Up until 20 years ago Lori Granito, 43, was living life in the States as a healthy 62kg woman. However, with her move to Hong Kong things began to change. As a successful chef, Lori opened her own restaurant, but at the same time her brother tragically passed away. The combination of emotional upset and stress from the new business caused Lori to put on weight, creeping up to 100kg. It was after the birth of her daughter, now nine years old, when she reached her heaviest at 128kg.
It was at this weight that Lori entered to take part in The Biggest Loser Asia. She says, “I had been watching the show and thought about applying, but didn’t. I then had a dream that I made it to the final four, so I got on a plane to the last audition in Thailand two days later.”
Having literally realised her dream by making it to the final four, The Club speaks with Lori about her Biggest Loser Asia journey, her relationship with food, life in the real world and who she is backing to win – plus, she reveals tensions within the house.
Despite common misconceptions, Lori’s weight troubles weren’t caused by overeating due to her career as a chef. In fact, the exact opposite was the problem. “I would start a busy day with a healthy breakfast, but then I was so busy at work that I wouldn’t eat all day,” says Lori. “I only realised how hungry I was when I finished work at 2am and would then eat anything that was close to me.”
But currently experiencing her busiest period at work, training as much as possible and trying to spend time with the family, how is Lori coping now she is back at work after her exit from the show?
“The most important lesson I learnt while in the house was to prioritise the things I need for myself first, before anything else. I now recognise that it’s OK to set aside time to eat a proper meal. I have an alarm clock that reminds me to eat and take a healthy break no matter how busy I am,” says Lori.
As well as successfully keeping up her regular healthy eating habits, Lori is still managing to train five days a week, running about 12-16km outdoors at least four times a week and benefiting from the help of a personal trainer.
Click to enlarge photos
Lori before
Lori before
Lori before
Lori before
Gossip from the house
As most of you will know, Lori naturally took on the role as head chef for her red team members. She says, “I believe my cooking had a lot to do with the red team’s domination at weigh-ins. I always kept close tabs on the calorie content of our food and made sure we ate lots of fresh vegetables – much to Saw’s disappointment!”
To overcome Saw’s dislike for veg, Lori actually used a technique we recommend at The Club, which was to hide the vegetables in the dish so he ate them without realising. “I think all of the red team learned a good deal about nutrition, portion sizes and how to make their food flavoursome from me!”
However, it wasn’t all happy families in the red camp, with obvious friction between her and team member Genghis, as Lori confirms. “Genghis didn’t like me and I couldn’t stand him, but we kept it together for the team. It should have been renamed the Genghis and Lori show,” she says. “Both Genghis and Raj were slackers and rarely helped with team chores.”
Despite her obvious disdain for Genghis, Lori actually thought, if it wasn’t for his lack of self-discipline, he would've stood a good chance of winning. As it was, she had a feeling Raj might just do it. “I would have loved Nai to win, but I thought Raj might steal the crown as he wanted it so badly.” And as we all now know, her prediction was correct!
Club survival guide
Speaking about her experience with The Biggest Loser Asia, Lori says, “It has been amazing, albeit surreal. It helped me kick start my road to a healthier lifestyle, and for anyone considering it, go for it!”
For those who are trying to achieve the same weight loss success from home, Lori highly recommends The Biggest Loser Club, as used by herself and the other contestants while on the show.
“The Club is a great way to manage your diet. I eat similar things most days, so I rely heavily on the fantastic copy and paste tool in the online diary. It’s such a great reality check – seeing how many calories your favourite food will cost you before you eat it allows you to make an informed decision about whether or not to have it.” Although Lori continues to be strict with her diet and use the diary, she says, “Sometimes though that piece of dark chocolate is totally worth it!”
And as for Lori’s one piece of advice to anyone thinking of joining The Club, she says, “Get started now. Don’t wait until tomorrow.” Her experience and weight loss has completely turned her life around. “The first time I ran for 45 seconds it took me 45 minutes to catch my breath. Now all those people who were probably laughing at the fat girl trying to run are congratulating me on my amazing success.”
Having started her journey at 128kg, Lori now weighs in at a healthier 82kg. But determined to achieve what she set out to do, she says, “I don’t plan on doing this twice. I will continue running, eating well and maintaining a healthy weight loss until I reach my goal weight of 65kg.”