Danny Cahill "confident" he'd beat Rudy Pauls, win 'The Biggest Loser'

Danny Cahill claims he was confident that he would win The Biggest Loser's eighth season after seeing Rudy Pauls' finale weigh-in numbers, but it wasn't because he was already aware of his own current weight.


"After he weighed in, I had a good feeling I was going to beat him," Cahill told Reality TV World during a Wednesday afternoon conference call.

"But I hadn't weighed myself in a couple of weeks because I just decided, 'Hey, I know what I need to do and I'm just going to focus on getting the work done and I'm not going to worry about what I weigh because if I do and I hit my number I might slow down. I'm just going to run to the finish.' So I knew there was a chance that he could beat me, but I did feel confident once he weighed in."

The 39-year-old land surveyor and musician from Broken Arrow, OK began the competition at 430 lbs. and weighed-in at 191 lbs. during the finale, giving him a 239-pound weight-loss and a 55.58% weight-loss percentage that won the season's $250,000 grand prize and set an all-time The Biggest Loser weight-loss record.

Despite being confident, Cahill said seeing Pauls -- who finished as the runner-up when he shed 234 lbs. for a 52.94% weight-loss percentage -- still "put a pit in my stomach."


"Looking at Rudy, the guy looks amazing -- I mean he looks amazing! I never thought he could get down that much. That surprised me," Cahill told Reality TV World.

"Before I got on the scale, when I walked out, I hadn't seen Rudy -- they kept us sequestered.  The Final 4, we did not see anyone. When I walked out and saw Rudy I was amazed and I was worried... It was scary. I thought, 'Oh my gosh.' He looked at me and smiled and I said, 'Did you beat me?' He just sat there and smiled at me."

Cahill said he first started to feel confident he could beat Pauls following the marathon the four remaining contestants ran during last week's penultimate eighth-season episode.

"I left the marathon -- as far as [weight-loss percentage] -- I was up about 4% on him," Cahill told Reality TV World. "He was going to have to lose a lot more weight than I was to win. So I felt confident."

In addition to dropping more than half of his weight, Cahill said The Biggest Loser helped him in other areas as well.


"I found myself," he told reporters during the conference call.

"I had lost myself years ago and I wasn't really sure why I lost myself and what I did. I decided that it was time to put away my dreams and it was time to start a family and raise a family. I didn't realize I could do that and still dream. I was wrong about that."

Cahill said when he arrived at The Biggest Loser ranch, he was confronted by trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels who wanted to know how he ballooned to 430 lbs..

"I had to do a lot of soul searching to find out why I was 430 pounds. Through that process and the three months on the ranch, I found myself -- I found Danny again and I found out I can still have my dreams and I can still provide for my family and be a great dad and a great husband and live the dreams that I want to live," he told reporters.

"That's what The Biggest Loser ranch is all about. It's not just going there to drop pounds, it's about going there and getting the experience and finding yourself."


Check back with Reality TV World on Thursday for more of Danny Cahill's The Biggest Loser interview, including how he managed to keep the weight off at home; the lifelong friends he made on the show; whether he ever felt concerned for his safety during filming; and what career path he plans on taking.






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio