By Victoria Stone-Meadows
Cranbourne locals have no doubt spotted a familiar face in the newest season of the popular reality TV series The Biggest Loser.
Luke King, the sales and sponsorship manager for the Cranbourne turf club, decided to become a contestant on the show to be a better role model for his two-year-old daughter.
“I think that any child deserves a parent that is healthy and active,” he said.
“It is always in the back of my mind knowing she is an active toddler it’s important for me to get my act into gear and be best healthy role model I can possibly be.”
Weight loss and the lifestyle change necessary to achieve these kinds of goals are usually a very personal journey and Mr King said it was not a light decision to share his story on television.
“It was a bit of a tough decision to do it in any case, let alone in front of the nation,” he said.
“I had been training for a long time but had not seen any kind of results so my trainer, ex-Commonwealth boxer Julian Holland put it in my head I needed a total life change.”
“I saw an ad for The Biggest Loser and decided it was time for change and to make the improvement I wanted to see and that I have been working towards for 10 or 15 years.”
Although the program has only just started on TV, Mr King said the experience so far had been very rewarding.
“I found the whole experience really worthwhile,” he said.
“It’s a really tough slog but up to this stage I have officially lost 6.8 and 3.3 kilograms in the two weigh-ins.”
Before starting his journey with The Biggest Loser, Mr King said it would have taken him a lot longer to lose that much weight.
“To have lost that amount of weight beforehand could have taken me up to a year at one point.”
“It’s been amazing to see that sort of result and my improved fitness and leaning key things like diet is a great thing for me.”
While Mr King said he loved the experience of being on The Biggest Loser, he had a long way to go to reach his goal of getting back to his sporting-fit weight.
“At this stage things are only just gearing up and we’ve just lost the first challenge in the orange team,” he said.
One member of the orange team that Mr King is a member of was eliminated and sent home from the show on Wednesday night 29 March.
“It’s definitely tough but we are all improving together and my fitness is starting to lift to a level I haven’t had for a long time.”
Catch Luke King’s journey and the rest of the action from The Biggest Loser: Transformed on Chanel 10 Mondays to Thursdays at 7.30pm.
