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My wife and I are totally hooked on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.” I’m
embarrassed to admit it, but I’m addicted to a reality TV show. Every Tuesday night, we put the kids to bed at 8:00, spend a few minutes cleaning up the messes of the day, and head downstairs to catch up with our favorite fat people.
The show is very similar to any of the obnoxiously prevalent reality TV shows on TV these days. Think of The Biggest Loser as Survivor for fat people without the deserted island. The contestants live together and form alliances with each other while working to lose as much weight as possible in a week’s time. During the week, they all face an engineered challenge or temptation where the winner is given some benefit that might help them survive to play again the following week. Finally, at the end of the show, they vote off someone who didn’t lose enough weight that week.
There are a lot of things I don’t like about TBL. For instance, the people on the show lose an extraordinary amount of weight each week. It’s common for people to lose seven, eight, or even ten pounds in a single week. The way the contestants’ daily activities are structured make it possible for them to shed massive amounts of weight. But I think it does the average dieter a huge disservice. It’s just not realistic for the person sitting at home (watching a 2-hour show about weight loss every week) to drop that kind of weight.
Another thing I don’t like about TBL is that it’s way too long. I don’t want to watch the numbers fluctuate on the scale for 10 seconds to provide drama–just tell me how much he weighs. If the producers cut out all the fluff from the show, it could easily be squeezed into a 1-hour time slot.
But the worst thing about the show is that there is almost no information given to the audience. What do they eat? When and how much? When do they workout, for how long and how many times a day? How many calories do they eat in a day? This type of information is crucial for those of us who are trying to find new ideas to help us lose weight. The show does a great job shedding light on the obesity epidemic in America, but it doesn’t do much in trying to help solve the problem. This is where it really falls short.
With all this said, I do like the show. Despite the shortcomings discussed above, I keep coming back every week because I really like how much we get to know each of the contestants. We see what their lives were like before the show. We watch them struggle with food and exercise during the week. We share their emotions with them. We can relate to them.
I’m also totally amazed at how fast these people drop weight. The biggest guy left on the show (we’re now through with week 11) has dropped 120 pounds. IN 11 WEEKS! That’s totally mind boggling to me. Since I’ve started my new life, the biggest weekly drop that I’ve experienced has been 4 pounds. I’d have been voted off the show long ago with numbers like that.
I understand that these people have totally given up their lives to learn how to be healthy. They’ve left their family, homes, and jobs behind. They spend at least 6 hours/day in the gym and have access to dietitions and nutritionists. If they’re awake, it seems like they’re either eating or workiing out. But still the numbers seem amazing to me and I’m very curious as to how they do it.
There is a book
If nothing else, watching The Biggest Loser every week motivates me to keep working hard in my Getting Fit Slowly lifestyle. I have no desire to go through what these people are going through, but I admire their courage. I just hope that they’re able to stay successful when they’re back at home, and not being watched by 2 million people any longer.
J.D.
19 responses so far ↓
1 TosaJen // Mar 24, 2008 at 5:23 am
I think I mentioned this for an earlier entry about TBL — the show makes me want to eat. I’m not sure why; all the drama, maybe? Also, the freak show elements make me very uncomfortable: let’s put a ton of their trigger foods out there and see who eats! etc.
I totally agree with you — there’s almost no information about how they lose the weight and what they’re learning to keep it off. It’s hard to sell books and online club memberships if you’re giving it away for free, eh?
Do NOT compare yourself with them. I wish I could go on a 2 month “vacation” without my family or job and exercise and eat less. I’m sure I’d lose most of the weight I need to lose in that time. The problem would be keeping the weight off once I got back to my natural habitat.
2 -Fred. // Mar 24, 2008 at 5:36 am
Well said. My wife and I are fans of the show, too; and I agree with every point that you made.
In the long run, I wonder if TBL’s shortcomings do more damage to America’s obesity issue than good.
-Fred.
3 Ann // Mar 24, 2008 at 6:34 am
I’ve read into this. They start with like a 2-hour workout the first day, and build up to working more hours, usually 4, sometimes up to 6.
Here’s an interview where the BL contestant said they were working 2.5 hours the first day and 4 the second:
http://drcjfitness.wordpress.com/category/the-biggest-loser/
And the women eat around 1100-1800 calories a day.
It’s unrealistic for people who are working to do this, obviously. One former contestant, Kai, has blasted BL for the unhealthy tactics and describes how she was eating sugar-free jello for days before the final weigh-in (she was in the top 3).
4 Healthy Amelia // Mar 24, 2008 at 6:42 am
I think TosaJen is right – it’s much better for me to go through this process in my “natural habitat” (loved that phase!) than in a controlled environment like TBL. Although I have thought about how awesome it would be to have that experience and just shred the weight off, I just don’t know how sustainable it would be for me. I’ve found that the hardest part is learning how to make the best choices possible while still going about my day. THAT is the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
But I think the show gives a much needed opportunity to get a good kick in the pants for people who feel hopeless and out of control. All that support and training CAN provide the tools to learning how to keep it up. So, I think it probably is a huge turning point in the lives of the contestants. Even with all the annoying product placements, filler content, etc.
And I have to admit to doing Jillian’s “30 Min Shred” workout last night! It was on demand for free and not a bad quickie workout.
5 brad // Mar 24, 2008 at 7:04 am
The problem for me is that it’s the antithesis of “get fit slowly.” It’s all about losing weight quickly, and study after study shows that most people who lose weight quickly are likely to put it back on. While there are exceptions of course, I think the slow approach is much more likely to lead to sustainable weight loss, because it involves forming self-sustaining habits. If I lose 10 or at most 20 pounds over a year, I’m much more likely to keep those pounds off than if I lose that amount in a month. Losing 10 or more pounds per week is, to me, way too fast. If you’re dangerously obsese and it’s a matter of “lose it or die,” that’s one thing. But for most of us I think we should set our sights lower and longer.
The analogue between getting rich slowly and getting fit slowly is useful: people who get rich quickly don’t tend to pick up the discipline and good habits they need to stay rich over the long term. Someone who works slowly and steadily to develop good eating and exercise habits is more likely to keep the pounds off for the rest of his or her life than someone who loses 100 pounds in 10 weeks.
6 Anne Keckler, Personal Trainer // Mar 24, 2008 at 7:24 am
I don’t remember where I read it, but not too long ago I read an article that explained that the contestants of this show are always breaking the rules to lose weight even faster. They will dehydrate themselves in order to win!
I’m glad you and I are focusing on healthier methods.
7 Red // Mar 24, 2008 at 9:11 am
Watching the scale on that show KIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLS me.
If only they manufactured giant scales that didn’t fluctuate so much.
8 Jeff // Mar 24, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Just like changing your financial life, getting fit is a series of baby steps to get started. I hope you are able to apply the same philosophies and energy to this topic as well.
9 Emily // Mar 24, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Also, remember the contestants on the show are extremely obese. The more overweight you are, the faster you will lose weight, especially in the first few weeks. The first few weeks, your fat cells are being completely depleted of water and glycogen, which results in a huge weight loss.
People exit that show much thinner, but probably still at least a good 20-30% over their ideal body weight. And it is those last 10, 20, 30 pounds that are the very hardest to lose–rather than being morbidly obese, they are now simply overweight and face the similar struggles of the rest of us!
So don’t ever expect, even with an extreme program, to lose weight as quickly as those guys. It won’t happen, and if it did it probably wouldn’t happen safely. 10lbs in a week off of a 5′8” man who weighs 300 is an awful lot different than a 5′8” man who weighs 150!
10 English Major // Mar 24, 2008 at 1:45 pm
I’ve never seen the show, but I surely hope that those people are on medication to protect their gallbladders–rapid weight loss puts you at serious risk for cholecystitis. I had to have my own gallbladder removed after losing a lot of weight quite quickly, and it wasn’t nearly the numbers you describe.
11 Cynthia // Mar 24, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I’m definitely a fan of the show, even with all the drawbacks. To me, in spite of the fact that the contestants are eating unrealistically low calories (I’ve heard it’s 7X bodyweight!) and exercising way more than most people could do, they are making changes and it’s just plain good to see that is possible!
It’s also good that America sees just how hard these folks are working out and that the workouts are not always identical in nature, in my opinion, because many people think a casual stroll around the block will do it. (That’s a starting point, but it may not be enough forever.)
Now, not all of the contestants sustain these changes once they are off the show, so yeah, I’ll take my slower losses, because I know I can sustain what I am doing.
The potential for injury with me working at my own pace is much lower. They get a fair few injuries of one kind or another on the show. I’m actually surprised there aren’t more.
12 workout mommy // Mar 24, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I agree that the show is way too long this season and full of too much drama (crying!) and not enough workout tips and information. It is still addictive though and I also must watch every week.
They really are learning lifestyle changes though. I’ve never seen a report of a former contestant getting fat again , has anyone else?
13 greenman2001 // Mar 24, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I’ve only seen it once, and I found it excruciating to watch. The humiliation of this public spectacle makes me embarrassed. This show does everything that I was taught as a child is impolite and cruel: pointing and gawking at people who look different than you do. The book, on the other hand, is quite good, and answers all of your questions about what they eat and how they work out. It’s a brutal program, and the calorie deficit is so extreme (a loss of 7 lbs a week means a deficit of 3500 calories A DAY) that these people endure constant, gnawing, 24/7 hunger — which makes the FridgeCam particularly cruel.
