43
‘The Biggest Loser’ taught him to be a winner
Howland native Aaron Thompkins was disappointed when he was voted off NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” on Nov. 9, but he walked away with some valuable insights.
“It hurt a lot to get eliminated, but my life is so different now, and I feel so blessed,” he said. “Being on the show taught me what I need to do to lose the weight and keep it off. Obesity is a symptom, not a problem, and most of us are trying to fix the symptom.”
Thompkins, 29, has struggled with his weight his entire life. He said a strained relationship with his alcoholic father, poor diet and exercise habits and not knowing how to deal with emotional issues prompted him to turn to food for comfort.
“Being on the show and going to therapy with the show’s psychologist really helped me from a mental standpoint,” he said. “I realized that I could lose the weight, but until I changed the way I thought, I would just keep gaining it back.”
Thompkins weighed 468 pounds when he first joined the show and now weighs 311 pounds. The six-foot-four former college football player has a goal weight of 260 pounds.
Although he has been eliminated from the show, he is still a contender for the show’s at-home prize of $100,000.
“We award two prizes,” explained Jill Carmen, a publicity person for NBC. “A $250,000 prize for the finalist who is not voted off and a $100,000 at-home prize for a contestant who has been voted off.”
On Tuesday, all of this season’s contestants will go back for a live “The Biggest Loser” finale where the two winners will be announced.
Thompkins said if he snags the $100,000, prize he would like to open his own gym.
“I’ve become certified as a cross-fit trainer, and I would like to open a cross-fit gym so I can help other people,” he said.
He would also like to record a CD of work-out songs.
Thompkins also is trying to start a nonprofit organization called BL360. The organization will raise money to take deserving families to “The Biggest Loser” resorts in Utah and California, where they can receive meal plans, counseling and coaching to get them on the right track.
“BL360 is one of my main focuses right now,” he said. “It’s all about paying it forward.”
Thompkins plans to teach his own son, age 4, the importance of a healthy diet and fitness.
“I talk to him about eating right, and he does pull-ups with me at the gym,” Thompkins said.
Thompkins’ diet consists mainly of fish and vegetables.
“Changing my diet was really hard at first. I hated fish,” he admitted.
However, it’s gotten easier to eat right, and Thompkins was even able to make it through Thanksgiving without too much temptation.
“I did allow myself a little bowl of potato salad,” he said. “Potato salad is my weakness.”
Thompkins lives in Kent where he is a student at Kent State University majoring in visual communications.
He first tried to become a contestant on “The Biggest Loser” in 2006. For this season’s auditions, he drove to Detroit with his sister.
“I auditioned in Detroit with about 600 to 1,000 other people,” he said. “When I got the callback, I was so excited. My sister and I were driving home, and we got so excited, we started screaming and had to pull over.”
Thompkins said it was weird seeing himself on TV.
“While the show was taping, it didn’t really feel like television. It felt like therapy and exercise sessions,” he said.
The show, in which contestants compete for cash based on weight loss, first aired in 2004.