The Buzz - BuzzWorthy Radio

THE BIGGEST LOSER WINNER Alison "ALI" VINCENT!

The winner of NBC’s hit show The Biggest Loser season 5, and the first-ever female winner, Arizona native Alison “Ali” Vincent is a dynamic and inspirational speaker, television host, philanthropist and author.

A former champion synchronized swimmer, Ali set foot on the Biggest Loser ranch weighing 234 pounds. After weeks of hard work and dedication to health and fitness on the ranch and at home, Ali stepped on the scale at the finale weighing in at 122 pounds- 112 pounds less than her starting weight. This successful weight loss was enough to earn Ali the title of Season 5 winner and the first-ever female winner. Since winning The Biggest Loser title in April 2008 she has achieved what many others who lose weight don’t; she has kept the weight off and is healthier than ever.

In Ali’s first book “Believe It, Be It: How being the Biggest Loser won me back my life.” Vincent will share her inspirational story and offer tips for other struggling to lose weight and make major life changes. Beginning with her childhood and teen years, Believe It, Be It will take readers through the most important and life-changing moments in Vincent's life, including what led her to try out for The Biggest Loser, what really goes on at the legendary Biggest Loser ranch, how she made a spectacular comeback after being eliminated after her 4th week on the show, how she's been able to maintain her 100+ pound weight loss, stay motivated, and help others since her win on the program. Book published by Rodale Publishing.

Ali has been featured in numerous magazines and on both national and local talk shows, including the Oprah Winfrey Show, Ellen and the Today Show, among others. She is a spokesperson for NEXT Designer Whey protein. She regularly appears on QVC as a celebrity host. In 2009 she was named one of the “12 Women Who Move the Valley” by Arizona Foothills Magazine.

