chance to see you in all transparency. Olivia was. We were like a family. And you know how, like, one parent kind of takes ownership of one child. Bob definitely took ownership of Olivia.

[Hannah Curley]

So I was like, all right, I.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Took ownership of Hannah. And then we were allowed to, like, cross train. But God forbid you wanted to be so careful, because if you. If, like, Olivia had a bad week and I had trained her.

[Hannah Curley]

Oh, yeah. That'd be the end.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It'd be the end. How are you, angel?

[Jillian Michaels]

You look.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Oh, my God. You look gorgeous.

[Pete Thomas]

Thank you. I'm great. Really and truly, so good. I mean, life has been just all over the place in the best way. And I feel like, especially since Biggest Loser, like, it. It's just we got to press play on our lives. And I know I. I speak for myself and for Hannah. I'm sure, as you heard, we did not waste that opportunity. And we owe so much of that to you and to Bob, of course. But you. I mean, your words are still in my head daily and in my heart, of course, but. But daily. Really and truly.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Listen, I love the. I love the credit. You guys always knew I'm willing to take it. But at the end of the day, and I've said this a million times, there's 65% of the contestants in my rough estimation, because I've done the math in steel Manning myself for the onslaught of attacks regarding Biggest Loser. I'd say about 35% of you guys have crushed it, and 65% have not. And I'm looking at my contestants, right? The people I've worked with. So it goes without saying there's something in the people that chose to continue and that the ones who struggle and have not gotten there yet or kept it off just were not able to accomplish as of this moment in time. Point being, it has nothing to do with me. I said the same stuff to all of you now. Some of you guys went home sooner, and that's very unfortunate. That sucked. I didn't like that about the show. That's a criticism that I have. Nevertheless, there were people that were also there for just a few weeks that ended up doing amazing. I remember contestants who had only been there three weeks showing up at the finale looking phenomenal. So that's not it.

[Hannah Curley]

Let's.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I've got my little. My little standard questions I was asking all of you guys. But to be honest, like, just tell me, girl. Tell me your. Don't tell me. Hang on. Tell everybody listening your story. What brought you to be out and what happened after to get you where you are now. And do what you do best, which is lift them up, motivate them, give them that hope that they so desperately need that each and every one of you gave them when the show was on. The very best parts of the show is you guys, period. So we can shit on it all day long and we can talk about its problems, but you guys were the actual show, and you guys were the show's magic, and I want you to give people a little taste of that for me right now.

[Pete Thomas]

I mean, I think you just, like, hit it exactly on the head. And how. I feel like I'm in such agreement with everything that you said. I think I was so much like everybody else, and I think there's a part of me that still really understands just how obesity in America and how we all feel. We feel so hopeless. We have been given every quick fix and failed at every attempt. And what I have loved so much and what I've learned at Biggest Loser was that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope. What I very much learned at Biggest Loser is that weight loss is not a straight line, that it is difficult, and it's a lifetime commitment. And I think for me personally, it was the first time in my life that I realized that my hard work, given guidance and instruction and expertise, that it pointed me in the direction of the light. I think for so long, I just felt like just. It was just darkness everywhere. I couldn't even. And I'll never forget. You may not remember this, but you had us on Stairmasters. And I just remember one. It was the very beginning, and I was so. I was just so lost. I still, like, it was within that first week and you came over to my StairMaster and you said, I get it. I see you. You cannot believe it for yourself. So until you can, I'll believe it for you. And that was the first time somebody looked at me and was like, basically, I'll stand for you until you can stand for yourself. And. But what it said to me was not just lean on me. It said, you are going to get to that place where you believe it for yourself. And that's what I found there is. I found the belief in myself. And listen, I don't. I. It has been hard. You know, it's. I kept my weight off, I would say, 98% of the time. The only time I've gained weight in since Vegas Loser has been with my two children. As you should, like, you know, to all my mamas.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Yes, mama, you should.

[Pete Thomas]

And postpartum was really hard. It really tested what I learned there, and it's been really difficult. But I think it also gives you that hope that I know what I'm capable of now, and that is everyone's birthright to know health and wellness and to know that with consistency and wash, rinse, repeat, and knowing that this is a life, lifelong commitment you're making to yourself, that there is victory for everyone out there, not just people that go on a reality show and stand under confetti. Like, I am so thankful for that. I. I tell people all the time I won the weight loss lottery in a major way, and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything for all of its problems. But that what I learned there is not special or unique to me or any contestant on the Biggest Loser. That that hope and that is out there and available to anyone that is listening or not listening. It's available to everybody. And I believe that that health and wellness, it's made to feel like a luxury. And it is a necessity and a birthright. And until we, those of us who are chronically obese, I have a disease. I believe that. But I. I know that if I continue to stand up and advocate for myself in all stages of my life. Life, that I'll continue to be successful, even if it's not a straight line.

