A little about me

I love stories—especially against-all-odds comebacks. And at 68, I’ve lived one.

When my daughter and I were chosen from over 250,000 applicants for Season 11 of NBC’s The Biggest Loser, it was my chance to step out of simply reading comeback stories—and become one. I made it to the Final 4, earning the nickname Alison Sweeney gave me at the finale: The Comeback Kid.

But those 8 months did more than transform me physically. They redefined my life’s work: becoming a catalyst and guide for others.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve:

  • I did a TEDx Talk and wrote a book about living Smartphone Fit by visual journaling

  • Led more than 10,000 one-on-one body composition consultations with people aged 18–96

  • Six years later, I’m still serving as VaynerMedia’s Well-Being Ambassador, where monthly check-ins became a ritual of curiosity and excitement in NYC, LA, & Internationally

  • Launched podcasts and YouTube channels reaching tens of thousands with one message: progress, not perfection

For me, health is a boarding pass. It’s what lets me fit in a plane seat, climb a hill, hike a trail, taste new foods, and explore the world with energy and freedom.

That’s why each week I write a newsletter filled with stories, insights, and tools to help you do the same—to lose the weight, gain your world, and stay the course.

You can count on me to show up with 110% in everything I share, always guided by a single tenet that… “what you’re for strengthens you.”

 

Me, July 1962 — smiling into life, already holding the spark of a comeback spirit. Decades later, I’d learn that losing the weight wasn’t the real win — gaining the world was.

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Jay Jacobs is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, thought leader, author, and guide and navigator for personal potential, wellbeing, and entrepreneurship.

Professionally accomplished in strategy and marketing, Jay was challenged with weight all his life. A successful run as a couples team with his daughter, Jennifer on NBC's "The Biggest Loser," took Jay to the Final 4. It repositioned his career on a platform of personal transformation, sharing his principles to create and sustain health and well-being for life. ,
Jay's TEDx talk and book, "Smartphone Fit, "became the catalyst for Fortune 500s to commission him for their corporate wellness, personal potential, and C-Suite keynotes and retreats. As a member of Faith Popcorn's Brain Reserve and a Managing Partner of Forrest Media, companies also seek Jay's branding, marketing, and communications expertise as well. Jay is a popular podcast, radio, and TV guest on Today, Good Morning America, and Fox & Friends. His thought leadership on wellness and lifestyle has appeared in Time Magazine, The New York Times, Reader's Digest, and numerous other publications.

As a wellness navigator and spokesperson for major brands including Vaynermedia, Cigna, Cargill, Kraft, Starbucks, Chobani, NBC, Asics, Biggest Loser Resorts, and InBody, when he's not writing or hosting podcasts, he's working on his next book, motivating clients through one-on-one navigations, and spending time with his wife, Kim.

Jay and his family reside in Southern California.