Duration:: 13m
Broadcast on:: 25 Nov 2009
Audio Format:: other

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It's already the day before Thanksgiving. I am completely and utterly flabbergasted by this. It is absolutely -- the year is just -- the year is almost over. You think about it. It's 30 days. It's 30 days before Christmas. Exactly. 30 days before Christmas. Wow. If you haven't gotten your shopping done already, you get your shopping done now. If it's 30 days before Christmas, come on. God, if I did your Christmas shopping now, if you haven't already. What's on your mind, whether you get in for your loved ones or your friends or your family? You know, it's just -- it's just creeping up upon us, man. It's great. I love it. I love the holiday season. It's one of my favorite times of the year. So I'm actually looking forward. I'm actually looking forward to it. But, you know, I'm looking forward to -- I'm looking forward to chatting with our guests this morning. Our guest is the season five winner of The Biggest Loser, Allison, Ali Vincent, who will be joining us in just a few moments. And I cannot believe it. This is going to be great to talk to. I've always wanted to talk to someone from The Biggest Loser. What's their inspiration? What's their inspiration to want to go on, The Biggest Loser, and what is their motivation to make sure that they stick it out towards the end. I love it. Love it. So, yeah, she's going to be joining us in just a few moments. But what are you guys doing tomorrow? We are doing the Thanksgiving. I want to know your thoughts. And your thoughts, folks, and Natalie, at Buzzed Radio, or on Twitter, at Buzzed Radio. But right now, we are joined by Allison, also known as Ali, Vincent. How are you? Ali Vincent, you're on. Thank you. I'm great. How are you? Good. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. And congratulations. Thank you. What I wanted to first of asking is, what prompted you? What was your motivation to want to do The Biggest Loser this season? What was your bias? What was going on in my head before trying out for the show? Yes. Well, you know what? It had been years that I had been struggling with my weight, but probably really distinctly the few years prior to when I went on the show during season five. I was so tired of not feeling good about myself. And I had tried different diets and different things. And I just wasn't clicking because it wasn't something that I did. And when I watched season three finale, Eric Chopinwin, I was like, "I can do that." He just mesmerized me. Yes, he lost over 200 pounds, but he also, it was what I saw in his eyes, and that's what I had been looking for. Okay. And it was maybe around your family or someone that you're close to that you go, "I have to do this for them. This is for you, not just for me, but this is for you, too." No. I mean, not really. I think that we all have to do it for ourselves. I mean, I did the show with my mom. We were the first time they ever had couples. And so my mom and I were team teams during season five. And it really was about living our lives, and yes, there's many people in my family who are healthy, and there's many people in my family who were unhealthy, and they've all -- I mean, it was the ripple effect from the rocks I was thrown in by me and my mom being on this show has been tremendous within our family, our community, everybody. So, but you have to go -- you can't go on the biggest loser for anybody else but yourself. Exactly. I like that answer. And you were the first female winner. You were the first female winner of the show. I love it. I love it. It's like my calling to fame. Like, I find my books. I just wrote a book. I don't know if you know that. It's -- believe it, be it helping the biggest loser want me back in my life, and I always like sign them F-S-P-L. Because I'm the first female biggest loser. [ Laughter ] I'm just calling you. You know what I mean? You should have it printed on a T-shirt. I was the first female biggest loser winner. Oh, trust me. I got a couple shirts. [ Laughter ] Oh, oh, see. You know what my friend is so funny? She wrote -- she made me this shirt because every -- especially directly after this show, everybody would come up to me like, "Are you? Are you? Are you?" And I was like, "So she made me this shirt that says, "No, I'm not her and I was never fat." [ Laughter ] I love that. I know. That's what my friends do for you. You know, they keep it real. [ Laughter ] Yeah. Hey, your friends, everyone got to keep it real. They didn't keep it real. And they wouldn't be your friends, right? That's right. [ Laughter ] No. There you go. I like your personal mantra. Believe it, be it. I like that. Absolutely. You know, it was really kind of -- it started out. I had a bell that had Dream It, be it on it. And I would shake it even before we were ever cast for the show. And I just would get so ahead of myself and excited. And I'd be like, "Believe it, be it, mama, maybe the first single biggest loser." And they're like, "What, huh?" And it just kind of became something that I -- I said it every morning, every night. And then it wasn't until week four of actually being on the show that I really, truly believed it. And once I believed it, there was nothing that could stop me. And that's really -- it's the case in everything. And I've seen it, you know, within all aspects of my life, with my health, with my, you know, you, my mental, my physical, my spiritual. It's like, once you believe in something, there's nothing that can stop you. And it's really -- that's what you need to -- like what I realize is that I have to be more committed to my -- to what I believe in and what my goal is versus what I think that it looks like. Because if I was that, if I was committed to what it looked like, then I would have given up when I was eliminated in week four. But I didn't, you know, and that's because I knew for me what that meant to go for it. Exactly. And you also do a lot of speeches. I have -- I definitely have the opportunity and the privilege to travel around the country and speak to different people. You know, big groups, small groups, all kinds of groups. You know, health experts, women's expos, corporations. You know, lots of hospitals I speak at with their healthy women programs and stuff. But it really -- and that's what I love doing. That's like my passion is just really like getting there and talking to people and looking at them in the eye and giving them a hug. Because I know what it feels like to feel alone in this journey. Even though you have your friends and family, there's something inside you that feels alone. And I want -- you know, I want to hug as many people as I can. When I go back to campus every time, I like to hug them and hold them for a second and be like, "You know what? You will be okay." Like, you will make it through this. And I think that's important to know that you have at least one person on your team. You know? Exactly. Exactly. And can I -- and hopefully I'm not -- I'm not the over-doesn't my balance. But can I ask where are you at now? Where are you at now? I have to find your night. I'm accepting your balance. I mean, come on. Like, I give the world permission to ask me that. [ Laughter ] I wanted to ask you. I wanted to ask you. I'm like, "Oh, my God. I've heard of it." [ Laughter ] I know. It's so funny because people are always, like, looking at me. And they're like, "Uh, and people always asking my weight. And I'm a female." You know? And that's usually not, like, the coaster thing to do is ask your female or weight. And I was like, "Oh, good." I know. Like, I stood on a scale in my sports bra and biker shorts. Maybe you can ask me about my weight. [ Laughter ] Okay. Yeah. I was like, "Oh, my God. Am I going to get, am I going to get?" I don't know. I know. It's all the properness you have. Although, I don't know how. But in that fact, you know, why I wanted to, like, talk to you guys today is because that's one of the things. Tonight we're having a special Biggest Loser episode. And I just think it's fitting. It's around Thanksgiving because it's about Thanksgiving. It's about family. And there's a whole Biggest Loser family. Not only us contestants, but the world that has watched us go through our journeys. They're going to feature 40 contestants and find out where they are now and figure out, I mean, there's been a lot of success stories. There's been a lot of struggles. There's been love. There's been babies. There's been music careers. You know, and I think that it's just, it's really amazing. You know, and, you know, if you're talking about my weight, where am I now? I currently live my life at 125. You know, sometimes I do that little theater once a month. You know, going more towards 130, but I live my life at 125. That's wonderful. I'm so happy. Thank you. I'm so happy for you. Thank you. I'm proud of me too. And it's so good to be proud of me because you know what? There are so many years of my life that I just wasn't. And that was part of it. Forgiving myself. And in that, I was able to create something different. And I, that's really, you know, that's really what it's about. My journey on the biggest loser was the journey of forgiveness and falling in love with myself. And I think that everybody needs to have that relationship. And I was always looking for it outside when I, what I needed to do was just look for it inside. Because of course nobody's going to love me until I love me. You know, and I thought about myself. And that's really, you know, I'm creating the life I've always dreamed of living. You know, and it's still amazing. And everybody can do it. Like anybody can do it. Absolutely. And what would be the biggest advice that you give to anybody, a man, a woman, a child. It went through what you went through when you applied to be the biggest loser. What would be the one thing that you would say to them as anything in the world? You mean as far as to get on the show? Of not just that, but more like in general. Because I think that that's one of the blessings of the biggest loser. I think that millions of people watch it not just because, I mean, probably a ton of people that watch it have weight issues. But what they see is people believing in themselves again. And I think the only way that you can truly do that or even figure out what that means. Because to say that, you know, a lot of people say that I say it, but what does that mean? Believing in yourself. Well, it starts with telling the truth. Like I think that's the number one key. If you, if there's any area of your life where you want more, then you have to tell the truth of where you're at now. And you have to tell the truth and what do you want? Like what would be, if you could have anything in your life and have it, your life look like anything you want, what would it look like? I think that we, you know, we constantly say, oh, maybe we're not happy with ourselves. Maybe we're not where we want to be in our careers or relationships in our bodies. But we never take, it's hard for us to admit what it looks like if we had, if we had it at all. And as long as you, if you don't know what it looks like, there's no way to get there. You have to know where point A is and where point B is in order to make that journey. Absolutely. Absolutely. Everybody make sure you watch. The biggest is aware of it now. It is an amazing episode. And you have to watch it because my mom is dying for the world to see how great she looks. You can see me get to her goal, like, at finale. She's like, I can't wait. I'll see. I got to my goal. It is all at 8 p.m. eastern time, everybody. Make sure you guys check it out. I will be watching it. You guys should be watching it. Allie Vincent, thank you so much for stopping by this morning. It was a pleasure having you. This is great. I loved it. Absolutely. Anytime. Absolutely. We'll get you back here. Absolutely. Okay. See ya. Take care. All right, guys. We are heading out of here right now for the day, but I want to let you guys know I want you to have a very safe and happy Thanksgiving wherever you are, wherever you're listening to this show from. Be safe. You know, be thankful for all my loved ones, all my friends, all of my family, all of the support that I have at my job. Having a job, you know, I'm just thankful for being able to share anything with everybody. You know, and that's one of the joys that I have doing this. So, I am so happy that you guys are listening to this show and being a part of the show. And whatever you guys are doing, make sure you be safe, be good, and happy Thanksgiving to all of our daily setting up, making sure you guys get the latest buzz with your video. Have a good holiday. God, that hurts my voice. my voice.