There are better ways to lose weight quickly, and going to a Fat Farm or a Fitness Camp is one of them. The great thing about camp is that you get immersed in a healthy, active lifestyle and learn skills that you can apply when you get home. Many people, perhaps most of those trying to lose weight, have no idea what a healthy, sustainable lifestyle actually involves, the nuts and bolts of it. The group environment provides constant, positive feedback, which is often extremely difficult to get when you’re trying to do this by yourself. TBL is a circus, but the basic idea — people working together can accomplish more than people working alone — is still there, albiet in a bloated, if you will, form.
I’ve never heard of cholecystitis being caused by rapid weight loss — English Major, can you explain what mechanism causes this to happen? Was your cholecystitis caused solely by rapid weight loss, or were there other factors? I’m fascinated by medical stuff like this.
14 Deb // Mar 24, 2008 at 7:30 pm
I am curious to hear what you all think of the new show on TLC “I Can Make You Thin”
i watched a bit of it and found it interesting, but i’d like to know if anyone else watched it and what they thought.
15 Healthy Amelia // Mar 25, 2008 at 4:59 am
Deb, I have seen that show (I can Make You Thin) a couple times in snippets (not whole episodes) and was basically tuning in for the spectacle. I am extremely wary of people like that who have the “answer”. But, I was curious to see what kind of “revelations” he had to share. Well, apart from being a bit on the Captain Obvious side, he had some good ideas.
Eating consciously (no distractions, actually EAT your food) is one thing that really stuck out for me. He pointed out that most overweight people think about food a great deal but when they actually eat it, they scarf it down without really savoring it (think someone pulling out of a drive through with their loot – they are not sitting there tasting their food). Although I’m not a junk food junkie, I do relate to this a bit. I have tendency to eat while doing other things (reading blogs, for one!) which is probably NOT the best. It’s one of those things that I know but fight against changing my habits.
I wonder about the commercials that show people tapping on their wrists and such – what’s THAT about? I didn’t see it in context and that stuff makes me think the guy’s just out there.
But in the end, I love that there is such a wide range of ideas and thankful that I have the sense to sort out a few nuggets of good info even from the wack jobs!
16 TosaJen // Mar 25, 2008 at 6:13 am
As a self-proclaimed “Idea Pirate” in the area of eating well and moving enough, I am watching the “I Can Make You Thin” shows. The 4 Golden Rules are very obvious: eat when hungry, eat what you want, eat consciously, stop when full. Sound familiar?
The tapping business is about touching accupressure points to reduce stress and give an alternative behavior to emotional eating. Here’s an article unassociated with the show: http://www.bottomlinesecrets.com/blpnet/article.html?article_id=30772. The question I’m wrestling with is whether it’s better to go through a “ritual” of tapping and look silly, or to do extra snacking. ::)
I’ve been trying to do the various things — reducing stress is important for me right now, regardless of whether I lose weight. I have been thinking a lot more about whether I’m cleaning my plate because I’m hungry or because it’s there.
17 Josh // Mar 25, 2008 at 8:05 am
They never really reveal the diet they put contestants on simply because they want people to buy the book.
Also, the people on the show are morbidly obese. The weight they lose is not thaaat incredible and is done every day when very overweight people are put into the hospital and their food intake monitored closesly (calorie counting) with no exercise whatsoever. But I agree, the show can make “normal” people have unrealistic expectations on weight loss.
-Josh
18 Cynthia // Mar 25, 2008 at 9:49 am
I believe some of the contestants have regained some of the weight they lost. Ryan Benson gained back some 90 pounds!
http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2007/07/04/the_biggest_loser_where_are_they_now.php
Others just gained back a relatively small percentage of their loss. Some of which might be attributed to water weight, since I gather that dehydration tactics for the final weigh-in are often used.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Biggest_Loser_(Season_3)#Did_They_Keep_the_Weight_Off.3F
Hope you don’t mind the relevant links!
19 Asithi // Mar 26, 2008 at 11:29 am
I can’t believe that Ryan Benson can gain back 32 pounds from drinking water!
We had a Biggest Loser competition at work before Christmas. It turned into a big fiasco when one of my co-workers lost 16 pounds the day before the the final weight-in. Which put him in the first place spot when he was no where near the top 3 during the weight-in the previous week. Apparently the guy was on the wrestling team in high school and he is used to dropping water weight for weight-ins. People were mad because it was a $300 prize for the first place winner. In the end, we had to disqualify him. Since then, the managers would not let us have the competition again.
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