Hugo L
If you have ever watched the TV series Biggest Loser, I’m sure you know who Robert “Bob” Harper is. If you haven’t, let me tell you about who he is.
Bob Harper is a world-famous fitness expert who helped celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Jennifer Jason Leigh (along with hundreds of people like you and me) lose weight and improve their health before joining a new weight loss competition TV show called Biggest Loser.
His job was to coach obese Americans lose weight. That was back in 2004. Biggest Loser became a huge success and has now aired for 15 seasons, with the 16th starting to air in a few weeks. Bob Harper is the only coach to appear in all seasons.
As the viewers have been able to see over the years, Mr Harper is a very passionate and enthusiastic coach. But he hasn’t revealed much about himself (apart from last season, which you can read about further down). To help you learn more, we put together a list of 3 things that you probably didn’t know about him.
1. Vegetarian
Yes, that’s right! Bob Harper is a vegetarian.
When I first heard about it, I was very surprised. Why? Because building muscles require a high intake of proteins, and meat and fish contain a lot of it. So for people that spend a lot of time in the gym, eating protein-rich foods (chicken, salmon, pork etcetera) is like religion.
Apparently, he has been able to design a vegetarian diet that contains a sufficient amount of protein, because he is in great shape with a body of a top athlete. Especially if you consider #2 on this list!
What is even more surprising is that he was a vegan for one year. A vegan – in case you didn’t know – is a person that doesn’t consume animal products in any form. In 2011 he decided to return to a vegetarian diet as it suited his lifestyle better.
2. Almost 50 Years Old (or should I say young?)
It’s hard to believe, but today is actually his 49th birthday (born August 18, 1965). Congratulations Bob!
Compare him to the average 50 year old male and you will probably start to laugh, because Bob is in a ridiculously great shape for being almost 50. Not exactly the typical 50-year old man.
If you are 50+ yourself, use him as a role model and start your journey to better health and a more beautiful you. To learn how he does it, take a look in his highly educational and inspirational books. Or, you could just read this article about how to lose weight when you are more than 50 years old.
3. Gay
He came out to his parents when he was 17. But it wasn’t until November 2013 that he revealed his sexual orientation to the public. It was in episode 7 of season 15 that he sat down with contestant Bobby Saleem to encourage him to accept who he was and to not live in shame. He then told Bobby Saleem that he himself was gay.
I was very surprised because I (stupidly) thought that I could tell if a person was gay simply from how they looked and behaved. Now I know better!
Thank you Bob for showing the world that there’s nothing wrong with being gay!
