Local ‘Biggest Loser’ champions: where are they now?

Elmont natives Bill and Jim Germanakos, the fourth-season champions of NBC’s popular prime-time show “The Biggest Loser,” just keep on winning. Bill, who was declared the winner and received $250,000, and Jim — who was eliminated early in the competition but won first prize among the eliminated contestants and was awarded $100,000 — have managed to maintain both healthy lifestyles and successful careers.

Since losing a combined 350 pounds on the show in 2007, the twin brothers have continued to go to the gym five to seven times a week and watch what they eat.

They grew up near and attended Elmont Memorial High School, where they were both very athletic, and graduated in 1984. Both played high school and college lacrosse, and Jim also played football. “I wouldn’t have traded my childhood growing up, playing sports and having friends in Elmont,” Bill said, adding that he and his brother have maintained strong friendships with many in Elmont.

The sons of Greek parents who came to the U.S. from Sparta, the brothers are “true Spartans” (Elmont High School’s mascot), Bill said. The brothers began gaining weight in college, and afterward they both watched their weight skyrocket. Jim, who volunteered for seven years as a firefighter for the Elmont Fire Department after college, was working as a police officer in Freeport before the show. He said he was “addicted to food,” though not very worried about his health. “I hadn’t realized how heavy I was because my scale only went to 260,” said Jim, who now lives in Massapequa.

Jim was also a smoker, and had a lot of stress caused by his job and a busy family schedule, and he felt he didn’t have the time to exercise or worry about food. But when he became so heavy that his doctor told him he could no longer be an “inside” fireman, he found out that “The Biggest Loser” was holding auditions and decided that it was time to take action.

Jim lost 186 pounds on the show, shrinking from 361 pounds to 175, and went back to his job after the show. A singer in his free time, he has performed at many weddings, cocktail hours, restaurants and even on television, and he said he plans to continue singing when he retires in two years from the Freeport police force.