Update: How Being a "Biggest Loser" Can Make You Money

Alison Vincent, a hairdresser from Mesa, Ariz., bested her mother, Bette Sue, and 18 others to become the latest top weight shedder on the finale of The Biggest Loser: Couples.

After losing 122 pounds, nearly 48% of her body weight, Vincent, became the first woman to win the show's $250,000 top prize. “I am a whole new woman,” Vincent, 32, told reporters April 16. “There are absolutely no limits and I started to dream big again.” Want to eat what Ali ate? Now you can. For $19.95 per day, NBC (GE) is offering a Biggest Loser Meal plan with a menu that includes Thai Curry Chicken, and no sugar added chocolate donuts.

Of course, even the contestants that do not win The Biggest Loser, probably still feel OK about what they lost.

Losing weight is hard, even when you have a national audience watching your every calorie, but the benefits of keeping excess poundage off can be more valuable than even the $250,000 cash prize awarded to tonight's couple who has lost the most weight. Achieving a healthy weight can result in numerous lifestyle benefits, including reducing your risk of a heart attack. And some employers are even willing to pay you to stay fit.

The battle of the bulge is a daily reality for many Americans, more than 30% of whom are obese, according to the National Center for Health and Statistics. The number of at risk individuals increases when you factor in those who are overweight. Obesity and being overweight are not synonymous: An overweight individual has a Body Mass Index greater or equal to 25 and an obese person has a BMI greater or equal to 30. (That means a 5 foot, 5 inch tall person who weighed 150 pounds, or more, would be considered overweight; if they weighed 180 pounds, or more, they would be considered obese.) Weight is an issue for all kinds of people, even celebrities. Oprah Winfrey, Carnie Wilson, Kirstie Alley, Star Jones, and Ruben Studdard are just a few celebs that have struggled with weight.