"Biggest Loser" Winners Pay It Forward

In the 2000 film "Pay It Forward," actor Haley Joel Osmet's character was on a mission to make the world a better place by helping total strangers in need and then asking them to do the same in return for someone else.

Now the folks behind NBC's hit series "The Biggest Loser" are taking a cue from the movie and making it the theme for the show's 10th season, which kicks off September 21.

To help carry out their task, producers tapped season nine winner, Michael Ventrella, a 32-year-old mobile DJ from Bartlett, Ill., and season eight winner, Danny Cahill, a 41-year-old father of two from Broken Arrow, Okla., to encourage 21 wannabe contestants to shed excess pounds.

"I remember being in their shoes and feeling horrible about myself," Ventrella told That's Fit. "I used to feel there was no hope because I had no self-esteem. Now that I am feeling really good about myself, this is the best way for me to give thanks and teach others if you stay focused you can do it, too."

"I agree," said Cahill. "As a result of losing weight I have turned my attention to motivational speaking about this very topic. My goal it is to educate people that anything is possible if they really want it to happen."

"The trick," Ventrella added, "is revamping your lifestyle, which I did to keep the weight off. I make sure I work out at least four hours a week and center my routines on strength training to build lean body mass and muscle and incorporate cardio. He also has incorporated small changes: biking to meet his buddies for pizza instead of driving the seven miles or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

"When there is a will there is a way," Cahill added. "Thanks to the program, I have become a runner. I like to run to the gym, which is a few miles from my house, and when I have to go to FedEx, which is about two miles each way from where I live, I jog. Like Mike, I, too, find pockets in my day to squeeze in exercise. I now have more energy, and for the first time, I like the way I look."

In fact, Ventrella and Cahill are so determined to make a difference, they are making it their mission to get overweight Americans back in shape.

Ventrella said he considers himself an ideal candidate for the job because when he was on "The Biggest Loser," he was the heaviest contestant at 526 pounds. By the end of the program, when he stepped on the scale, it read 262.

As for Cahill, he lost a whopping 239 pounds as millions of people watched. Even though he has already completed his weight loss journey, he's ecstatic for season 10 to begin because in the first episode, he and Bob Harper will headline a community fitness challenge in Oklahoma City.

Check out the contestants for season 10!