Weight loss as entertainment, it’s a hot trend in Hollywood right now. The leader being none other than NBC’s Biggest Loser, set to premiere in September its tenth season of competition-based weight loss. 
With the weight loss industry being a multi-billion dollar one, fads are as plentiful as they are in music, fashion and other high-yielding industries. Bet dieting is another hot trend now; the idea being that it forces people to almost literally put their money where their mouths are.
So what happens when you’ve got bet dieting and weight loss entertainment as popular trends in the day of an obesity epidemic? You get VH1’s Money Hungry, a new weight loss competition premiering August 2, 2024 at 9/8c. The show will pit 12 pairs of overweight individuals against one another in a temptation-fueled competition where they each stand to lose a lot more than just weight.
See, Money Hungry will cost each team $10,000 of their own money, making the grand prize pot $100,000. So now it’s not just about trying to win for a sponsored cash prize, like Biggest Loser’s $250,000, now it’s about not losing your own money, and taking everyone else’s with you.
As is the template for these shows, the weekly series will show the contestants taking on “grueling challenges, supersized temptations, and pressure-filled weigh-ins”, says the show site on VH1, as they compete to be the team who loses the most weight. Throughout the series contestants will work with fitness experts and nutritionists to learn more about starting and maintaining a healthy life. 
Unlike the secluded confines of the infamous Biggest Loser Ranch, these contestants will be “living in a state-of-the-art compound with all the amenities as well as all of the usual luxuries of home (i.e. fast food)”, according to VH1.
And if you think the scale on Biggest Loser is daunting (and it is, I’ve stood on it), wait until you see what Money Hungry has rigged up. This will set the stage for a weekly weigh-in, hosted by Dan Cortese, an actor with a varied TV background including host of MTV Sports in the 90s.
In a press statement from VH1, they say “These contestants were hand picked for their larger than life personalities and they have come ready to do anything to take home the money.”
The Money Hungry contestants are:
Roll Models:
Shinto – Jersey City, NJ
Jamie – New York, NY
No Excuses:
Melissa – Sioux Falls, SD
Joshua – Phoenix, AZ
Rocker Moms:
Elizabeth – Fort Wayne, IN
Carrie – Dripping Springs, TX
Mission Slimpossible:
Mark – Staten Island, NY
Joseph – Staten Island, NY
Double Chocolate:
Tammy – St. Petersburg, FL
Georgette – Rahway, NJ
Flabulous:
Stephanie – Crete, IL
Phillip – Chicago, IL
Chicago Deep Dish:
Bridget – Chicago, IL
Marilu – Newport Beach, CA
Grading Curves:
Melissa – Chicago, IL
Tricia – Chicago, IL
Slenderellas:
Jaclyn – Maynard, MA
Kaitlin – Tampa, FL
Family Sized:
Katelyn – Houston, TX
Denise – Houston, TX
The Regulators:
Tupotu – Santa Rosa, CA
David – Windsor, CA
A Pair of Nuts:
Yamil – Hileah, FL
John – Miami, FL
Don’t miss the premiere of Money Hungry on VH1 August 2.