(David Gurnani)

David Gurnani was an extremely out-of-shape, 25-year-old salesman in Indonesia when he tipped the scales at 157 kg.

Despite his love for eating and finding himself a beautiful fiancée, he was disappointed that his weight got in the way of his love for sports. That’s when he decided to enter the unscripted Hallmark Channel show, “The Biggest Loser Asia” in November, and his weight went downhill from there.

“King David” as he was fondly called by the trainers and other contestants, was given “The Biggest Loser” title four times during the season’s 13 weeks. He had lost the most weight among the contestants. He lost a total of 55 kg in the last episode.

“I want the next 40 to 50 years of my life to be my best,” he said before heading back home to continue his training before the finale.

By the final round, King David lost another 28 kg. to round out his total weight loss to 83 kg, which is more than half of his original weight, and enough to beat his fellow competitors, 32-year-old Filipino Carlo Miguel, 30-year-old Malaysian Aaron Mokhtar and 20-year-old Hong Konger Martha Lai to claim the first-ever title of “The Biggest Loser Asia.”

“It was hell on Earth,” David told Yahoo! Southeast Asia. “But not for a single moment do I regret anything–my loyalty to the Blue Team, and my strategy throughout the show. I’m thankful to God that I was able to lose that weight. It was the strength of God that carried me through everything.”

Despite being crowned Asia’s Biggest Loser, David had his own fair share of drama on the show, most notably with Red Team member Carlo Miguel. “I saw him as a top competitor in the competition,” David explained. “We both wanted to win just as much. But apart from that, we have no problem at all and I can say that we’re friends, and always will be friends.”

(Carlo Miguel)

After all is said and done, Carlo is all praises for David. “I knew David would win, when we all came back for the finale.  His weight loss was staggering, I knew I didn’t have enough of a chance when I saw him.”

So how did David manage to beat out the other contestants?

“My boss was very kind, he let me take three months of work in order for me to concentrate on training before the finale.  Training time is all that matters. I managed to work out six days a week, for eight to ten hours a day, and on Sundays I would work out for three or four hours.”

David’s rigorous training regimen paid off, as he’s now $100,000 richer, and has a new Renault SUV to boot.

So what’s a changed man to do?

“Apart from getting married, I’m going to go on a nice holiday, and we’ll see from there,” he said.

(Aaron Mokhtar)

Runner-up Carlo and second-placer Aaron feel equally blessed about being part of this amazing transformative journey.

“There’s no more excuses for me anymore,” Aaron said.  “With The Biggest Loser Asia I’ve won my health back, and my life.  I’m taking responsibility for myself, and I have to keep up the process of having a healthy lifestyle.  Now that I’m home I have to teach my wife about cooking healthy, and keep my family healthy.”

The show saw Carlo, who had one of the most dramatic transformations, take a leadership role throughout the competition–he defended and motivated his fellow Red teammates against the Blues, and stood up for fan favorite and fellow Pinoy, Kevin Yue.

Carlo shared his experience: “I feel fantastic, I’ve achieved everything I set out to do on this journey and I too have no regrets.  I’m going to continue living a healthy lifestyle for me, my wife, and my family.”  As for Kevin, Carlo says “He’s doing great. He’s continuing on with his weight loss, and doing it steadily.”

It’s especially hard for this Executive Chef, who earns a living by being surrounded by food. “I’ve devised a procedure where I would taste the food, and spit it out, as a sommelier or wine maker would. I really have to control my calorie intake now that the competition is over.”

Do we see Carlo incorporating healthy menu options to his restaurants’ menus?  “Well, if the market goes for it, I’ll do what the market dictates,” he replied.

To his fellow Pinoys who want to lose weight, Carlo shared some advice, “Get with the program.  Never give up.  And don’t make excuses.”

What you just read is a guest post from Charley Braga, Yahoo! Southeast Asia Front Page Producer.  I’m sure all Pinoys are happy and proud for Carlo Miguel, even though he didn’t get the top prize, he definitely represented our country well and his transformation is equally amazing.  We congratulate Carlo and the rest of the winners of “The Biggest Loser Asia!”  Because of your inspiring efforts, we would like the community to answer this question: Have you ever been successful in losing weight? If so, how did you accomplish it?