Sarimah ready for the job with Fitness First’s Group X Demo team

THE hugely popular US ­reality series, The Biggest Loser (currently ­showing on Astro’s Hallmark ­Channel), is coming to Asia.

The series featuring overly-obese ­Americans ­attempting to lose a remarkable amount of weight and learning to observe healthy ­lifestyles is coming out with an Asian edition, starring Asia’s own heavyweights.

Producer Riaz Mehta, who is the president of Imagine OmniMedia (which also ­produces The Contender Asia), said The Biggest Loser is one of the most successful television show ­formats in the world and is available not only in the US but also in Europe, and soon in Asia.

“Contestants of The Biggest Loser series are people who are battling with weight issues and whose obesity is affecting the way they live,” he said at a recent press ­conference to ­announce the Asian ­edition of this reality series.

With Fitness First Asia chief financial officer David Prosser and producer Riaz.

The winner of The ­Biggest Loser Asia will not only walk away lighter but richer, too, as he or she stands to win US$100,000 (about RM350,000).

And hosting the series is none other than our very own actress/singer Sarimah Ibrahim, who admitted at the press conference that she had faced weight issues as a child and teenager.  

“In school, I was bullied. I was even called names like badak ­(hippopotamus). I felt a lot of ­pressure  because of my weight. Because of my size, I could not even buy ready-made school uniform so I had to get them tailored.”

Sarimah, 31, had ­auditioned for the job to host the show two months ago and only found out last week that she has been selected. 

She said she was ­unperturbed by her chubby physique but when she got into the entertainment industry, she was constantly reminded to lose weight.

“I didn’t see why [I should]. I felt my personality would carry me. I wasn’t a model and TV hosts didn’t have to be stick thin anyway.”

Eventually, she decided to lose weight but she ­certainly did not want to do it the ­unhealthy way.

“I chose martial arts to help me get trim. For five years, I did karate and my martial arts teacher stopped me from going out, clubbing and ­eating the wrong food, basically keeping me in line so to speak. I always had competitions for my grading and I had to eat well. ”

If she looked lethargic, her ­karate instructor would ­immediately haul her up and the fear of being ­reprimanded kept her focused on her weight. She became more ­disciplined and lost weight but gained muscle which made her look a little bulky.

 “This was sometime in 2001 and 2002. People in the industry couldn’t differentiate between fat and muscle. So I had to go back to losing more ‘weight’.

“This I did through ­cardio-pilates which I practised ­every day for one-and-a-half hours for two years,” said the karate black-belt holder. Sarimah is still into cardio-pilates as it keeps her in shape.

“I eat what I want but not a lot. For instance, I only eat six pieces of French fries and a few bites of a Big Mac. I give the rest of the food to my friends!”

Hence, Sarimah’s policy is not to deprive herself of her favourite food but to eat in small quantities. “Never suffer,” is her mantra when it comes to food.      

A contestant from The Biggest Loser Season 6.

She believes there are no shortcuts to losing weight. “I will never be stick thin and I don’t ever want to be. I am of Irish-Malay-Chinese-Sicilian parentage. How-lah?” she laughs.

Sarimah does not fear comparison to the show’s first host – comedienne Caroline Rhea. The artiste said she is fine with it although she is more fond of Allison Sweeney who has been hosting The Biggest Loser from the third season onwards.

Sarimah first made her ­debut in the entertainment scene 13 years ago when she hosted a children’s TV show called The Attic.

She has also tried her hand at acting, ­having appeared in Puteri Impian 2, Janji Diana and Spinning Gasing. The talented lass has even cut an album.

These days, she is busy co-hosting the hugely-­popular Diari Akademi Fantasia and her biting wit has made her one of the most popular ­people on local television.

Fans of Diari Akademi Fantasia can rest assured that she would be able to meet all her commitments for both ­reality shows as their shooting schedules do not clash. 
 
The Biggest Loser Asia is set to go on air in the last quarter of this year but the question of where exactly in the continent the ‘fat’ farm is going to be located is still unknown.

The ­producers are ­keeping mum as the host country has not been finalised yet. 

In the US version, ­contestants are housed in a ‘fat’ farm for up to 17 weeks wbere they are put through an intense exercise regime and taught to eat nutritious meals and lead a healthy lifestyle to help shed their excess weight.

Viewers at home get ­useful tips for ­exercising and healthy living from the show’s in-house personal trainers. Fans are also ­motivated and inspired by the stunning weight loss ­experienced by the contestants.

Currently, auditions are ­being held across Asia to ­select the 30 ­contestants for the maiden season of The ­Biggest Loser Asia. 

Selections kicked off last week in ­Singapore. ­Tomorrow, an ­audition will be held at The Curve in Petaling Jaya for Malaysians ­intending to be part of the show.

Auditions in other ­countries in Asia will be held soon.

Sarimah said she will be attending all the auditions that will be held across Asia for The Biggest Loser Asia. 

Her advice to those ­auditioning for a place: “Go for it with the mindset that you’ll be in it to the end.

“Don’t make any excuses to get out of it as you’re being given a golden opportunity to change your life for the ­better and get a chance to win US$100,000 (RM358,000).
“Even if you don’t win, give it your all.”

Auditions for The Biggest ­Loser Asia will be held at Fitness First at The Curve, ­Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, tomorrow from 10am to 4pm. Callbacks will be held the ­following day.
For online applications at ­www.­biggestloserasia.com, today is the last day for ­submission.