[Hannah Curley]

That's so good.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It very much is. It's. It's an addiction, and it is a demon that we simply learn to do battle with more effectively. And it's like, okay, it's a matter of attrition as well. Try again. You fail. Reassess. Where did you go wrong? What sabotaged you course? Correct approach again. And in fact, I've interviewed addiction specialists on the show. And it could be smoking, it could be drugs. It could be food. And the reality is that people fail, but their chances of success increase exponentially with every successive try. And that's so important that you bring that up is prepare for failure. And if you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough. Wrap your head around the fact that it won't be easy. Love it. There's no quick fix. Love it. You're gonna have setbacks. Expect it. And then get back up and try again. And don't beat yourself up along the way, because it goes with the territory. Oh. If you. If you had to give people. I hate this. I hate the three things. They used to piss me off. Right. Cause I was like, geez, you speak to a heart surgeon and say, okay.

[Jillian Michaels]

You'Ve got one choice.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Do a quadruple bypass. You know, you're like, well, that patient would die. But if there was some practical advice. Now you've left the show.

[Pete Thomas]

Mm.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And in. I think it goes without saying, we've talked about this now with Pete, Michelle, your sister Hannah. I've had this conversation with many other contestants throughout the years. What brought you to Biggie's Loser will continue to exist and has to be dealt with. And the reason that these contestants slid back. Please correct me if you disagree. Yep. Is because those issues reared their ugly head, and whatever the food was providing was simply too big of a loss. So if for Austin, it provided a connection with his mother, he's not willing to give that up yet. He's not willing to deal with those issues with his mom yet. It's too painful. It's not just about giving up the food. It's about giving up what the food. Food provided you. So how, as somebody listening or what did you do to keep it off after leaving the show? What changes did you make? Like, I know your husband got involved and changed with you. What did you do that other people might be able to grab onto and change in their own lives?

[Pete Thomas]

I think, like, my biggest thing. And listen, I mean, I think Jillian and you and I are like this a lot. I'm like a straight shooter in a lot of ways. And I think in my life sometimes that can make me unpopular at moments, but it's just how I. But I always tell people I'm like, Hannah's like the cruise director. Like, who doesn't love Hannah? Like, you know, I'm. I'm a little more of like a why her and I are the perfect yin and yang and why she is like my best friend and all the things. But one of the things. Things that I have said over and over and even like, you know, in people that we work with and counterbalance and other things that we do, the one thing that I learned and that I stand by, and I use this word very specifically and intentionally, is I learned to be extremely selfish with my health and with the time that I spend investing in my health. And people go selfish. You know, I mean, like, before I'd gone a biggest loser or, you know, my whole life, it was always like, you know, you serve others before you serve yourself, and you make sure that everybody has what they need. I'm the oldest of four kids. Like, so I. That's inherently just downloaded in my DNA anyways as like a someone who likes to take care of people. But what I realized was that selfish doesn't have to be negative. It has to be. There has to be a rigidity to it in the sense that. That I have to take care of myself first. I will be a terrible mother, a terrible friend, a terrible colleague, a terrible wife, a terrible version of myself. It. When I let. I make. Terrible is probably a strong word, but it.

[Jillian Michaels]

It's.

[Pete Thomas]

Everything falls apart and starts to crack with me. And that's what got me the biggest loser, is that I put everything in front of me thinking I was being the best version of me because I was just giving it all, everything. Instead of saying, listen, I need time every day to invest in my. In my spirit, in my mind, in my movement. Like, those things have to be first. And if you think about it, that's maybe 10% of my day. I have 90% of my day to give myself to all the other things. My passions, my family, my work, all the things. But I think we really feel like as people, there's this guilt thing about, well, if I go and have a workout after work, I'm taking time away from my family. Or, you know, if I. I'm, you know, saying, you know, maybe we cook at home tonight and we don't go to the fast food restaurant or whatever, you're somehow robbing people of their lives when intentionally by doing that, you're really Creating a space to make you very successful and fulfilled and whole from the inside out so that you can be the best for the world and others and your relationships.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Do you guys think that the selflessness piece is if you're not everything to everyone, then you're not lovable and yes.

[Pete Thomas]

I like some of that for sure, definitely. And especially I think for people like me who tend to have, I have a very strong personality and I'm, I'm very driven and I take pride in those things. But I think growing up and just coming into the world and being a woman, you know, I don't want to really, I mean I could really go on this, this tangent, but I think think there was a part of me that was really scared that I wouldn't be lovable and that I wouldn't buy by not, I wouldn't be deemed worthy of people's time if I didn't just give and give and give and give. And what it did is it backed me into a corner of not taking myself care of myself at all and in turn then self medicating that feeling of being so out of control in that area that I just self medicated, dedicated with food all the time. Like I wasn't necessarily a binge eater like that type of thing, but I did at the end of the day go home. And it was my way of kind of relinquishing control a little bit and feeling love in that role. Even though like I said, I've had lots of people in my life who loved me. But it's just a different dynamic and I've learned now that's a big thing I have to keep in front of me at all times because I know know that I, I can very easily go back to that place. And it's something that I have to continue to work on throughout the rest of my life. It wasn't a one and done and biggest loser. I have to keep these things in front of me because if they get behind me, they're running me over like hands down.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Yep, I, I know exactly what you're talking about. And when I started to make a little bit of money, it was easy for me to just pay for everything. So I had more time to help myself because I was like, that's okay, I'll throw money at it, right? I'll pay for the problem, I'll pay to fix it. I'll pay to, you know, fix your life. But I still wasn't dealing with the fact that I inherently felt because without the money I wasn't Good enough. And it's very hard to contend with those feelings and show up. And the issue is that when you act to avoid the things that you're the most afraid of, you will inevitably create it. So the more you neglect yourself, the less able you actually are going to be to facilitate other people's happiness and health. You can't be there for them because you're now sick, you're now depleted, you're now tired, and the universe. I'm on a. I hate to quote Oprah, but, you know, listen, she was Oprah for a reason. There's some things she's done recently don't huff, like profiteering off of Ozempic. Nevertheless, I remember she had said, the universe speaks to you in a whisper, you know, and it elevates volume until an entire wall will come down upon you. It's like, okay, now you're overweight. Well, now you're fatigued and overweight. Well, now you're actually getting chemotherapy because you have cancer, and you literally cannot be there for anyone. Point being, it's almost like, Jill, if you won't stop finding your value, paying for everybody, I'm just gonna make sure you lose all of your money. So you're just faced with who you are, stripped down to your naked, like, personality without being able to turn yourself inside out. If you don't. My long story is, if you don't start facing those demons, I swear to God. God or the universe or whatever you call it, will bring you to your knees. Anyway, Anyway, I've been there. You've been there, You've been there. And it kind of brings people up to that edge of having no choice. You kind of have to start to take that leap of faith of taking care of yourself, because you won't be able to take care of them anyway when you're sick, when you're broke, when you're totally depleted, honey, when you see. If you looked back and I Like, if. Okay, let me reword this looking back on the show. So what would you change?

