How awful is "The Biggest Loser?"
 

I just watched the 3rd season of "The Biggest Loser" the other day and oh my word, I think that show, while entertaining, is just awful! I mean, how realistic is it to take these people away from their homes and work and put them into an environment where they obsess every day about losing as much weight as they can while eating basically low fat, low cal food and exercising WAY excessively! I mean, here are these people who desperately want to lose weight and feel better and they are put into this situation that, yes, helps them lose weight temporarily but is practically impossible to maintain!

I heard that the one runner up of season 3 just ate asparagus and jello for days before the final weigh in in order to get as low as she could; I watched another runner up totally obsess about exercising to the point of a disorder the weeks before the final weigh in. I've also heard that the winner from season 1 has gained most of his weight back and that a large majority of the people who lose weight on the show gain it back. Now, I know that this show is meant for entertainment purposes, but how awful is it to put these people through all that only to be setting them up for failure since that way of losing weight is almost impossible to maintain! Is all of that worth the money they win and having their 15 minutes of fame on TV?

I don't think it's necessary to make them wear skimpy tops, or for the poor men to have to remove their shirts and show their man-boobs.

Sometimes they show a shot of the kitchen and you can see those "100 calorie" cookie snack-packs the sponsors supply. Gross.

I'd like to know just what each contestant is eating during the contest!

I enjoy the show, but I do wonder what the contestants do during the 167 hours a week that are not shown.

100 hours - sleeping

67 hours - crying

ROFL sherry!

I absolutely hate that they send them home with Subway as their model of what they can/should eat when they are out...because its "lowfat"...they are walking overweight commercials!! :thdown:

And those 100 cal snack packs of cookies!! Pullleasse!! :thdown:

And who the heck is going to keep up that kind of exercise intense routine when its all over......they need to show some of their long term successes. Most have gained it back...plus!

I feel sorry for the contestants as they are not learning that all those convenience foods, even if they are 100 cals at a time, are what got them into trouble in the first place. These poor people are caught up in the whole aspect of having to eat the foods that pay for the progam itself.

i think what bothers me the most is that they emphasize that the contestants consistently lose, no matter what. there's no understanding that weight loss is not linear, and certainly not consistent from week to week. contestants who happen to pause or gain a little bit one week are chastised and accused of cheating... even when they've stuck to the exercise plan and (albeit horrible) diet rules they're given.

it's unfair and unrealistic to expect anyone to continually lose 5-7lbs per week, not to mention unhealthy.

My wife and I love the Biggest Loser. It's a good motivational tool. I do however wonder about their diet though. It doesn't appear that there is a nutritionist or anyone helping to plan their meals. Wouldn't it make sense to have a cook or someone minding the kitchen. It would be a great addition to the show.

As far as the need to consistently lose...it is a game after all. It just sucks that the big contestant that hits a plateau is usually the odd man out.

I really don't see a problem with losing all that weight within the time they are doing it. There's a lot of stories here on these pages of dramatic weight losses within a short span of time. After weight loss there will always be a challenge to maintain, no matter how you lose it.

At least they are working out and doing a multitude of exercises. I like how they go from the treadmill to boxing to weights, yoga, hikes, etc... I am making an effort to mix up a lot of different things into my own workouts. Yesterday I played racket ball for the first time in years and am so sore today I can barely walk.

I read an article on one of the former contestants. In order to maintain his weight loss, the guy was only eating about 1200 calories a day! This was a big muscley MAN! That's just so wrong.

And that trainer wench. If I ever met her in person it would take all of my self control not to pop her in the mouth.

Threads like this one make me glad I cut off the cable last summer. :lol:

Absolutely agree about the diet/nutrition part - why in the world is that such a minute part of the show when a lifelong, realistic, healthy diet commitment is essential to maintaining the weight loss!

Hey, yes it's great that they are losing the weight, but if a vast majority of them are gaining it back after the show is over, what good is that doing them - I would think that would cause more damage than good!

A good workout program is a great thing, and if the show inspires people to get out there and move and mix up their workouts in order to eliminate boredom, that's good, but excessively exercising the way they do on the show is most likely damaging in the long run for the average person. Yes, we should all work out and be active, but for, like 4 hours each day? No, that's just not realistic.

My point is that with the epidemic of obesity and bad health in America, I find it sad to have a show like this, which is a very poor example of how to lose weight and exercise in a manner that can be adhered to for LIFE, not for a short period of time in order to win a bunch of money. As I said before, I realize this show is for entertainment purposes, but I find it sad that they exploit severely overweight people in that manner.

You know - I've never watched this show, but from reading the posts here, the one thing that crossed my mind is the idea that a show like this could potentially be a big de-moralizer (just made that word up) for people watching and wanting to lose some fat. They see how incredibly 'hard' it is to get the weight off, and they see how much these contestants have to go through....

I can easily see some people sitting there watching this and thinking, "I could never do that".

How helpful is this?

I mean, is a show like The Biggest Loser perpetuating the myth that it's next to impossible to lose the weight and that you need all kinds of special help? That it's practically un-doable?

That losing weight and getting healthy somehow means participating in an extreme sport or something?

Yikes. Not a good message.

I couldn't survive on 1,000-1,200 calories of low fat food a day while exercising intensely for 5-7 hours. That's what they usually have the women do! :(

Culturista, what a great quote you have in your posts about doing your best. I saw that the other day in one of your posts and even though I wasn't feeling well that day, I was inspired to do more than I would usually do when I don't feel well.

I love that quote and won't soon forget it. Thanks.

Thanks, 27Peach! I love it too. It's helped me in the same way!