INQUIRER Sports

IT’S BEEN 10 years since businessman Kenneth Yue, 54, weighed himself. Last he checked, he was 345 pounds. Although he’s always had trouble maintaining his weight, Yue said it wasn’t until after college that he began ballooning out of control.

A restaurateur then, he said it was constant entertaining and partying – and complete neglect of his well-being – that sealed his weight problem.

“It’s a nightmare. When you buy clothes it’s so difficult [to find one that not only fits you but also looks decent]. When you go out you have to consider so many things. I just wanted my life back,” Yue said.

Yue was among the 267 Filipino hopefuls who showed up for the live screen test audition of the first-ever “The Biggest Loser Asia” at the Fitness First, SM Megamall branch. Also among the hopefuls was Yue’s son, 27-year-old Kevin.

It was Kevin who convinced Yue to audition for the popular TV show. Kevin, who said he has been overweight his entire life, weighed exactly 300 pounds two years ago. Since then, he’s never bothered to check his weight again, although he believes he’s gained a lot more since.

“The producers are looking for resilience, determination and character from potential contestants. It’s one thing to be picked for the show and another to do the challenges. They must do what it takes to get results. It’s hard work,” said Fitness First Phils. country manager Mark Ellis.

The screen-test audition, which took more than 12 hours to wrap up, also had Asia’s biggest turnout so far, Ellis said. Not that the Philippines has the highest population of obese people in Asia, he said.

It might simply mean Filipinos are more confident in the English language and are comfortable about being in front of the camera.

No qualms

Certainly one with no on-camera qualms is actor-comedian Ryan Yllana. But despite his experience in show business, Yllana, who officially weighed 357 pounds during the audition, felt nervous and even threatened by other bigger would-be contestants.

Among the first to arrive for the audition at 10 a.m., Yllana found himself still in queue at almost 4 p.m. “I have no idea what to say when I go up there. My goal is to really lose weight since I find it very hard to do that,” he said.

He’s tried them all, he said, but his weakness has always been his inability to stay on a regimen, whether it’s diet, exercise or both. With the cameras tailing the participants, Yllana believes the setup will motivate them to finally stay on an exercise and diet program.

So does Stacey Whiteman, 22, who’s getting married May next year. Like most contenders, Whiteman has tried practically all sorts of diets, along with “diet” pills.

“There’s that pressure to keep it up when you’re in front of the camera. But whether I get in the show or not, I really need to lose weight and be healthy. Besides, I want to be the blushing bride walking down the aisle in a sleeveless, backless wedding gown,” she said.

Like that of the US TV show, Biggest Loser gets to take home $100,000 (that’s almost P5M). To the contenders, however, money is just a bonus, not the goal.

“I just want to be able to live my life to the fullest,” said Alrik Cando, 25. Cando, who quit weighing himself four years ago when the regular weighing scale could no longer measure his weight, considers burgers or pizzas his “dessert” after a hearty lunch.

When he was in high school, in fact, he could consume up to 25 cheeseburgers a day.

Vacation

Allan Kalvin Leung, a Filipino-Chinese from Milan, Italy was initially in town for a vacation. Instead, he found himself also auditioning for the show. After recently earning his degree in aeronautics, the 20-year-old aeronautics graduate has been teased by friends how the plane he’d be piloting might tilt forward because of his weight.

“It’s hard, especially in Milan where you only see very, very few overweight people. Italians are generally thin people. Maybe that’s why we don’t have ‘The Biggest Loser’ show there. I don’t even know the mechanics of the game. I just want to lose weight,” Leung said.

Produced by Imagine Omnimedia for Hallmark Channel, “The Biggest Loser” auditions and on-screen tests were held at four selected countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Ellis said only 30 would be chosen to be a part of the Asian debut.

Results will be out no later than September 1. Shooting and a diet-and-exercise program will be from October to January next year.

“When the lucky contenders will learn how to exercise properly with the right food, they’ll see that it’s not as hard as it seems. There is such a great turnout for the Philippines that the producers are considering doing ‘The Biggest Loser’ exclusive in the Philippines,” he said.