'Biggest Loser' Finale 2010: Michael Ventrella Wins, Sheds Half His Weight (PHOTOS)

'Biggest Loser' Finale 2010: Michael Ventrella Wins, Sheds Half His Weight (PHOTOS)

Michael Ventrella was the biggest contestant ever on 'The Biggest Loser,' starting at 526 pounds.

Tuesday night the 31-year-old deejay from Chicago won the 'Biggest Loser' title and $250,000 in prize money after shedding 264 pounds, more than half his body weight.

"At 526 pounds, nobody at that weight can ever feel any sense of hope," he said on the Today show Wednesday. "You feel like any day is your day, is your time: You're going to die."

Before Michael, the heaviest 'Biggest Loser' contestant was Shay Sorrells, who weighed 476 pounds at the beginning of season 8. She ended the show weighing 304 pounds, then Subway made her an offer--$1,000 per additional pound she lost up to the season 9 finale.

Shay has lost another 52 pounds and now weighs 252 (see pics here) and has pocketed $52,000.

"No one has ever been offered anything like that before," she told People. "It's the most amazing thing and I'm so appreciative because they didn't have to do it. They did it because they wanted to and I couldn't be happier."

Michael Before & After PHOTOS:

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