Sometimes less is more – and never has that been more true than watching Michelle Aguilar celebrate her victory on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” on Tuesday night.
Michelle bested her two fellow finalists, and 15 other competitors throughout the season, dropping 110 pounds off of her 242-pound frame to become the latest “Loser” winner.
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So what was Michelle’s super secret to weight loss success?
“There’s no magic pill, there’s no secret. It’s just hard work and dedication,” she told AccessHollywood.com’s Laura “Dish of Salt” Saltman. “Hours, upon hours, upon hours in the gym.”
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But as she got ready to step on the giant scale one final time in front of a live audience and millions of viewers at home, and with the other finalists, Vicky and Ed, already having weighed in, did Michelle have an idea of what number was about to pop up on the scale for all to see?
“I knew that I was close,” Michelle told Laura. “I wasn’t sure exactly what the scale would say, you know, all scales are kind of different. I knew I was close, but I didn’t know how close I was going to get to Ed.”
Prior to stepping onto the scale, host Alison Sweeney noted Michelle had to have lost 100 pounds to beat Ed, who was currently sitting atop the leader board.
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When she did, Michelle’s 110-pound drop earned her the $250,000 prize and title of “Biggest Loser.”
And while the credit for her weight loss is all her own, Michelle does have America to thank for coming out on top, as the viewer vote sent Ed, instead of his wife Heba, into the final three with an overwhelming 84 percent of the vote, despite a public plea from Ed to make his wife the last finalist.
Had Heba been voted into the finals alongside Michelle and Vicky, Heba would’ve beat Michelle by a narrow margin.
“Thank you America!” Michelle laughed with Laura, blowing a kiss to the camera. “I love ya!”
During this season of “The Biggest Loser,” Michelle had a very special driving force by her side until almost the very end – her mom Renee, who Michelle had a strained relationship with until they teamed up on the show – an idea she said she actually got from her father.
So what did her “Biggest Loser” teammate have to say to her following the victory?
“She just said congratulations and she loves me and, you know, it means a lot to hear that from, my parents,” Michelle told Laura. “And my dad, he’s great too and I mean all my family, they really have been so supportive.”
And now that’s she’s 110 pounds lighter, and $250,000 richer, what does Michelle plan to do with her money?
“I promised my family a vacation and then, I gotta get some new shoes,” she said. “I mean, a girl’s gotta get some shoes!… But I do owe my mom a handbag (from a promise made to her mom on the show). I’ve gotta go shopping for that too.”
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