[Pete Thomas]

Oh, that is such a good question. I think for me, okay, this. This. This is what I think. And I've been really, like, exploring this idea. And I heard someone say this the other day, and I was like, that's really. I wish I would have thought about the exit strategy at the beginning. Beginning in the sense that I do think it took me a while after Biggest Loser to really understand the concepts I learned there, that they were for my life, not just like, I. To compartmentalize weight loss. Like, I lose weight and then I go live my life.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Yeah, that.

[Pete Thomas]

What I learned there was setting me up for life. So I heard someone say, they said, if you want to start a weight loss journey, before you even start, you need to think of your exit strategy in the sense that. That everything that you are consuming and learning is for when you get to maintenance, because it's not going to be that different. And, you know, do I work out 8 to 10 hours a day? No, I don't. I don't do that anymore. Like, and I don't need to. So I. I was able to kind of find the balance leaving, but that was a process. And I think that's also when a lot of contestants have issues or if they haven't been able to figure it out after the show, I think it's because they really compartmentalized what they learned in the show and that it wasn't supposed to be for the rest of the life, if that makes any sense.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It makes perfect sense. It makes perfect sense. Where can everyone find you right now?

[Pete Thomas]

I'm on Instagram the most. It's at the obird. Which Obir. Oh, and Bird in the sky was like. Is my nickname, as Julian knows. But I'm at the Obird at. On Instagram. And like I said, Hannah and I have a business called Counterbalance that. Where we have used the things that we have learned to. It's a private coaching group and it has been the privilege of my life.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Where do we find it? Because it's. This is New Year's, just FYI.

[Pete Thomas]

Yes.

[Michelle Aguilar]

So.

[Pete Thomas]

Well, if you are wanting to make a change and have go from victory to victory, because that's what we believe in, it's at my Counterbalance dot com.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Perfect. Thank you, angel. I really appreciate it. You're fantastic and you look smashing. My God.

[Jillian Michaels]

Thank you.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I don't.

[Pete Thomas]

Seriously, I can't thank you enough. I know I've done this a million times, but really, like, truly, what you did and what you continue to do for us and for obese people in general is so important and it is so appreciated because, you know, for so many years, I mean, we all feel very overlooked. I'm thankful that I had an opportunity to. To showcase my own struggles, but that you're continuing to have the conversation, it is so important and I am so thankful.

[Jillian Michaels]

So.

[Pete Thomas]

And of course, I love you so much, as always.

[E]

So.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Yeah. Well, guys, I kind of don't have words. It's such a weird feeling. Like, I'm so sad. I mentioned. So sad. Talking to you not.

[Hannah Curley]

Because.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Because I just think that the world needs more of this. In needs your voices. It needs your stories. It needs more of it. Of this beauty and this honesty and this authenticity and this hope. I am extremely grateful to you guys for showing up and being here and talking to people. And we have to find a way to continue doing more of this. Let's think on it. But in the meantime, you know where to find Olivia. Guys. Hi. Hey.

[Hannah Curley]

Can you see us?

[E]

Pete Horns on two of my friends. Is that Jillian and Michelle? Oh, my goodness.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Good to see you all. Hi, sweetheart.

[Hannah Curley]

How are you? Hi, Pete.

[E]

Good to see you. Hey, Michelle, how are you?

[Hannah Curley]

I'm good. Pete, so good to see you.

[E]

Excellent. Good to see you as well. Let me turn my phone off because I've got important people to talk to.

[Pete Thomas]

Oh, my God. My heart.

[E]

My heart.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Hi, babe.

[E]

How are you doing? Oh, my God. Good to see you all. Good to see you both.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Oh, my goodness.

[E]

It looks like you were in some deep conversation. What did I interrupt there?

[Michelle Aguilar]

You didn't interrupt anything. You're joining. We were talking about how Michelle was saying, there's a pic. Actually, I'll let you tell him.

[Hannah Curley]

Well, I was telling him, you know, I was very hands off. Kind of like I wanted to keep everyone at arm's distance before the Biggest Loser because I was just. I felt like I was just so full of sadness. And if you came up and you're a. And you hugged me, I felt like, you're gonna know. You're gonna know. I'm so sad. And I remember Jill, when I said something to her one day, like, oh, I'm not a hugger. You know, I don't really like people touching me. And she was like, what? What? I'm gonna touch you. But I've just learned that, you know, you've got. When there's a safe place and there's someone you can trust that you know, you can share your feelings and that they don't have to be so scary, you know? So that's kind of what we were talking about.

[Jillian Michaels]

Wow.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Do you. Okay.

[E]

So, Jillian. So you. So, Jillian, you mean that you had to handle more than just weight with us contestants? Is that what had to go on? There were other issues. You mean you had to really solve other issues besides just our weight? Wow. Wow.

[Michelle Aguilar]

But I didn't. And that's the point. We were sort of discussing. Not sort of. We were discussing a bit earlier how the calories in, the calories out part, it works. It's physics. But the deeper stuff is what brings people to that place. And the deeper stuff is what pulls them back if it doesn't get resolved. Everybody that I have on the show today has dealt with the deeper stuff. So, Pete, can you start out by saying what season you were on, what brought you to bl and how you've managed to be so successful for what's now almost 20 years?

[E]

Almost 20 years, that's right. Well, first of all, thank you. Thank you for having me on the show, and I'm glad to join in right at this second. You know, Jillian, as you mentioned, you know, there was a lot coming into the show. I was on season two, which happened to be way back in 2005. And just prior to that, you know, when I came out to California, I was at £416 at my largest. And then while we were in the hotel, while we were super loaded, I, like, straight started starving myself. I thought that was how we were supposed to lose weight. So I stepped on the show at 401 pounds. And then you, of course, informed me that, no, baby, that's not how you lose weight. Not by. By starving yourself. Right? But more importantly than how I started was what brought me to the show, as you mentioned, you know, and this is something that you and I didn't delve into a lot, but I had been through 13 different foster homes by the time I was 13 years old. The vast majority of that time that I bounced around when I was young was because of my mom's mental illness. She struggled with paranoia and psychosis, and, you know, I lived homeless. I'd done all of those things. And what happens is when you go through difficulties or you go through these traumatic experiences, you have to find a way to medicate just to make it through the day. So my medication was food, right? Other people you may medicate with, with drugs or alcohol or et cetera, right? But my medication was food. And so it's always surprising to me, me, when people are critical of the show, right? Because we came in with so much baggage, right? So many of us came in with so much baggage. And this is the one thing we needed. We needed to find success in one area, in just one area. And if you found success in that one area, then you could go back and deal with those other areas that you had been unsuccessful with dealing with. And that's what the show provided. That's what Jillian's old crazy tale provided, right? An opportunity to be successful in. In this one. Just this one particular. By the way, this is the biggest area, right? Because I'm Huge. And every time I'm around someone, they can see that I wear my trauma on my bones. They don't know why. They assume it's because, oh, he's big and he can't push the plate away. No, that's true. I can't. And the reason why is because I remember one particular time, right? My mom, we were living in D.C. at the time, and my mom says, well, honey, we're going to go on a fast. I'm like, okay, that sounds nice. That's spiritual. Now, mind you, I'm about 10 or 11 years old, right? And we go for a week with no food. I don't realize until later, oh, the reason we did that is because we had no food. We just had no food at all. So here's the question that I ask people. I said, can you imagine living a part of your young life, your formative years, the early formative years, not having food. Now, when food becomes available, how do you eat? Of course you're going to eat like it's never coming back again, right? And so even when that normalizes, right? When that normalizes, you still have this internal. This internal thinking, this internal mindset is, you better. Well, I'll tell you, this one person told me that the way that they were raised, because they were raised in poverty. Poverty is that whenever they were around a buffet or anything, take all you want but eat all you take, right? And that's kind of how we were every. If I see food, I had better eat it. I'd better consume as much as possible because I'm not going to be able. I'm not going to get another meal or I don't know when the next meal is coming. So let me say this off the top, because I just ran. I just ranted. I'm sorry.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Oh, I want you to. It's. This is for people listening. They need to hear these stories. Please rent. Tell yourself.

[E]

Let me just say this. Let me just say, thank you, Jillian. Thank you for being a meanie, for traumatizing me to stay on the treadmill. Thank you for penalizing me when I didn't want to run up the mountain or the hill. Oh, my God, the stories. The stories, Michelle, that we have.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Go ahead. Oh, my God.

[E]

So, Michelle, I can remember, of course, in season two, we were working out four hours a day. And on the off days, our off day, Jillian says, oh, for hockey. Take a hike into the mountain. Take a hike into the mountain. First of all, I'm from Michigan. We don't know what a Mountain is. And I've got a. This is an off day. Like, you know, I'm fat. When do I get a chance to rest? And I can remember going up this mountain, and I'm starting to hallucinate. I swear, the person in front of me is changing colors. Right? Well, this. My roommate, Seth. He was. He. He was getting sunburned, and he was turning red, and all I could think of, oh, my God, he's starting color. So we worked out like you would not imagine. As I like to say, Jillian. Jillian beat the fat off of us. Right? But the great thing is that it gave you an opportunity to then go back and deal with the other weight, because it really. It was not about what we were eating that made us large. It was about what was eating us. And you gave us an opportunity to tackle those problems.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Okay, I have to say, this was not a normal hike. This was one of those, like, California mountains. It had no trail.

[Hannah Curley]

Oh, my goodness.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And they had to send the fire department to come find us. Do you remember?

[Hannah Curley]

Because we don't look.

[E]

That's right. That's right.

[Jillian Michaels]

We're now.

[Hannah Curley]

Yes.

[Michelle Aguilar]

And, oh, my God, I don't know what I was thinking. I was only, like, 31 at the time.

[E]

And it wasn't.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It.

[E]

It wasn't supposed to be unsafe because we all had walkie talkies, but we're hiking so far away and into the mountain that the dog on hall talkies lose connections and just quit working. So, Michelle, we come back, we're up there, and we don't know when to stop. Jillian's a meanie. She just said, go.

[Jillian Michaels]

Right?

[E]

Go.

[Hannah Curley]

We're gonna dare argue with her? Yeah.

[E]

Oh, we're not gonna argue. Oh, no, we're not gonna argue because. And so. But this is. This is. This was the power of the show and what the show put together.

[Michelle Aguilar]

This makes me almost sad. I'm not gonna lie, sitting with you guys. Like, it. I miss this was. I look at my life now, and it's almost like, entrepreneurial. I do a lot of this and business, whatever. And I had initially gotten into this line of work because of people like you, and it makes me a little sad and a little. In a good sad in a good way. But I. I'm shocked at how much I. I miss it. Just listening to you talk, I didn't think. I just thought it was a phase. Like, oh, you know, and then you grow up and you move on and you evolve into something else, and it's like. It breaks my heart. I think that was probably the happiest I've ever been. Completely. Was. Was working with you guys. Yeah.

[Pete Thomas]

Yeah.

[E]

And, Michelle, you'll know this. During our seasons, she. She was. She was there all the time, right? She was. It felt like I felt like Jillian was living with us because. Establishing not only her. Her methodologies and her protocols and doing dumb stuff like measuring the sweat in our shirts to figure out if we needed extra. Extra electrolytes and all of that crazy stuff. Right. But she was living with us. And I can remember now, again, I want to go back to something you mentioned just earlier. Right. And so for those who don't know how the show is set up, you come out and you're sequestered for a period of time. There's an interview process. Process before you're finally accepted to go on the show. Now, for me, the time that I was in the hotel was another difficult period of my life. I'd never met my father ever, in my entire life. And so. And I had just spent the prior six months trying to find my father. And I got to tell you, this is a weird thing to call around the country to strangers who have your birth name and try to start a conversation to see if they're your father. Right. I can remember calling a lady in Texas and calling. I called the house in Texas. The wife picks up the phone, and I'm saying, hey, do you happen to. Is your husband home? Is his name so? And so. And she's like, yes. And who is this? And what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to align and figure out if her husband was in Michigan at Michigan State at the same time that my mom was there. But how do you have that conversation with someone's potential wife? And at some point, I just hang up the phone. And so now I made a couple of those phone calls in the hotel room, including one to my aunt in LA who lived there. And she said, well, babe, everything that we know. Everything that we know says that your dad might be dead. So this is what I'm dealing with in the hotel room three days before I go on the show. And this is what I did. I got on the. On the floor next to the bed and I prayed. I said, lord, I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. This has been a rough week, and this was the critical piece. I said, I'm gonna do whatever these people on this show tell me to do. Just don't let me die.

[Jillian Michaels]

Of course.

[E]

Just don't let. And of course, I get the lady who Was ready to kill me if I did not work out. But he didn't let me die. He gave me the perfect person. I got to tell one more story. I got to tell one more story. Speaking of dying, of dying, the amazing thing, Michelle, and you know this, the amazing thing about Jillian is she was a savant or is a savant in this space. What I mean, in this space is not just weight loss, but it's taking people who are overweight and working them out in such a. Such a way that they can reach their capacity, right? And I'm early. I'm on season two, right? And so she would work us out incredibly hard, but not so much that we would get injured or we couldn't come back another way. And if there was one of those and a mistake, okay, that's all right. Sit yourself down on a recumbent bike and just bike forever. You know what I mean? She's going to figure it out. So she was just a sabot with all of that. And I can just remember some of the intense workouts. And I can remember early on, right? I tell people this story the very first day we were scheduled to do a four hour workout. And I'm like, four hours. I'm thinking in my mind, I'm like, oh, that means we're going to walk around the ponds and we're going to watch the lilies grow, right? This is where. No, we're doing all kinds of dumb stuff. We're doing a hundred squats, a hundred push ups. I'm exaggerating slightly, but it was like, you weren't.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I called it the hundreds.

[E]

You're not actually exaggerating slightly? Absolutely. Exactly. Exactly.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Yes. It was crazy.

[Pete Thomas]

But then at the end, I had.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Discussed that with Harley Pasternak though, I'll have you know. So I had consulted with my peers and Harley was like, you know, you should do. Do the hundreds. And I was like, that's a great idea. We go and do undo that.

