"Worth the Weight"
A stay-at-home moms’ journey
from Biggest Loser
to Biggest Winner!
– Jillian Michaels
One of the most successful and memorable contestants on The Biggest Loser, stay-at-home mom, Julie Hadden’s heart wrenching weight loss struggle reverberated throughout the nation. Having struggled for years with her weight and self-worth, the then-34-year-old faced a crossroads in her life. At the urging of a friend, she auditioned for The Biggest Loser believing it’d be a fat chance that she’d actually make the cut, lose the weight, and change her life for good. In the end, she came out victorious dropping nearly 100 pounds and forty-five percent of her body weight. Not only was she Season 4’s first runner-up, she exceeded all expectations, and was the season’s most successful female contestant.
Her book, Fat Chance: Losing the Weight, Gaining My Worth
chronicles her inspiring, lifelong weight loss journey. With plenty of fascinating, behind-the-scenes stories from The Biggest Loser, Julie reveals the true secret to her amazing transformation – both inside and out.
In Fat Chance, Julie also shares:
The joy of NOT becoming The Biggest Loser! Shortly after the show, Julie and her husband adopted a beautiful baby boy into their family, which may not have been possible had she won due to a tangle of contractual media tour commitments. Julie lost the BL title by 8 lbs, which was the exact weight of their adopted newborn when they brought him home from the hospital!
Coping with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome – Julie share’s her struggle with PCOS, which made it difficult to conceive, as well as lose weight as quickly as some of the other contestants.
What fat stole from her – From her childhood fears of not fitting into the phys ed uniforms at school, competing in beauty pageants only to be told she needed to lose weight, to low self-esteem and self-worth, Julie lacked inner peace throughout much of her life.
From sacrifices to blessings – Prior to BL, Julie sacrificed their second car so that she could be a stay-at-home mom. In a surprising turn of events, Julie and her teammate won a BL challenge and the prize was: A beautiful new car for each of them!
Fascinating, behind-the-scenes stories from one of the hottest shows on television
A true testament to Julie’s success is the foreword written by Jillian Michaels, team trainer who is notorious for pushing her team members to the limit. Jillian, at first unimpressed by Julie and ready to wave her off, quickly became inspired by her courage and relentless ambition. By committing to a once seemingly impossible goal, Julie changed her image from the weakest contestant to an athlete that Jillian was “choosing to bet on.”
During the show, Julie may have expected to lose weight. But what she didn’t expect to learn was the real underlying reason why she had put off losing weight for so long. She found that losing weight was not nearly as simple as working out every day. It required a complete reflection of self, the strength to look beyond the fat and finally be forced to see what emotional issues lay beneath the excess weight.
With her charm, likeability, and contagious sense of humor, Julie offers readers of all shapes and sizes an intimate portrayal of a once-fat woman who sweated and slogged her way toward thin. Combined with workout plans, some of her favorite healthy recipes, and behind-the-scenes details from the show, Julie is bound to lead others to weight-loss success in Fat Chance.
Previously, Julie was never able to finish what she had started, especially when considering her struggle to lose weight. So when she was asked to pick a motto to give her motivation throughout her weight-loss journey, she decided it should be “to finish what I’ve started, for once.” This time she did finish what she started, and now she’s ready to help others do it too.
“Strength of character. Strength of person.
Strength of my physical frame. These are the strengths that I now live out,
and fat will never steal them from me.”
~ Julie Hadden
“Julie is an incredible inspiration to women everywhere. She shows us all that with hard work, perseverance and a bit of humor we can all live the life we want and deserve.”
– Shannon Miller
7-time Olympic Medalist
“In Fat Chance, Julie manages to share her funny, warm, engaging, and entertaining self all while providing true inspiration. In this must-read, Julie reveals secrets galore from the quirks and pains shared by only those of us who grew up overweight to her favorite recipes to the truth about the "Biggest Loser" scale. It's a page-turner for anyone who's ever struggled with their weight and for anyone with ANY dream that hasn't been realized...yet.”
– Devin Alexander
author of The Biggest Loser
Cookbooks and host of
Healthy Decadence on FitTV
“Reading Julie Hadden’s Fat Chance provided me with inspiration to continue on my own journey to freedom from food bondage. As I read, I laughed, I cried, I got on the treadmill! Julie’s is a story of hope that is contagious!”
– Mandisa
American Idol Season 5
finalist, Contemporary
Christian recording artist and
author of Idoleyes: My New
Perspective on Faith, Fat & Fame
“Julie’s tale of transformation nourishes the soul. Fat Chance serves up real laughter, real tears, and real encouragement to anyone wanting to make a change in their lives."
– Ann Thomas G. Johnston
author of Grow Healthy Little One
“It is my honor to recommend this fabulous book for anyone who chooses to be empowered and motivated beyond their personal struggles – whether it be career, family, faith or weight."
– Ericka Dunlap
Miss America 2004
Star of "The Amazing Race 15"
“If you’re in need of an advocate who will cheer you on toward change, I’ve got just the one for you. Let Julie and her inspiring book, Fat Chance, draw your courage out. You are worth the life you long to live. And the time has come for you to finally bet on you to win.”
WHAT OTHERS
ARE SAYING:
