By Gary Lloyd
“The Biggest Loser” and former Alabama football star Roger Shultz was the featured speaker at the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon last week.
In April 2008, Shultz walked away from the finale of NBC’s hit show “Biggest Loser Couples” a winner. The prize money he won as the runner-up was nice but what he really gained back was his health.
He said $250,000 in prize money wasn’t life changing.
“What is life changing is having my health back,” said Shultz, who lost 164 pounds in five months on the show.
Shultz was diagnosed as a Type II diabetic on his 37th birthday. He had struggled to keep his weight down after his All-American playing days at the University of Alabama. He had basically kept eating as if he was training to win the national championship but wasn’t exercising at all to burn the extra calories. His motto was “Food, Fun and Football.”
Shultz played for three different coaches at Alabama. When asked what he learned from these men, he said he learned from Ray Perkins that change is good. From Bill Curry, he learned you should just be who you are. From Gene Stallings, he learned about unconditional love. He said he feels he can call on Stallings to help him now.
Shultz shared an acronym for his infamous “Pride on 3” slogan. Persistence, Respect, Influence, Determination and Enthusiasm.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.