[Jillian Michaels]

I did.

[Hannah Curley]

Pete, from everything you're saying, I'm really, really great. I think maybe it was just God's grace on my life that I was on season six and not two because, I mean, I think, I think I needed her to get better some things. I was, I did start with another name, but you know, because she would.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Have, she would have these, like, you'd have. Oh my God. They'd have. You guys would have the challenges or whatever, right? And you wouldn't be able to work out. I would sometimes go at like 1, 2 in the morning. Morning. To get our workouts in.

[E]

Yes.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Oh my God. Okay, so hold on. Okay, so go ahead.

[E]

Four hour workouts, I was gonna say. So that speaks of, for a couple things. One, the, the, the ingenious part of the show, right? Putting you in teams. But the other side of it is just the savant. How much of a savant Jillian was because of the layouts of the work, the layout of the workouts, the programming is what the fancy folks call it and all of that. But I remember one particular time, time we were, we had a challenge. Now for those who don't know, the challenge was separate from the workouts and the people who designed the challenges, they did not get input, at least on my season early on from Jillian in doing work.

[Michelle Aguilar]

It was, it was actually a huge problem.

[Hannah Curley]

Wow.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Many, many angry emails from me to production about those. Damn. Because that's actually where you guys would end up getting hurt, right?

[E]

That's right. They look good. Good.

[Michelle Aguilar]

They look really good angry.

[E]

That's right. So let me tell you this particular one, this particular one, we're on a train, right? An old style train with a locomotive engine. And, and we have to run from one end of the, of of the actual board, one end of the, the train to the other end and carry these balls back and forth. Right. Now the problem is, is to make it look good for tv, the doors have to be wide open. Okay. Have to be wide open. And they have to, they're filming this now mind you, Jillian did not have us running at this point. So I'm running back and forth and back and forth and I can, can't breathe. I'm struggling, but I can't lose this dog challenge because again, from the challenge side of it, they were going to give us these letters from home. This was a big thing for us. We win. I almost collapsed, almost pass out. And it was determined that I needed to go to the doctor, right? I need to go to hospital right away. So they stop the training. They take me, they. And as soon as I get in the ambulance and they start giving me some oxygen, I start improving, right? But this was season two, so they weren't sure what was going on. So they send me over to Cedars Sinai and they spent a whole day giving me all these tests. Michelle. I mean, I've got. The lady comes in with a leaded vest, right? And they give me this iodine injection to test to make sure that blood goes to every part of my heart, that I'm okay, I'm okay. I come back to the ranch Michelle Shell. And they say, oh, my God, he's okay. My team is excited for me. Do you know what Jillian says? I'm not lying. I wrote it down. I lied. She's, oh, me. You're good. Now I can kill you.

[Hannah Curley]

That feels familiar. That feels familiar.

[E]

That does, doesn't it? It does, it does. It does. It does.

[Michelle Aguilar]

So, again, just, I thank you for.

[E]

Being who you were. I can. I can remember the time, one real time, that I thought I was going to die, right? And I wasn't. We were running. We were running Runyon. You remember running? Did you all run?

[Hannah Curley]

Run?

[Jillian Michaels]

Oh, gosh.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I would take you guys to Runyon Canyon in Los Angeles.

[E]

Oh, we were running, running. We would run, run you, right? All of us fat folks. All us fat fellas, right? We're running Runyon. And I can remember leaning on one tree. I'm like, God to like. No, you're not, because you're jumping at God. Oh, that's true. I guess that means I can breathe, right? I start running again. But it was. It was just life changing. It was life transformational. And what I mean by that is it allowed me to then go back and deal with the other issues in my life. Now I've got something for you. You want to hear something? You want to hear something? Don't.

[Hannah Curley]

I'm ready.

[E]

I'm going to tell you something. Okay. I mentioned how I grew up in foster care and all of this stuff. Like, so my sister and I, I. We were in a foster home at. When I was 8 and she was 5, my mom left the house one day and said she'd be back in two weeks. Well, in two weeks, the food had run out, and I had to take my little sister out the back door in the middle of the winter and go knocking on doors for food because literally, we had no food in the house. We go into the foster care system, we go to group homes, and we end up on a street called St. Auburn in Detroit, right? Together. She's about three. I'm about eight. My mom shows up to the school and abducts me from the foster home, right? And leaves my sister behind. I hadn't talked to my sister for 48 years until May 3rd of this year. So I was reunited with her for the first time in my life because of that. Now my question is, and I'm always thinking about life and all of that. If I hadn't gone on the Biggest loser I was 4, 16, 20 years ago, would I even be here today to reunite with my sister, right? And so, again, Julia, thank you just for the opportunity to live.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Pete. But here's the thing. We all know it didn't all turn out like this. Why do you think? And I'll give you another example, and this one kind of breaks my heart because it's. It's not a secret. I'll be honest. I had. It is what it is. We all know this. You know who you are.

[Hannah Curley]

We all know this. It's okay.

