The Whitehorse edition of the Biggest Loser wrapped up this past weekend with a 10-kilometre run.

While a clear winner was chosen in David McKay, who lost 62 pounds over the course of two and a half months, all of the participants had a life-changing experience.

Tiffany Duncan, who ran the program said all of the contestants have made positive changes in their lives since beginning the program, and as far as she knows all of them will be keeping up with what they have learned.

"They've asked if I would run a maintenance program,” said Duncan, who has a background in health sciences from the University of Waterloo with an emphasis on nutrition. An avid athlete, Duncan ran the program to encourage physical wellness.

The program started Nov. 1, and finished up on Jan. 16, and was based on the popular TV show, with a few crucial differences.

"It was a condensed version and there wasn't a ranch,” Duncan said.

The biggest difference was the lack of the ranch setting, where contestants' eating and exercising habits are heavily controlled on the TV show.

In the Whitehorse edition, the participants had to make changes in their own lives, and keep them up on their own, which Duncan said proves they are committed to physical wellness.

At the very beginning in November, each of the 20 participants had a fitness assessment. Then each person took part in two group workouts a week, and were given a gym pass.

The contestants were aided by a USANA reset kit for five days during the program, which is a lox glicemic index that helps control cravings.

Then each person recorded their food plans and sat down with Duncan to come up with a healthier diet plan that they could stick to.

The participants were tested by climbing Two Mile Hill as well, and was competing against their own personal bests.

"Most of the challenges are meant to be a personal accomplishment,” Duncan said.

Another test was running as many laps of the Canada Games Centre track in five minutes as they could.

The winner was chosen based 25 per cent on their fitness gain, 25 per cent on inches lost and 50 per cent on weight lost.

"I was really pleased with the fitness gains,” Duncan said. "Everybody got much healthier.”

Duncan said that some of the 20 contestants couldn't do any pushups before, but were able to do 30 after.

McKay came out as the winner, by shedding 62 pounds.

"He lost a ton of inches,” Duncan said.

Duncan hopes to see many of the same faces back when she starts up another Biggest Loser competition after the success of the pilot program.

"They've shed the weight and they're ready to work on their fitness,” Duncan said of the people who have expressed interest in returning. "I expect that most of them will continue to be successful.”