NEWS - TV SHOWDOWN : SKINNY MORMONS VS. PLUS SIZE MORMONS

im already rooting on 3 teams on this show, one from Columbia, SC (the red team), another from Oklahoma city (The black team), and then my favorite Underdog team, as well...and i JUST learned about these 3 teams being members of my faith! UGH! this competition will be super tough for me to choose without bias...lol thank goodness im not in any judges seats to make any determinations about any of these teams...lol

TV showdown: Skinny Utahns vs. fat Utahns

Published on Jan 5, 2011


So what do you want to see on Tuesday nights? Skinny Utahns who dance or fat Utahns who work out?


That's the choice the major networks have given us, with their casting of two reality-competition shows: NBC's "The Biggest Loser" and CBS's new Paula Abdul-starring vehicle "Live to Dance."


On "The Biggest Loser," Logan's Rulon Gardner -- the former Olympic gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling -- tipped the scales at 474 pounds. He and his friend Justin Pope weighed in as the heaviest of the 11 teams in the competition.


Another Utahn, Deni Hill of Bountiful, is competing with her daughter, Sarah Nitta, who lives in Las Vegas. There's also a father-daughter team from Shelley, Idaho, Moses and Kaylee Kinikini.


"Six out of 22 [contestants] are Mormon,” Gardner told the Tribune's Scott D. Pierce. "It was kind of like, 'This is cool. It’s almost like back home.' But reality sets in. You’re not here to hold hands. You’re here to work out."


All six survived the first week's elimination.


Over on CBS, a dance group based at a dance studio in Lindon, Utah, cajavascript:void(0)lled The Vibe survived their first audition on Abdul's "Live to Dance." Here's how the entertainment website HitFix described the group's size: "The entire state of Utah is in The Vibe."





Olympic athlete Rulon was born and raised in Afton, Wyoming, the youngest of 10 children. He was overweight growing up but still in good shape from wrestling and playing football. He graduated from Nebraska University with a degree in physical education and went on to become an Olympic athlete, winning the gold medal for wrestling in the 2000 Olympics, and the bronze medal in 2004. Rulon says he gained the weight when he continued to eat like an Olympic athlete after he stopped training for the Olympic team. He knew he had to change his life when he tried to weigh himself and his 435-pound scale would not register his weight. Being diagnosed with sleep apnea and high blood pressure made it even more imperative that he lose weight. Now 39 years old, 474 pounds and married, Rulon looks forward to starting a family with his wife and getting into his jeep without straining after he's lost the weight. Season 9 winner Michael Ventrella inspired him because he made the commitment to get the weight off, despite being the show's heaviest contestant ever.





Being around as long as he can be for his family was Justin's primary motivation for trying out for "The Biggest Loser." Justin was born and raised in Cokeville, Wyoming, the middle child of 10 siblings, and attended Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. He knew he wanted to change his life when he was watching the show last year and cried because he weighed more than the contestants did. It was an "aha moment" for Justin, who says he never cries, but didn't realize until that point what he looked like. Justin, who weighs 365 pounds, has always been heavy, and he and several family members have diabetes. Now married and the father of a 10-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter, the 39-year-old looks forward to shopping in regular stores, riding horses again, playing sports, and being able to do more with his kids once he loses the weight.





Denise was born in Burbank, California, and raised with five siblings in southern California. At 59, she realizes she has always taken care of other people but never really taken care of herself. She has eight children, ranging in age from 18-37, and gained weight with each pregnancy without ever really losing the weight afterwards. Denise realized she needed to change her life when she could barely make it up the stairs carrying her one-year-old grandson, and worried she might drop him. She knew if she wanted to be around to watch her grandkids grow up, she'd have to lose weight and get healthy. She had lap band surgery, but only lost 50 pounds and then the weight slowly crept back up. Denise currently weighs 256 pounds. Now pre-diabetic and suffering from high cholesterol, she says she always felt like good things happen to other people but never to her. "I now realize that good things will happen for me if I step outside my comfort zone and make them happen," Denise says. "That's why I'm here - to become all that I was meant to be." She looks most forward to playing with her grandchildren once she loses the weight





Having lost several pregnancies because of her weight and experienced the devastating emotional loss each time, 27-year-old Sarah Nitta is determined to finally lose her weight so she and her husband can become parents. Sarah was born in Boulder City, Nevada and grew up the middle child of eight children in California and Utah before recently relocating to Las Vegas. She received an associate's degree in general education at Southern Utah University, and is currently attending the University of Utah, studying human development and family. Sarah was always overweight, and says she was relentlessly teased and didn't fit in, leading her to find comfort in food. With each pregnancy loss, she says, "I seemed to lose more control and gain more weight." Now 261 pounds, Sarah was inspired by Season 8 winner Danny Cahill, and says once she loses the weight she can't wait to start a family - and also to be able to have her husband pick her up and spin her around.





Moses knew he had to change his life in February of 2010 when he reached 475 pounds. He had so much pain in his legs that it hurt to get up and down, and he realized he couldn't live that way anymore. A longtime fan of the show, he was inspired by Season 8 winner Danny Cahill, and decided while watching that season to try out in Salt Lake City with his daughter, Kaylee. Moses wasn't overweight as a child. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, raised in Southern California and Nampa, Idaho with six siblings, and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in marketing. He was big, but always athletic. Food was an important part of his Tongan culture and he eventually became obese when he was in his early 30s. Now, the married, 47-year-old father of two daughters suffers from sleep apnea and high blood pressure and weighs 440 pounds. He hopes to have a closer relationship with his wife and play volleyball at a competitive level after he loses the weight.





"The reason I started my journey to go on "The Biggest Loser" was to help my dad change his life," says 20-year-old Kaylee. Her father Moses is obese, and she wanted to do whatever she could to help him get healthy. And seeing the health struggles that her dad faced made her realize what her future might be like too, if she didn't make a big life change. Kaylee, now 233 pounds, has been overweight her whole life, which she says is due to a poor diet, no exercise, and because she was shy and lacked self-confidence. She was born in Provo, Utah, raised in Nampa, Idaho as the oldest of two children, and currently attends college at Brigham Young University, Idaho. She had the opportunity to go skydiving last year, but couldn't because of a 200-pound weight limit, so she hopes to be able to skydive and just live her life to the fullest after she gets her weight off.