The Oklahoman — Issues eat at singer

Wednesday, February 16, 2000

Musician has craving to lose weight, raises voice vs. hunger

By Heather Warlick

The Oklahoman

February 16, 2009

An Oklahoma City musician is raising her voice to spotlight America’s war on hunger and obesity while fighting her own battle with weight.

K.C . Clifford is an award-winning singer and songwriter working on her fourth album, but that may not be her biggest accomplishment. About 18 months ago, she started a journey that would change her life and land her on an upcoming episode of “The Biggest Loser.”

Growing up, Clifford always had a problem with food, eating for comfort and hiding behind her layers of fat. But when her weight topped out at 278 pounds, she decided to take action.

“I was just kind of horrified by being 278 pounds. I knew because I had the ability to gain weight so quickly, that I was probably moments away from 300 pounds,” Clifford said.

In August 2007, Clifford started dieting and exercising and one year later, she had lost 102 pounds.

“It’s been a long road for me with food,” she said. “Just learning the ‘why’ behind why I ate and what my behaviors were and really learning how to relate in a different way to food.”

When Clifford heard a stunning statistic – one in five Oklahoma children is at risk for going hungry – she decided to help. She partnered with the Regional Food Bank and wrote a song, “Raise Your Voice,” to bring attention to the problem. That’s when “The Biggest Loser” producers heard her story. The show featured Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett’s weight loss challenge and the food bank’s efforts on Tuesday’s episode.  Listen to \”Raise Your Voice\”

Clifford ’s story was originally intended to be part of that segment but last week, Clifford learned that the show’s producers loved her story and wanted to make it a separate segment.

The show’s crew came to Oklahoma City University on Monday and Tuesday to shoot additional footage of Clifford for the March 10 episode. “The Biggest Loser” is promoting a “Pound For Pound” challenge.

For each pound participants lose, the program will donate a pound of food to various food banks. Go online to www.pfpchallenge.com to sign up.