[Michelle Aguilar]

I mean, listen, there were hundreds of contestants, and I would say that there were probably two from each season that just touched your soul. And you will, you know, you were meant to. You're meant to meet. You will love forever. You will take it to your grave. You know, there's Julie Haddon, there's Abby Reiche, there's Shay, there's Danny Allen. Right. There's everybody on this show. I love Shay. She's got my heart. Very similar story. Very similar story. And I don't want to put her on blast. I love her so much. But, you know, we're not there. We're still not there. And the demons are just too powerful, I think. And why do you think. And Shay was there for a while, so I can't use the one week, two week. Why do you think. Think 65% or so of the contestants weren't able to take that ball and continue running?

[E]

Michelle, you want to start or you want me to. Want me to chime in?

[Hannah Curley]

You can start.

[E]

I think it's because. So if we were to say that they were failing with the show. Right. The failing with the show is that they didn't send somebody home with you to live with you for the rest of your life. Life. Oh, wow. What. What a surprise. This is real life. Right. And so what has to happen is you have to assess how you got to that place in the first place. Right. And I can remember, you know, we would have the big room. There was one big bedroom on the ranch, and the guys would sit around at the end of a workday when we were completely exhausted. Right. It felt like a work day when we were completely exhausted and we would talk about different things. So this is a little form of talk therapy before, you know, we had anybody else to engage with a little form of that. Right. But. But it's interestingly like this happens regularly in different environments. But for there, we're starting to talk about these things. Here's the big issue. When you get back to your normal home environment, are you dealing with the things that got you to the show in. In the first place, for example, one of the things that people would say, especially coming off the biggest losers, oh my God, I need to lose, you know, I need to lose 30 pounds in a month, right? And I, you know, my answer to that was always, well, well, it took you two years to put it on. Can we at least take a year to get it off? That's the same way to think about all of the traumas and all the traumatic experiences you've gone through in your life just because you've gotten the weight off. Now you realize what success looks like. Now put in the work, even if it takes a year or two, a decade or two or three to deal with those issues, right? And so, and that's the thing that I did. The first thing was, okay, I'm capitalizing on this success, right? I'm going home and I'm studying everything I can about the psychology of success, about weight loss and about, about personal training, about physical ability, right? Because I want to study all this. Why? Because I'm the primary subject, right? I need to figure this out for me. So I was intentional about certain things. Number one, I did not go get a personal training surgery modification. I'm not giving my time to you to help you lose weight until I know that I can keep it off first. So the very first thing that I, that I did was I signed up to this thing called a pub crawler. So pub crawler, what doctors use, they go out and get all the abstracts, you know, of recent studies, right? And it drops it straight into their inbox. I would do that. So every Sunday, I'd spend two hours every Sunday reviewing all the abstracts about weight loss and obesity, reading them to understand the experience that I had gone through and how that plays in with all of the research, right? And then that's just strict weight loss. And then there's a psychology of change. And I started thinking through what happened to me and then I came across this, right? There's something called ACEs, Adverse Childhood Experiences. This is just the most phenomenal study. It's set in stone, right? Kaiser Permanente did a nationwide study of 100,000 people. And ACEs is well known. If you grew up with any kind of traumatic experiences, your life expectancy is, is lessened, right? All of these different things. And because I pulled some of it up there, right? If you grew up with aces, in other words, adverse childhood experiences, and It's a simple 10 question test, you're four times more likely to have experienced four or more. You're four times more likely to end up in jail, right? Children with ACEs are three times more likely to repeat a grade. So what do you know, Jillian? There's science about our struggle, struggle about our struggle. And then I'm not just because when I was on the show, Gillian, she taught me, right? It wasn't just her telling me, but she taught me about exercise science. So then what I decided to do is, well, where did this ACES stuff come from? Well, what do you know? The guy's name is Vincent Felitti. You know where all of this adverse childhood experience stuff came from? It came from an obesity cliff clinic. He's working in an obesity clinic in the 80s. And 50% of the people who are a part of his clinic, they're losing weight. But then at some point they just stop and they jump out of the program. And so I'm deep diving into this and what happened was I've never met the guy, but I'm reading up on his stuff, right? And this should resonate. What ends up happening is he starts researching and asking questions of all the people who had dropped out of the program. And he made this one critical mistake. He's asking this one young lady, he meant to ask her, how old were you when you were first sexually active? That's what he meant to ask her. But instead he asks her, how much did you weigh when you were first sexually active? Her response was £40. Come to find out, she was a victim of sexual abuse by her father, right? And so then a light bulb goes off and he says, wait a minute, is this a kind common thing? Right? And he, he brings in somebody else to study this. And yes, it's a common thing. And they, it's, it's in the research that 90% of folks who are grossly overweight, like we were, right. Experience some type of sexual trauma, right? Now, I wasn't, that wasn't my, my case, but the traumas are there. And then for instance, this one, he, he interviewed one, one young lady who At 23 years old, she was sexually assaulted. At 20, 23, she was raped. You know what happened? The very next year, she gained 105 pounds. Because what he finds is weight becomes a defense. When you're a child and you're, and, and there are these words that are said to you when you're being violated. Words such as, you know, the only reason I do this to you is because your sister is fat. Well, that tells a child, if I eat and gain weight, then I won't get a, assaulted, right? So that's the long way of Answering your question really comes down to this. You have to do the work on you. Nobody's coming to your house. Nobody's going to send you letters and tell you to do on it. Now, the blessing for some of us is if you happen to have won some money from the show, well, now you had money to go figure out the rest of your life, right? But for those who did not win anything, who did not win anything, you can still still pick up a book. You can still ask those who have gone before you, such as Michelle and myself, who are successful. You can be inquisitive and try to figure your life out. It was designed to do one thing, show you what success looked like in that short timeframe. The rest is on you, baby.

