Elfin Recite

The significant lesson Biggest Loser participants learn is that their healthy lifestyles don’t finish when the contest ends. “There’s no finish line. That’s a large pill for people to ingest,” says Harper. “Every single day for the rest of your life, you are going to have to make better food choices, and move around a bit more.”

Michaels calls it “composing a life.” “You use fitness to re-structure a different set of practices and outlook: You go from past experiences of ‘I’m a loser, I’m fat, I’m worthless’ to ‘I’m capable. I’m strong, I’m confident.” Once you’ve made that paradigm shift, Harper and Michaels say you’ve won.