While everyone was truly transformed, no one underwent a metamorphosis like Miles. Losing 90 pounds since the beginning of the show to last night’s reunion, Miles started the show at 260 pounds and unveiled his amazing leaner bod at just 170 pounds. Miles’ elimination obviously did not deter him from his motivation to keep his weight loss journey thriving.

Pinky: Total weight loss: 25 pounds

Ruben: Total weight loss: 90 pounds

Shayla: Total weight loss: 50 pounds

Alicia: Total weight loss: 95 pounds

Miles: Total weight loss: 90 pounds

Angela: Total weight loss: 36 pounds

Mara: Total weight loss: 44 pounds

Tara: Total weight loss: 52 pounds

Trice: Total weight loss: 69 pounds

Warren: Total weight loss: 25 pounds

Karla: Total weight loss: 20 pounds

Brandan: Total weight loss: 20 pounds

And as a true finale to the dance/weight loss competition, all of the contestants hit the stage together and boogied it up in their new svelte bods.

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Dance Your Ass Off Season Wrap-Up

DIR: How has the show changed your life?

Ruben: It sounds corny, but it changed my life and everyone else’s on the show. I was the oldest contestant by at least 11 years and I fully committed to what would happen. I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I committed to it. I took advantage of all the nutritionists, doctors and motivation and it paid off. I am still taking dance classes and I do it for myself because it’s fun, not for the competition aspect of it.

An exercise video is going to come out where people can learn the dances, have fun, sweat and lose the pounds all from their living room.

DIR: What is your current weight?

Ruben: I lost over 70 pounds since the show ended, but all of the weight loss success stories from the 12 contestants will be revealed on next week’s reunion show.

DIR: Will there be another Dance Your Ass Off?

Ruben: We don’t know yet, but it looks good and we really hope so. We hope that the show has another opportunity to change more people’s lives.

DIR: How did you feel your body changed throughout the show?

Ruben: After the first week, I was ready to quit the series with no soda, no sugar, no junk food. I lost 14 pounds my first seven days of the show. We worked really closely with the medical doctors and dietitians on the show and we listened to them and trusted what they were trying to teach us.

Food used to be such a reward for me after a long day of work, I would stop at fast food drive-thru and order my dinner from the dollar-menu. But in this controlled environment, I no longer had that reward system so I had to look beyond food to unwind.

What are you going to do with the $100,000 prize money?

I’m going to sit on most of the money given today’s economy, but my partner John and I will take a vacation to some remote and beautiful island and I’ll be able to finally take my shirt off on the beach and show off my 25-year-old body even though I’m 44-years old.

What was the single-most important thing you learned from the show?

To put myself first.

Stay tuned as DietsInReview.com recaps next week’s reunion show, which will reveal the weight loss success stories of all 12 Dance Your Ass Off contestants.

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Interview with Dance Your Ass Off Winner, Ruben

The final three, Ruben, Shayla and Pinky took the stage one last time and hopped on the scales for their final weight loss tally.

So who won the coveted $100,000 prize?

Ruben!

For Ruben, it was the combination of his dance moves (he has a background in dance) and his extraordinary weight loss. During the course of the show, Ruben dropped almost 60 pounds and went from a BMI of 42 (obese Class III) to 33 (0bese I). In addition to his cash prize, Ruben will also star in the first ever Dance Your Ass Off workout DVD.

Tune in for one last episode next week when all 12 contestants return to show off their weight loss, which they have kept going despite their elimination earlier in the series.

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Ruben Wins Dance Your Ass Off and Finale Recap

From the calorie-burning benefits and learning dances like the Cha-Cha and Jive, to understanding how fun getting in shape can be, these two dancers shared with us some of their best-kept secrets and insights from being a part of this dance and weight loss competition series.

Here is the complete audio conversation of our candid chat with Marissa and Alicia.

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Interview with Dance Your Ass Off’s Marissa Jaret Winokur and Contestant Alicia

As they were primped and prodded, each of the contestants saw firsthand how their sweaty moves have drastically altered not just their looks but their measurements as well as their confidence.

Their before and after images shocked even themselves. Shayla’s new-found pride in herself inspired her to vow that she would never again allow her weight to reach as high as it was when she first started the show.

Pinky is beyond exuberant to learn that she is now a size 8 and Shayla’s jaw drops when she realizes her bust size has dropped four full cup sizes!

Alicia discussed with Dr. H about some of the changes she is going through as she reaches her half-way point of her weight loss goal. Bewildered over the person she sees in the mirror as her dream of becoming the person she only aspired to be inches closer and closer with each pound she drops, Alicia is solid in her commitment to keep her transformative journey alive and flourishing long after the show ends.

This week, all four contestants were given the challenge of dancing the Viennese waltz and the Cha-Cha. While some were smoother than others, Alicia was eliminated due to her weight gain and performance.

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Dance Your Ass Off Recap: Episode 9

While the families of Ruben, Alicia, Shayla and Pinky surprised them in a motivating family reunion, the dancers continued to lose weight as they strutted their leaner selves to ballroom dances to the tunes of 80’s retro hits like “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” and “Isn’t She Lovely.”

Alicia, the reigning biggest loser, lost almost 6 pounds this past week. Shayla lost 4.5 pounds. Pinky lost 3.7 pounds and Ruben shed a very respectable 5.4 pounds.

Alicia secured her spot in the semifinals with her continued impressive weight loss while Ruben’s overall score of weight loss and dance performance pushed him into first place.

And in an interesting twist of fate, no dancers were eliminated from the competition this past week. Instead, the dancers will spend the entire week going through a complete body makeover so we must wait until next week to see what their new looks reveal and whose weight loss success and dance moves will shimmy them one step closer to that $100,000 prize.

