Biggest Loser Sheds 140 Pounds, Pockets $250K

A Michigan woman who started on NBC's The Biggest Loser: Couples competition at 257 pounds and ended at 117 pounds claimed the quarter-million dollar prize on the show Tuesday.

Helen Phillips, a 48-year-old of Sterling Heights, Mich. woman, lost more than half of her body weight to prevail in the reality show competition.

"When I started, learning how to exercise and work out, and incorporate good nutrition into my diet was hard," Phillips told the AP. "Once I learned and got on-board, and realized how important it was, the easier it became."

Phillips said the prize money would make for a "nice cushion," if her husband, who works in the stagnant Detroit auto industry, loses his job in the future.