ONE question foremost on the minds of The Biggest Loser Asia viewers is whether or not the contestants will succeed in shedding as much weight as their American counterparts, some of whom lost as much as 100kg during their stint with the reality show The Biggest Loser.

The trainers for the Asian edition of The Biggest Loser, New Zealander Dave Nuku and Australian Kristy Curtis, are reserving their comments but Nuku admits that expectations are high. “The transformations are exciting,” is all he would say of the Asian contestants.

The Biggest Loser Asia premiered on Hallmark channel yesterday. Taping of the show started about six weeks ago.

Are Curtis and Nuku anything like their US counterparts, the iconic Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels?

Curtis says she and Nuku have their own styles of training. “Those who are familiar with the show will probably say he’s the good cop while I’m the bad cop. I describe Dave and his team as ‘tree huggers’. For them, it’s about high fives all the time or ‘let’s hug it out’ or ‘let’s all sing Kumbayah’. It is all very loving, graceful and beautiful.”

Her team, on the other hand, is more aggressive and, sometimes, they are all over the place, she says. “I’m quite hard on them too in terms of my ­direction and what I expect out of them. So there’s more yelling and screaming and a bit more aggression from my side of the room.”

According to Nuku, a number of the contestants initially had difficulty doing even the simplest of movements. And, there were some who had never worked out in their entire lives!

Hence, he and Curtis resorted to ­basic stuff like walking, a lot of ­stretching, some basic resistance ­training with weights and cardio workouts.

Apparently, one of the contestants was so huge, he could not fit into the exercise equipment. He was given a simple exercise programme to ­enable him to shed some weight before he was put on a more serious work-out ­regimen.

Contestants with health issues have special exercise programmes tailored for them by their trainers. Generally speaking, all the contestants work out up to six hours a day.

The trainers also have to contend with contestants who give excuses not to work out. Hence, they have to be on high-drive to ensure that their charges lose weight and viewers can learn something about diet and exercise from the show.

There are also nutritionists on hand to teach the contestants proper ­nutrition.

Nuku says that ­unlike the ­American or  Australian ­versions, The ­Biggest Loser Asia deals with ­people from all over the ­region, each having a specific cuisine.

“What I find interesting is that they all share a passion for cili padi!” laughs Nuku.  

Asked to ­comment on some contestants in the US series who have returned to their old eating habits and regained the weight they had lost, Curtis admits it is one of her biggest ­concerns.

“The main thing is not just about getting people into an exercise programme. You’ve got to get into the fundamental reasons why somebody is the way he/she is.

“So a lot of it is about asking questions, getting them to explain their core values and what’s important to them. Getting them to understand why they’re overweight and changing the patterns of behaviour that they’ve had their whole life. You got to get to the root of their problem.”

Nuku and Curtis have been in the fitness industry for more than a decade.

For Nuku, The Biggest Loser Asia is his first television show and “I know it’s a big pair of shoes to step into as I know how popular Bob and Jillian are”.  This regional fitness manager for Fitness First was one of the trainers on the sets of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Nuku is also the author of ­BodyFirst which is a step-by-step guide to fitness, ­nutrition and healthy living.

One of the biggest motivations for Nuku to keep fit is that he hails from a family of overweight people.

Curtis, a group fitness manager for ­Fitness First in Sydney, admits to having had self-­esteem issues when she was a teenager which led to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Eventually, she discovered that ­fitness training was the most effective way to motivate herself and live a healthy lifestyle.

The Biggest Loser Asia airs on Hallmark Channel (Astro 702) every Tuesday at 9pm.