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SINGAPORE : It is time to bust out your vibrating belt. Come September 21, "The Biggest Loser Asia" will return for a second season on Diva Universal, the new incarnation of The Hallmark Channel.
The weight-loss action, which will come to you from the set in Kuala Lumpur, will be presided over by a new host: Malaysian model and host of E! News Asia Marion Caunter, who replaces Sarimah Ibrahim from Season 1.
Trainers Dave Nuku and Kristy Curtis will return to whip the Losers into shape.
Of the 16 contestants from all over Asia, four are Singaporean - Manjit, Fish, Raj, and Jonathan are out to prove that Singaporeans can be really big losers. Either that, or it proves that Singaporeans are getting rather heavy.
Manjit Kaur, 24, is a final-year university student who deferred her graduation by a year in order to be on the show.
"Everyone always tells me I've got the face," Manjit told TODAY over the phone from KL, while on a break from filming and training.
"I want to be a broadcast journalist, and if I'm going to go on TV, I don't want my body to be taking up the entire TV frame! I've got everything else. I want to work on my body - and get a man!"
Nurhafiza Bte Mohammed, the 26-year-old affectionately known as "Fish", would like to change her life and pursue her dream job of being a flight stewardess. Her mother's diabetes and her father's passing from kidney failure - the result of a weight-loss diet of only apples - are also some of her motivations for wanting to lose weight in a healthy manner.
At 96kg, she is one of the lightest contestants, "but that made me want to work even harder to prove my worth in the show. Competition really drives me - I'm very determined and very focused. I don't let politics in the game get in the way of reaching my goal".
Viveganandam Deveraj, or just "Raj", is a 24-year-old 3D modeller who had to quit his job to be on the show.
"It's pretty much a make-or-break situation," said Raj. "That does motivate me to try to be the winner, or at least go as far as I can in the competition."
Raj would like to be "fairly ripped - hopefully enough to be on Flex magazine".
One of the heaviest contestants, 34-year-old Jonathan Wong, was nicknamed "Kung Fu Panda" by his young niece and nephew.
He's a photographer who finds that his size gets in the way of his work - and sometimes his work gets in the way of his size.
"I work in the middle of the night, and my hours are very irregular. It's difficult when you have a lot of temptation around, and friends to go for supper with!" Jonathan chuckled. "I'm 191kg and I'm worried that I'll hit 200. It's a scary thought, having a 'two' in front!"
If he achieves his weight-loss goal, Jonathan said, "my wildest dream right now is to run down Orchard Road naked, walk into a store and buy, maybe, a small-sized T-shirt that will fit me!"
We'll be cheering them on, slumped on our couches.
Catch "The Biggest Loser Asia" starting September 21 at 9pm on Diva Universal (StarHub TV Ch 522).
- TODAY/il
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