American Idol’s Ruben Studdard said he joined Biggest Loser because he’s “fat as hell”

Ruben Studdard, who gained fame as the second winner of American Idol, joined the 15th season of The Biggest Loser this summer for one simple reason: “Because I’m fat as hell!”

The Velvet Teddy Bear explained to Today.com that he was at his all-time heaviest weight when The Biggest Loser producers called.

“They called and asked me to be a part of the show and I knew it was time for me to change my life,” Ruben said. “I’m 462 pounds. If anybody needs to be here, I do.”

Ruben added his decision to compete on the show was validated when he arrived at the ranch and discovered his health was worse than he realized.

“What’s crazy is that I actually had a physical in December and I was fine,” he said. “This is why when people ask me what my turning point was why I wanted to lose weight, I say my age… I have high blood pressure now, and, six months into being 34 I get here and find out I’m borderline diabetic, which means if I keep going, by the time I’m 35, I could probably have Type II diabetes. So this was perfect timing for me.”

Ruben also participated in a recently aired episode of Where Are They Now? on OWN.

In it, Ruben spoke about his three-year marriage and new life as an eligible bachelor. Even though he joked to OWN that ladies should hit him up on Twitter, he explained to Today.com that he isn’t inclined to air all the details of his personal life.

“I had no desire to be the next Real Husband or anything like that,” Ruben said. “This opportunity was about me getting myself together. It had nothing to do with popularity or fame because I’ve got that. This was about me changing my life.”

The Biggest Loser premieres on NBC on October 8 at 8/7c p.m.