The best way to learn from an experience is to share the knowledge.
The message Trenton Patterson, of Endicott, shared with students in the auditorium of West Canada Valley Jr.-Sr. High School centered around this basic belief.
“I had no one to really tell me about the importance of nutrition and calories...I’m here to tell them about proper nutrition and the benefits of it.” said Patterson, a recent contestant on NBC’s reality show The Biggest Loser.
His presentation at WCV described how he came to be on the TV show where individuals compete to lose weight to win a prize of $250,000.
After graduating from Henninger High School in Syracuse Patterson played football at the University of Alabama.
He envisioned a career in the NFL and had a tryout with the Atlanta Falcons in 1992. After a brief stint in semi-professional leagues Patterson said he realized he had to start thinking about life after football.
Being an offensive lineman had conditioned him to do two things, “Eat and lift weights.” He said the philosophy resulted in his weight climbing to 436 pounds.
Patterson told the audience he suffered from hypertension, fatty liver, and became pre-diabetic.
He warned the students that if they didn’t take a selfish approach to keeping their bodies healthy they could find themselves in a similar situation.
“Nobody else can do it for you.” said Patterson.
While dealing with the health problems a friend brought the notion of being on the show together to his attention.
Patterson joked with the students about not liking the sound of the title, “Biggest Loser, I don’t know if that’s anything I want to be associated with.”
After watching past seasons of the program he started to like the idea of all the fitness and didn’t even care about any prize money, “My focus was losing weight.”
One of the first things the program instituted happened to be a calorie book, and Patterson discovered he ate between 5,000 and 7,000 calories a day.
He finished a wide range of workouts from using a see-saw to climbing. Patterson sarcastically described the obstacle, “It wasn’t a hill, it was a mountain.”
Being one of the larger competitors put him at a disadvantage within the rules, and he stayed on the show for seven weeks, said Patterson.
He didn’t win the money but he accomplished his goal.
Turning around old habits, he managed to lose a total of 142 pounds on the show.
“I had to be re-programmed.” said Patterson. “Now I’m training for life.”
He currently owns and operates a strength and conditioning business and provides his services to Chenango Forks High School.
The stop at WCV is part of a circuit of speaking arrangements for Patterson.
He recently spoke at SUNY-Cortland and Marcy Elementary, and at a Blue Cross/ Blue Shield Association conference he lectured on health and wellness.
“A student at Cortland said his father was inspired to lose 100 pounds by my efforts on the Biggest Loser, “said Patterson. “It was very rewarding to hear that.”
He still has to make several official appearances for NBC, but he plans on also continuing to speak to young people.
Patterson feels with obesity and other factors becoming more prevalent, now more than ever the youth needs to hear about fitness, nutrition, and health risks. 
“The earlier we get the message out the better.” said Patterson.