[WLSNewsBot]

NBC's 'Biggest Loser' considered surgery (AP via Yahoo! News)

Erik Chopin, who dropped 214 pounds to win NBC's "The Biggest Loser," was prepared to undergo surgery to slim down before he was chosen for the weight-loss competition.

published Sat, 16 Dec 2006 01:59:48 GMT

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[fr1endly2]

WOW what an interesting piece of news!

I hope his weight stays off for ever for him.
I know for me i probably could have lost the weight
for the show but then keeping it off would be my hard part.
THIS time with my smaller appetitie (as i refer my birth
defect fixed) i know my weight is off forever.

[MSmom]

It is interesting and I am very happy for him however, not all of us can go on tv and get the training he was able to get. If my insurance would cover a long period at the weight loss ranch I would be first in line if it would guarantee me that I would lose the kind of weight I am aiming to lose. It is so easy for people to judge and say it is a cop out especially if they did do it naturally. But, what if he had not been given that opportunity to go on that show and get that kind of help, he would be in the same boat with the rest of us.......

[FemmeMode]

"I felt like I needed to go for the surgery but, really, I'm so glad I didn't. ... I knew the whole time, I honestly knew, I was copping out, I was quitting." -Eric Chopin

You all know me, I'm a reality show junkie!! I LOVE "The Biggest Looser"...and have always felt such emense encouragement from this show.
I don't however like the above quote from Mr. Chopin....I find it interesting that b/4 the show was a option...that WLS was something that could save his life...and then now, b/c he didn't have WLS....and lived this "impossible life" at the ranch and lost all that weight....WLS would have been a cop out? ::::sigh:::::
I feel like Lisa...in fact I have the history to back it up. When I was 26 I began Weight watchers...and Jazzercize. I lost 120#'s (more than I've lost now...) and GAINED EVERY POUND back + more!!! I can loose it...that is something that when I am set...and have support I can do. It's the "after" that defeats me.

I would've been one of the ones that went to the ranch....lost a TON of weight...and then after a time....gained it back!!! (Did you see Mark, TBL's winner from last seasons, debut back on the show this year?? He's back up in his weight.)

Anyway...I'm Glad that he's lost the weight...but am not encouraged about his comment...b/c I don't think WLS is a "COP OUT" in any way - shape - or form!!!

[*Butterfly*Girl*]

I love TBL, too, Deb. It's always been very encouraging for me as well. In fact two summers ago I was losing right along with the contestants. I gained it all back and then some, too. I'm sure that every single one of us if afforded the same opportunity they had we could lose the excess weight. They exercise a tremendous amount on that show (at that ranch), too.

Those that say that WLS is a cop-out are very very uneducated people. Like Doc Sanae said it's just one tool to get us there, to get us 'tasting' what thin feels like and get us to a place where healthy choices are easier to make. It's still HARD WORK. It's so not a cop-out.

I really hope he keeps the weight off. That's an amazing amount of weight to lose!

[wannabethin]

I wish the very best of luck to this guy, although all the time I'm reading the story I am thinking the very same thing you guys posted above. Getting it off is probably going to be the easiest part for him, now the really hard part will start. Some people have long term success after dieting, unfortunately, I was never one of them. I always think of Oprah coming on her show in those tight Calvin Klein jeans pulling that wagon filled with fat to represent how much weight she had lost. She said she started gaining weight immediately after taping that show.