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

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

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

I am constantly trying to find ways to integrate more activity into my busy schedule. Today, I decided to take my own advice and popped my iPod into the dock while I set out to clean house. Normally cleaning takes me a lot of time because I get bored and distract myself. Dancing let me have fun and also showed me where I still need some work. Ideally, as a dancer, I should be able to keep my feet moving despite what my arms are doing, but I caught myself standing more than once while scrubbing my cast iron skillet. Of course the best part of it was how much I accomplished. It is June and in the 90s in Indiana, but there were still sweaters on my bedroom floor – not any more!

Turning on the Timba for a few minutes every day can bring me more joy, more cleanliness, more activity, and increase my dance skills. Even if salsa isn’t your dance of choice, find the music that moves you, combine tasks, and maybe even practice your moonwalk.

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Dancing Through Your Chores is a Great Workout

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

Dr. Neil Todd and his team has been cited extensively on their research regarding the sacculus, an organ in the inner ear that helps regulate balance. The sacculus is attached to the hypothalamus by the vestibular nerve. The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that helps regulate appetite, libido, temperature, anger, and fatigue. They report that this connection could explain the rush that many feel when their balance is effected through carnival rides, bungee jumping, or even swinging as a child.

They have found that the sacculus also appears to be stimulated by sounds above 90 decibels. A very similar physical and emotional rush can be experienced when we listen to music above 90 decibels. Todd has stated that “the distribution of frequencies that are typical in rock concerts and at dance clubs almost seem designed to stimulate the sacculus.” Rock and dance music are often the most commonly chosen playlists for exercise, and most people like to turn the volume up to drown out the rest of the world, likely putting you at or above the 90 decibel level.

Normal conversation is approximately 60 decibels, a dial tone is about 80 decibels, and street traffic while sitting in your car is approximately 80 decibels. Singing (you know you rock out in the car) can have the same effect on your sacculus. No wonder we love turning up our tunes and hearing ourselves sing while driving in traffic; it’s not just the acoustics of your vehicle. Large groups of people chanting or cheering can also have a similar effect, adding to the emotional tie to your favorite football team; isn’t it more fun to watch the big game at the stadium or a party?

Exercise alone provides a sense of euphoria, improves circadian rhythms, and improves mood. Music helps us prepare for exercise, makes it more enjoyable, and helps us extend our workouts. When listening to loud music, you may be regulating appetite, temperature, libido, fatigue, and mood through your hypothalamus. However, research states that continued exposure to noises above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss, so we are not suggesting that you turn up the tunes too far.

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Please, Don’t Stop the Music