BOOTHBAY – Maine’s candidate on “The Biggest Loser” may not have earned the $250,000 prize but he came out a winner after shedding 176 pounds.

Matthew McNutt, 31, of Boothbay weighed 366 pounds when he and 35 other participants were given the boot in the premiere of the third season of the NBC reality show. But McNutt was given the opportunity to continue the diet-and-exercise regimen at home.

On Wednesday night, McNutt was back to show off what he achieved, and he tipped the scales at 190 pounds. All told, his weight dropped by nearly half.

McNutt, a youth pastor at Boothbay Baptist Church and a father of three, said he put on weight after eating too much and spending too much time behind a desk, adding 100 pounds during five years of marriage.

“I want to set a healthy spiritual and physical example to the youth of my region,” he said in remarks posted on NBC’s Web site.