Most contestants on "The Biggest Loser" try their hardest to drop weight, win challenges and make the right alliances to ensure they stay on the ranch as long as possible. After all, more time on the ranch means more time with trainers Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince in a structured weight-loss environment. It also means a greater shot at walking away with big bucks, as well as a new life.
But that's not the way Ben Shuh played the game. At the end of the very first episode of the season, he volunteered to go home.
"I never went out with the intention of winning a show or winning money or anything like that," Shuh explained during a Tuesday morning visit to TODAY. "For me, it was to go and get healthy, and figure out why was I so big, and how to exercise right and eat right. And so I went into the elimination room. At least three of my teammates had said they really didn't feel like they had anything to go home to, and I felt like I had everything to go home to."
And by "everything," Shuh means his big brood. In "Brady Bunch"-and-then-some fashion, he and his wife each entered their marriage with four kids of their own. Since then they've had one together and have another one on the way.
Since leaving "The Biggest Loser" and dropping a total of 75 pounds, Shuh can now keep up with the bunch.
"They're always active. It was always me that wasn't the active one," he explained. "It's been real fun to actually go out and play with them."
Though his time on the ranch was brief, the former black team player took home plenty of important lessons.
"I usually ate for comfort or because it tasted good," he said, recalling the old days. "I just usually ate to feel good. Now it's more about understanding how much it takes to burn off certain things. And you think about it in terms of 'How will I work out to burn these calories off? What (does) my body need to stay alive?' "
See how the rest of the season 13 players are progressing when "The Biggest Loser" airs Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on NBC.
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