When Long Island police office Jim Germanakos tried out for The Biggest Loser, NBC wasn't looking for siblings to be on the show, never mind twins.  As a matter of fact, Jim practically had to drag his brother along so they could end up competing together.  When neither was chosen to be part of the red or blue team on the very first day, they ended up becoming part of Jillian Michaels' secret black team. 

The black team dominated until this past week's episode, when they lost their weigh in after a trip to Jamaica.  The rest of the team decided that brothers could prove to be too strong an alliance to overcome late in the game, so they struck first and eliminated Jim.  Today, he spoke to BuddyTV and even sent in pictures of his new and improved body.

Jim tried out for The Biggest Loser last season and in January of 2006, attended an open casting call in Manhattan.  He tried to get his brother, Bill, to come along but he wasn't interested.  Jim went alone to call, then submitted a video, then had an interview with casting agents.  In the interview, he mentioned he had a twin brother but when producers came up with the concept to use 50 contestants from 50 states last year, he and his brother were passed up.  The Biggest Loser came back for him this year, wanting both Germanakos brothers.

In between seasons, while waiting to get cast, Jim found ways to pass the time and get himself on the right track.  "I used The Biggest Loser Club online and tracked myself there.  Their recipes are great and I met other participants," he told BuddyTV.  "But when the show called me for this season, I had gained weight back after I quit smoking."

Jim had been a fan of the show since the beginning, following it every season and even had a screensaver of Jillian Michaels on his computer, but promises he is a happily married man!  It would seem ending up on the black team with Jillian as his trainer and his brother by his side would be a dream come true.  However, "it would have been really great television if we ended up on different teams," he admits.

His team decided to eliminate him the night before his birthday, a celebration that he and his brother have never spent apart.  "The hardest part of leaving was the stress, the thought of, 'Can I do this alone?'  At that point, the issue wasn't spending my birthday alone," he said.  Since being home, Jim has lost a total of 123 pounds.  "People always ask who my biggest competition is.  My biggest competition is the scale," he told BuddyTV.  For now, he focuses on continuing to live a healthy lifestyle and blowing everybody away when he returns for the finale.


- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer