Rachel Frederickson, one of the most buzzed-about contestants in “The Biggest Loser” history, was recently seen more than a decade after her headline-making win. The season 15 champ, now 35, stepped out of the public eye following her dramatic weight-loss journey, which sparked plenty of debate among fans at the time.
New photos obtained by The U.S. Sun show Frederickson near her $1 million home in Elmo, Minnesota, looking healthy and relaxed in casual attire. She was seen attending church and later stopping by a local religious-themed café.
Rachel Frederickson Today: Life After ‘The Biggest Loser’
During her season, Frederickson shed an incredible 155 pounds, walking away with both the title of champion and a $250,000 grand prize. But her final weigh-in shocked fans when the scale flashed 105 pounds — nearly 60 percent of her body weight gone.
Frederickson stood by her journey at the time, insisting she had done it the right way. “It was absolutely healthy weight loss. I dieted and exercised and did it healthy the whole way,” she told Today. Even so, the backlash weighed heavily on her. Later, she admitted to Us Weekly that she put 20 pounds back on after the show and felt much more balanced, calling it her “perfect weight.”
Now, more than a decade later, Frederickson has built a career outside of television. According to her LinkedIn, she works as a Customer Insights & Analytics Manager at Land O’Lakes, a farmer-owned cooperative based in Minnesota.
‘Fit for TV’ Puts the NBC Hit Under the Microscope
Frederickson’s name — along with other past winners — has resurfaced following Netflix’s new documentary, “Fit for TV: The Reality Behind The Biggest Loser.” The docuseries delves into the controversial tactics employed on the NBC hit, which aired from 2004 to 2020.
Former contestants recalled extreme conditions, from grueling eight-hour workouts to dangerously low 800-calorie diets. Season 8 winner Danny Cahill even claimed contestants were given caffeine pills to speed up weight loss. However, he clarified that celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels was not involved in that process, defending her after she threatened legal action against Netflix.
Michaels, along with fellow trainer Bob Harper, came under fire in the documentary for allegedly “bullying” participants. Michaels did not appear in the series but hit back online, blasting the claims as false. She also, according to Variety, alleged that NBC forbade her from “publicly condoning” Frederickson’s thin frame at the time, warning that the network would pursue legal action if she did.
Frederickson, for her part, opted not to participate in the documentary.
1 thought on “‘The Biggest Loser” Winner Seen for the First Time in Over a Decade After Victorious Weight-Loss”