Alone Australia ate over 10,000 calories a day and gained 19kg in preparation for reality show

A contestant on a new SBS extreme survival series based in the Tasmanian outback said he ate more than 10,000 calories a day and gained 19kg in preparation for the show.

Michael Atkinson, known as Outback Mike on his YouTube channel where he shoots videos of his travels, is one of the 10 contestants on Alone Australia.

Program participants fight to stay in nature as long as possible to win a grand prize of $250,000.

To increase his chances of staying in the Tasmanian outback for as long as possible, Mike decided to put on as much weight as possible.

“At first I was just eating a lot of fatty foods, but my weight gain plateaued at five kilograms above normal, so I went to a sports dietitian,” she told GQ Australia.

‘He prescribed me 10,270 calories a day. This diet was horrible to live on!

“I felt close to throwing up several times a day and my stomach was always stretched to the limit.”

After gaining almost 20kg and feeling sick from eating so much, Mike said he was ready to face the hunger that the wild would bring.

Alone Australia, which airs on SBS on March 29, has has been listed as one of the most authentic reality series on the small screen.

With no producers on the show, the contestants film themselves and receive no instructions.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, SBS Unscripted boss Joseph Maxwell said: “Once people are cast, it’s up to them what they film, what they say, what they do.”

To increase his chances of staying in the Tasmanian outback for as long as possible, Mike decided to put on as much weight as possible.

There is no production, there is no direction. This is the most raw, unfiltered, authentic show you can have.’

More than 10,000 people requested the series, which is already a box office success in the United States, where it airs on the History channel.

Some of the contestants barely lasted a day, while others stayed out in the open for months.

Alone Australia follows a cast of individual self-sufficiency experts as they brave the elements and fight to stay alive on their own terms, with nothing but what’s on their backs.

The players’ mission is to “live alone in the wild, for as long as they can, documenting their journey every step of the way.”

After gaining almost 20kg and feeling sick from eating so much, Mike said he was ready to face the hunger that nature would bring.

There are no camera crews or field producers, instead players film themselves through the use of tripods and GoPro cameras.

“Alone is the most successful factual franchise in the history of SBS On Demand,” SBS said in a statement.

“Only Australia will see 10 Australians dumped in a remote wilderness, where they will be challenged by the ruthless forces of nature and starvation as they compete for a life-changing prize.”

SBS is so confident in the format that it has already opened casting for the second season, even though the first has yet to air.

Only Australia will see 10 Australians dumped in a remote desert