Here’s a DYAO fitness tip from Episode 8.

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Dance Your Ass Off Recap – Episode 8

Last week the contestants lost a combined 85 pounds, and with this weeks’ combined loss, they’re up to a total loss of 121. Those are big numbers and they’re working to lose that weight in both the gym and on the dance floor. DYAO trainer Lee Wall tells us about the extra leg work he had them doing this week to prepare them for their ’70s dance moves.

Other highlights from this week’s episode include:

• Alicia had a bit of a “moment” screaming into her pillow after she struggled with this week’s choreography. She then cleaned out the cheat cabinet and tossed all the junk food in the trash, declaring that all of that is reminiscent of her old self.

• Some of the disco hits we saw the contestants boogie to included “Funkytown,” “Upside Down,” “Shake Your Groove Thing,” “Turn the Beat Around,” and Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough.”

• Warren and Brandon found themselves in the bottom two positions. He dances off first to “Do You Think I’m Sexy.” Brandon finds himself at the bottom for the second time, and performs with Yesenia “That’s the Way (I Like it).”

• Based on the combined score of his dance points and weight loss percentage, Warren earns a 5.90 and is sent home.

• Next week – Pole Dancing!

Watch the performances of Mara and Brandon now.

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Dance Your Ass Off Recap – Week 2

The premise is simple – take one part Dancing With the Stars, one part Biggest Loser, add a Tony-award winning host, and just a dash of a $100,000 prize and you’ve got the recipe for a hit weight loss reality show. Twelve contestants were selected to do what many have done on DWTS, dance the weight off. They’ll also pair their training with fitness and nutrition guidance from the likes of Biggest Loser’s Dr. Huizenga.

Host Marissa Jaret Winokur, from “Hairspray,” said “you don’t have to starve yourself and be miserable to lose weight.” This is a principle that has made Biggest Loser’s weight loss program so approachable to millions. If you make healthy changes while doing what you love, then you’ll no doubt see your goals met.

Check out this premiere recap, then read below to learn more about Dance Your Ass Off.

Meet the Judges

• Mayte Garcia is a professional dancer previously married to Prince.

• Lisa Ann Walter was in the movie “Shall We Dance.”

• Danny Teeson is a nicer-than-usual Brit. He’s a former member of “Queer Eye for the Straight Girl” and has been an “American Idol” choreographer.

How the Competition Works

As Marissa explained to the contestants during the DYAO premiere, the contest will work like this; Contestants will have daily dance rehearsals as well as twice daily workouts. Each week, they’ll go on stage to literally dance their asses off for the judges.

Each contestant will receive a score 1 to 10 based on their dancing performance. (In the premiere, no one went below a five and no one achieved a 10.) That score would be added to the weight loss percentage for that week. The two contestants with the lowest scores would then have a dance-off.

While they’re all working toward the $100,000 cash prize for the best dancer/biggest weight loss, the ultimate prize is “No more feeling bad about yourselves. It’s time to feel good,” says Marissa.

Premiere Recap

Each contestant met with the doctors to learn just how badly their weight had affected their health. No doubt they received some surprising news. But everyone’s putting their best dance shoe forward to reverse those changes. (A similar medical examination is conducted at the beginning of Biggest Loser and by the end most of those contestants have completely reversed their health issues.) The contestants also met their professional dance partners, and some of the matches seem more meant to be than others.

Then, it was time to tear up the dance floor. As is to be expected, some stood out as stellar dancers, like Pinky and Karla, while others might have two left feet, like Angela.

In the end, it was Angela who bid farewell while Karla stole the show with both moves and weight loss as the week’s leader.

With a combined starting weight of nearly 3,000 pounds, these contestants certainly have their work cut out for them this season. Be sure to tune-in each Monday this summer to Oxygen’s Dance Your Ass Off to not miss a beat of this exciting new weight loss show.

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Dance Your Ass Off Premiere Recap

DYAO is hosted by Marissa Jaret Winokur, best known as Tracy Turnblad in Broadway’s hit musical Hairspray, who will serve as an energetic and positive leader for the 12 contestants ready to move it ’til they lose it.

The show follows the model of similar shows, by doing weekly weigh-ins like NBC’s Biggest Loser and pairing contestants with professional dancers like DWTS. And while regaining their health is the ultimate prize, the winner will receive a $100,000 cash prize. Each week the contestants will work out with trainers, monitor their health with Dr. Huizenga from Biggest Loser, and then perform a dance routine for the judges.

The 12 contestants, competing to lose nearly 3,000 pounds, are:

• Alicia – A 23-year-old raised in an Italian and Chilean family.
• Angela – A 24-year-old with a life-long love of dance.
• Brandon – A 20-year-old aspiring R&B star.
• Karla – This 29-year-old comedian loves all kinds of music.
• Mara – She’s a 32-year-old newly diagnosed diabetic ready to turn things around.
• Miles – Is a 29-year-old U.S. Coast Guard veteran.
• Pinky – This 29-year-old life-long dancer wants to keep up with her dance crew brothers.
• Ruben – This 43-year-old is the head of wardrobe for Cirque du Soleil.
• Shayla – She’s a 27-year-old high school advisor trying to regain her former athletic body.
• Tara – The 33-year-old mom wants to be a healthy example for her children.
• Trice – This 24-year-old isn’t going to let weight keep her from her dreams of dancing any longer.
• Warren – He’s a 29-year-old nurse who’s not taking “fat” comments any more.

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Dance Your Ass Off Premieres June 29 on Oxygen