Former guidance counselor and cheerleading coach Sophia Franklin appeared on the NBC’s popular reality weight-loss show, “The Biggest Loser,” which premiered on Sept. 21. Franklin, 28, temporarily left her job at WJ in order to pursue her goal of reaching a healthy weight. She officially announced her participation on the show to the WJ community on the day of the premiere.
“My life was literally overloaded, schedule-wise and weight wise,” said Franklin. “I was working as a high school counselor, coaching cheerleading, teaching spin classes and working on my Ph.D. In addition, my brother died in a car accident last year and I was still grieving from his loss.”
With all of these components, Franklin decided it was time for a change and went to an open casting-call in D.C. for “The Biggest Loser.” Franklin was selected as one of three finalists from a pool of contestants in Detroit, Mich. to compete for a spot on the show’s tenth season.
She won by successfully completing a 500-step challenge with determination and by pacing herself. She was immediately taken to “The Biggest Loser” ranch, where she joined the other contestants from other cities. After the first week of gruesome work outs, Franklin lost 14 pounds, but she had to fight to stay on the show through another challenge.
“The Biggest Loser,“ which began in 2004, is a competitive weight-loss show which features overweight participants with hopes of bettering their health and appearance while also competing to win $250,000. This weight loss is achieved with the assistance of trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels, and through rigorous challenges that gauge contestants’ endurance, will-power and strength. The contestant who loses the least amount of body mass must leave the show after each weekly weigh-in.
Isolated from fast-food chains and other unhealthy influences, contestants learn how to properly work out and lose weight, and also how to become educated about nutrition and self-image.
“This experience has been…one that I will never get again,” said Franklin.
Throughout the years, “The Biggest Loser“ has caught national attention in its fight against obesity, a rising problem in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2007 to 2008, an estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents and 33 percent of adults suffered from obesity.
The various health hazards associated with obesity, like heart disease, respiratory problems and diabetes, are what make the struggle to lose weight so imperative.
“Obesity is an epidemic in our nation and childhood obesity is on the rise,” said Franklin,
“I hope I am able to use my new-found voice to institute change in our nation and I plan to start by leading by example.”
