Template:Contestant
Bill Germanakos is the contestant from Season 4 of the Biggest Loser and its subsequent winner. He is known for being one of the first ever set of twins in the show.
Bill competed for the Black Team. His teammates were Hollie Self, Isabeau Miller, Jez Luckett, Jim Germanakos and Julie Hadden.
History on the show
Episode 1. Bill arrived along with 17 other contestants to the desert where everyone had to complete a mile to get to the trainers. First two finishers were to become the team captains and to choose five more people to be in their team, which meant six people would be out of the game. Bill didn't make it to the top two and wasn't chosen by Jerry Lisenby and Phil Hawk, the two captains, to be in their teams. He however then became the member of the secret Jillian Michaels' Black Team with other five not-chosen-ones: Hollie Self, Isabeau Miller, Jez Luckett, Jullie Hadden and his twin brother Jim Germanakos. He worked out in the desert the whole week and learned while there that his starting weight is 334 lbs.
Episode 2. In the beginning of week two, Bill had an unofficial weigh-in and lost 21 lbs (new weight - 313 lbs), which made him the biggest loser for his team this week. He then moved with all his teammates to the Biggest Loser Campus, for the second weigh-in (this time official for the Black Team). He lost 12 lbs, getting down from 313 to 301. The Black Team won the weigh-in so they all were safe from elimination.
Episode 3. In week 3, Bill participated in the first temptation but decided not to eat anything. At the main challenge of the week, he raced with third-grade kid and with two other contestants which were Phil from the Red Team and Kae Whang from the Blue Team, but didn't have like while Phil won. He also hurt his leg during this race so when the next morning his teammate Isabeau (on Jillian's behalf) harshly told him to get down from his room for a workout he yelled at her, not knowing that she just followed Jillian's orders. However he immediately asked her for an excuse upon learning that it was Jillian's idea. At the weigh-in he lost 3 lbs, moving down from 301 to 298. But the Black Team still didn't lose the weigh-in so he was safe.
Episode 4. At the week's challenge that again involved running, Bill sat out due to his injuries. During the 4-th weigh-in he lost 13 kilos (from 298 to 285) which made him the Biggest Loser of the week among all remaining contestants. The Black Team won the weigh-in so Bill had nothing to worry about.
Episode 5. During the trip to Jamaica Bill had a supreme performance at the challenge, leading his team to victory. However, at the weigh-in his Black Team lost, with Bill losing 6 lbs (from 285 to 279) and not being the biggest loser for his team. He was under the threat of elimination along with Isabeau, Jez, Jim and Julie. He and his twin brother voted for Isabeau while all other members of the team voted Jim out.
Episode 6. Bill participated in the challenge where he had to carry a heavy frame on the beach. He battled it out for the victory with Phil but lost to him. At the weigh-in he lost 11 lbs (from 279 to 268) and became the Biggest Loser of the week for the second time. Black Team was safe this time.
Episode 7. In the beginning of the week the remaining contestants split into four trios, and Bill ended up with Julie and Amy Zimmer from the former Red Team. At the challenge, Bill's trio won some gym equipment, and at the 7-th weigh-in his team also didn't come last, with Bill losing 7 kilos (268 - 261) and being the Biggest Loser of the week for the second time in a tow and for the third time overall.
Episode 8. Bill's trio came in second at the week challenge. It was also revealed that Bill was considered to be a big threat in the game by some other contestants who tried to eliminate him by throwing-up the weigh-in for his team. The weigh-in was agains successful for him. Bill lost 10 lbs (from 261 to 251) and his trio was safe.
Episode 9. In the beginning of the week trios disbanded into five teams of two, and Bill ended up again with Julie. Together they won the challenge which brought them brand new cars. And at the weigh-in Bill got rid of 9 more kilos (251 - 242), which allowed his duo to be safe and placed him only 8 lbs away from losing 100 lbs since the beginning of his journey.
Episode 10. The duos disbanded and it was singles now. Bill won the temptation that involved eating and destroying donuts and won some money. He then came in second in the biking-running-swimming triathlon behind Hollie. Later, at the weigh-in he lost 8 lbs (242 - 234), becoming the Biggest Loser of the week for the fourth time and losing exactly 100 lbs since he started. He was quite emotional about it. Of course he was safe from elimination.
Episode 11. During the Make-Over Week Bill met with his eliminated twin Jim who was shocked to see his transformation. In the challenge he again finished second, this time behind Kae. At the weigh-in, he lost 6 lbs (234 - 228) which brought him to the middle of the pack and he didn't fall under the yellow line.
Episode 12. At the next individual challenge Bill finally won after two second places. His prize was the holiday with his family at the luxurious resort. The weigh-in gave him another loss of 6 kilos (228 - 222) which again was quite enough to be safe.
Episode 13. Bill's leg was sore again which didn't allow him to perform well at the main challenge, in which he finished 4-th of 6. However, it didn't cost him lbs, because at the weigh-in he lost 9 of them (222 - 213) and was the Biggest Loser of the week for the fifth time.
Episode 14. During the last competition week Bill once again finished second in the challenge, this time handing the victory to Isabeau. At the last weigh-in he had another solid loss of 9 lbs (213 - 204), which was enough to be safe again and brought his total weight loss at 130 lbs. Out of four remaining contestants (and finalsists) he had the largest weight-loss percentage when he left the ranch to go home.
Finale. At the Finale, Bill shed 164 kilos from his starting weight of 334 lbs, which gave him 49,10% of weight loss and handed him the victory in the season. He lost additional 34 lbs at home before the Finale.
Later appearances in the show
Bill attended the Finale of Season 9 along with other two former winners, Erik Chopin from Season 3 and Danny Cahill from Season 8. They were all introduced by Alison Sweeney in the middle of the night.
Stats at the show
Weight loss chart (lime markers denote being the Biggest Loser of the week).
Lbs lost chart.
Percentages chart.
Voting history chart.
Trivia
- In the very first episode, in one of his first interviews, Bill said that the only two people who could win the show were him and his twin brother Jim. These words turned out to be prophetic, with Bill winning the show and Jim winning the at-home prize.
- Bill was the Biggest Loser of the week for five times, which is the record for this season.
- Bill was under the threat of elimination only once (in week 5) which is the smallest among all contestans who made it relatively far in the season.
- Bill's name also was never written on the voting cards during eliminations.
- Bill never lost less than 1% of his current body weight in a week. His lowest percentage was exactly 1% in week 3.
- Although Bill became The Biggest Loser, his total percentage at the finale was third highest, behind his brother Jim and Blue Team's Neil Tejwani. But these two didn't make it to the Finale.
- Bill also didn't lose the highest number of lbs at home among the finalists during the period between the ranch and the Finale. He lost 34 of them, while Julie lost 38 and Hollie lost 41. But Bill had a big lead after the ranch period and still won.
- Bill can be seen at the Finale of Season 9 among the special guests attending the event.
- During the row of controversials over the Biggest Loser in the last few years, Bill was one of the contestants who defended the show.