Matt Hoover, 31, a motivational speaker based in Seattle, had a 15-lb. rebound within a day of winning Season 2.

Last season's runner-up, Kai Hibbard, 28, an aerobics instructor in Alaska who says she spent the night before her final weigh-in hopping in and out of a sauna for six hours, consumed only sugar-free Jell-O for several days and wolfed down asparagus, which is a natural diuretic. "It's amazing the things you learn in a weight-loss competition," she says.

This part of the article really gets me:

The show tries to prevent unhealthy behavior by making contestants keep food journals (to make sure they're not starving themselves) and threatening penalties if tests show they are too dehydrated (although an executive producer says no violations have been uncovered yet). But like the $55 billion U.S. diet industry, The Biggest Loser places the bulk of its emphasis on shedding pounds rather than maintaining the loss.

Too dehydrated? Why was Kai eating nothing but asparagus and sugar-free Jell-O then?

Two and a half years after Benson's final weigh-in at 208 lbs., the new dad has slipped out of the spotlight and into old habits. "No one sees me get an apple pie in the drive-through," says Benson, whose weight now hovers at around 300 lbs.

In spite of the shows' sleight of hand, I think the reality of losing weight and keeping it off comes down to what Kelly Miner did.

The first-season runner-up dropped from 242 lbs. to 163 lbs. by the finale and now weighs 140 lbs. A school administrator in Bethlehem, Pa., Minner, 31, says she works out from one to four hours a day, six days a week. She exercises while watching TV--and did so throughout our phone interview.