Local Man Named $1 Million Winner of Weight Loss Contest on 'Dr. Oz Show'

He lost 55 pounds through Weight Watchers and Dr. Oz's Transformation Nation: Million Dollar You in the hopes of becoming healthy enough to donate a kidney to his wife, who suffers with lupus. And for his efforts, Michael Lamb is now one million dollars richer.

Lamb, a 55-year-old high school teacher at Rockdale Career Academy in Conyers, has been named the winner of the season-long contest after garnering the most of America's votes out of the finalists.  Over 1.2 million individuals registered for the contest.  The list of contestants was narrowed down to 50 by judges and then to 10 finalists.

"I started out wanting to help my wife, but at some point I suddenly realized that I needed to do this for my own health, and that I was worth it, and that I could never be of help to anyone if I didn't fix my own health and change the course of my life," said Lamb in a statement released by PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1cCLQ). 

Watch video clips of Lamb's story and the reveal of the winner here.

Lamb said most of the money will go to insuring that his wife has the care she needs to stay healthy for as long as possible.

"Michael Lamb resonated with America because of his sincere and passionate motivation to help himself and his family," said host Mehmet Oz, M.D in the news release. "Ultimately, that is where we all find our motivation – deep in our emotional center. Michael offers us a teachable moment as an ambassador for health who demonstrated it is never too late to change our own outcomes."

The Athens Banner-Herald reports Lamb and his wife recently moved to Conyers after having lived in Watkinsville.  Read the ABH interviews with Lamb and his wife, Judy.