Former American Idol winner Ruben Studdard returned to The Biggest Loser 15 tonight for his final weigh-in. Ruben was cut from the show earlier in the season — twice — but was still eligible to win the $100,000 at home prize if he was The Biggest Loser winner among the eleven eliminated contestants at the finale.
Ruben didn’t end up winning the cash, that prize went to Tumi Oguntala, who lost an astonishing 175 lbs, which was an incredible 54.86 percent of her body weight. However, the former American Idol star did take home a huge weight loss of 119 lbs, and a brand new lease on life. Money is a wonderful thing, but knowing you’ve gone from the before photos below to the after photos, that’s the real win!
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After his first elimination from The Biggest Loser 15, Ruben swore he had “taken on a promise to myself to have a more active lifestyle.” He returned to the ranch for a few weeks when it was determined trainer Jillian Michaels had committed a rule violation with her team that rendered the weigh-in where he was eliminated invalid. However, he struggled to lose as much body fat percentage as the other contestants and was sent home once again.
Ruben didn’t give up though, and kept working hard to get in shape and get control over his weight. The end result was an amazing transformation, with the ‘Velvet Teddy Bear’ losing 25.76 percent of his body weight. As he said on The Biggest Loser finale, Ruben is out to find his true self and not just be “Big Rube” anymore!
Showing off his slim and trim new figure, Ruben Studdard was also featured as a guest performer on The Biggest Loser 15 finale, singing his new single “Meant to Be” from his just released album, Unconditional Love. Producer David Foster, who co-wrote the song, accompanied him on the piano. Unconditional Love is Ruben’s sixth studio album and available on iTunes and in stores nationwide.