If the sweetheart of Biggest Loser 11 was Courtney Crozier, then the sweetie pie of Biggest Loser 12 is definitely Ramon Medeiros. From his wide-eyed and joyful reactions to every good thing the Biggest Loser Ranch offers, to the sincere intensity of his workouts, to his heartbreaking loyalty to his teammates and friends, Ramon is a lovely soul who is very, very easy to root for.
Our guy Ramon is 27 years old, carries 355 lbs on his 5’11’’ frame, and is really ready to earn his life back. He was a 3-sport athlete in High School and a 2-sport athlete in college; but, before coming to the Ranch, his obesity had gotten far enough out of hand to trigger sleep apnea. He found himself sleeping with a c-pap and wondering what his next disturbing weight-related medical diagnosis might be. But, before some doctor had a chance to break the news to him about diabetes or heart disease, Ramon headed to the Biggest Loser and to months of life-changing challenges.
Ramon is an all-around American hailing from Colorado, but born in California to Hawaiian and Mexican parents. He says food has always been a big part of the family’s connection to it cultural identities, and weight has always been a struggle. But, he stayed active in sports and managed to stay in control until after college.
When he left behind the structure of organized sports, Ramon lost control and ballooned to his pre-show weight. He also says that he takes inspiration from Sam Poueu and Koli Palu, Tongan Biggest Loser contestants whose cultures, like Ramon’s, encourage over-eating. (Starcasm is very happy to report that Sam has been moved to rehab and is recovering nicely from the serious fall that sent him to ICU a few weeks ago.)
In an interview with Prevention magazine, Ramon explained his ambitions for himself this way: “I feel that I am wasting my life to an extent I don’t even know how to comprehend. I want a girlfriend. I want to go on dates. I want to have all those opportunities.” Ramon hasn’t let his weight entirely stall his life. He loves his work as a tattoo artist. But, he knows that his life could be much richer and freer than it is; so, that is what he wants to work for – to earn – on The Biggest Loser this season.
In this video, you can see Ramon at his biggest talking about his past, his emotional eating, and his drive to get back to being the strong, active, leader he used to be. You can also hear him talk about one of his tattoos and its special meaning for him on his Biggest Loser weight loss journey.
So far, in a field of focused, polite, positive thinking contestants (and Jen), Ramon has distinguished himself as the nicest of the nice guys. They say nice guys finish last; but, I sincerely hope that this time they’re wrong. Good luck, Ramon!! Ruby loves you.