[Michelle Aguilar]

The part that's been frustrating for me, and I'm gonna be completely transparent, is there's no question that bashing the Biggest Loser has become a narrative of. And I'm not. I'm not tin hatting this. If you remember, Fatima Cody Stanford, who's a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk that makes Ozempic, paid for a big commercial on 60 Minutes with Lesley Stahl right after New Year's a couple years ago. And the first thing she did was bash the Biggest Loser and talk about how diet and exercise don't work. You can never lose weight and keep it off. It's a physical disease of the brain. And I don't mean trauma. I mean, oh, you just can't stop eating and all. All by the way, parroting research paid for by Novo Nordisk. And then Michelle reaches out to me a couple months ago, and she's like, I don't want to say the name of the magazine because they've been so kind to me, but a huge magazine, she's like, has come fishing around, trying to get dirt on Biggest Loser. I didn't give them any, but I found it really odd. So they didn't print anything. She talked about anything. Any of the other contestants who told me they went to her talked about. And they talked about Ryan Benson, who was a contestant from 20 years ago, season one. And I thought, okay, who is going out of their way right now to go 20 years into the first season? And he didn't even really say anything that bad. He's like, I think the show wanted us to fail. And I struggled to keep my weight off. But for me, that's a dangerous narrative because if anybody's gonna point to something outside of pharmaceuticals that they remember from their lifetime, it's gonna be Biggest Loser. So if you immediately Say not only did they, they all gained it back. They were far worse off. And what about these horrible studies? And I'm sitting there going, that's an absolute lie. 35% of them kept it up. That percentage is bananas. And I was like, that's it. We're gonna hear from them, period. That's it. So that's where we are. And I think you guys are glowing examples. And we've got two more that we're gonna bring in today. And I could bring in all the others, but we'd be here for a day. So, Pete, I love you madly. I can't say thank you enough. And where can people find you?

[E]

Simplest place is LinkedIn, right? LinkedIn.com. and then the Pete Thomas website will point you over there as well.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Thank you, baby. I'll talk to you soon.

[Hannah Curley]

Good to see you, Pete.

[E]

Appreciate you both. Love you both. God bless.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Love you more.

[E]

Thank you.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Any parting words? I'm going to give you the last one.

[Hannah Curley]

You know, I was thinking about, you know, when I did have to go home from the ranch and we, for the show purposes, we went up to this, the top of the hill. It wasn't quite the hike that you took Pete and them on, but, you know, we had a hill on our season as well. And you gave me this necklace, this. It's on a different chain, but you gave it to me then, and I've probably worn it nearly every day for 15 years. And wasn't so much the things that you said on that mountain, but the entirety of our time together. And I'll remember, I'll never forget our final conversation at the bottom of the hill. When production had wrapped and we were getting ready to go, and you knew that it was probably the last time you had seen me. You would see me probably at. Until the finale. And you said, michelle, promise me one thing. Promise me that when you look back, because when you get home, the show is gonna start airing and you're gonna see the beginning and you're gonna get to watch it all the way through, and then you're gonna come back for a live finale. Promise me that when you see yourself in the beginning, that you won't be disgusted, that you won't be disappointed, that you won't look negatively at where you started. And Jill, when I tell you that has stuck with. With me because there have been times where I've had to restart or felt like I needed a restart. And when I look back and it wasn't because you're like, this person has worth. She's like that person decided to change. That person took the first step. That starting spot that you were in with all the mess and all the things was strong enough to say, I need to do something today, and I'm willing to go on a reality TV show to do it. You're like, so don't be disgusted, don't be disappointed, don't be upset, but love that you did it because you're like, we don't know what you're gonna do in this new body. We don't know what you'll become. We don't know if you'll be a success. And, you know, here I am 15 years later, and I'm grateful for those words. And oftentimes we'll think back on so many of the things that you've said and that you've done, and so I'm grateful I'm not a squeaky wheel. And so, you know, maybe people don't hear some of my story all the time because it's so. I'm grateful that you had asked me to come and be on today and just, you know, to be able to let you know, much like you've heard from the other contestants, just to thank you. Thank you for what you do. Thank you for the passion you have to not leave people the way you found them, but to leave people better. I will forever be grateful that you are a part of my story.

[Michelle Aguilar]

Why do you have to do this? I gotta be honest. I'm miss. I miss you guys a lot. But, you know, I know. I like knowing you guys are out there, just killing. It brings me so much peace every day. It's like, you reach one, you teach one. You reach one, you teach one, you pay it forward.

[Hannah Curley]

You've launched us like arrows into the world because we're.

[Michelle Aguilar]

You're all really special to me. You are so special. I'm like, I want you to go home now. We're going to be done.

[Hannah Curley]

We're done. Because I don't. Because I am a professional. Keep it together, guys.

[Michelle Aguilar]

This show's over. Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed the podcast, please, like, comment, subscribe and share. And make sure to let me know what guests you want to see on in the future.