Thoughts on "The Biggest Loser"

[wheresmybacon]

I don't watch this show that often, but I see it a few times a season and it always drives me crazy how little emphasis is placed on diet. Maybe I'm just catching it at the wrong times; maybe they have shows devoted to preparing healthy foods and the importance of maintaining a caloric deficit in order to lose weight...

It just seems like all they do is focus on the exercise component of weight loss, and the diet portion is just product placement ads for highly questionable food products. One I can recall was some fiber bar which was basically nothing more than a candy bar with added fiber. Right.

All in all I just think the show itself - while entertaining - is doing your average fat American a disservice by ignoring the most important part of losing weight: diet. I'm all for it if it gets fatties in the gym, but I just wish they'd take the diet part a bit further.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I've followed the show for a full season before and they do put a fair amount of stress on diet. They typically talk about it for about 15min on the first episode and then put it on the backburner. The problem is that cooking a meal makes for way less exciting TV. The grunting, the pain, the hurt of high intensity exercise creates drama that people like.

 

[wheresmybacon]

Yeah true. Watching people bust their asses in the gym is much better television, and ratings are the goal of any show.

On the plus side, I do love that the contestants do HIGH intensity exercise.

 

[Malfeas]

I watch the show sometimes. There are a few things I don't like about the show.

One, they do silly challenges to kick people off the show. This doesn't make sense to me, they take morbidly obese people and try to get them to lose weight and then kick them out when they lose a challenge? Then they make it worse by having the other contestants choose? That is a bit hard on ones self esteem, and very likely to cause someone to relapse into an unhealthy lifestyle, as evidenced by the numerous cases of people who got kicked of the show and gained all the weight back. If they actually cared about the health of the contestants they would keep them all on the ranch until the end, then simply pick whoever lost the most weight as the winner.

Also the show should pick up the tab for the excess skin removal surgery for all the contestants.

 

[Kipper]

There is no point to the show and I refuse to watch it. If you ask me, these people are by and large addicted to food, and going on a reality TV show does little to fix the underlying behavioral/psychological problem. The majority of people lose the weight and then put it back on, demonstrating that although they may have changed their appearance, there are many things that are unresolved: social support, family dynamic, depression, financial issues, stress, lack of time, access to low-calorie foods, etc., among others.

Of course, there is more than one way to look at this.

 

[Jzero]

I watch the show sometimes. There are a few things I don't like about the show.

One, they do silly challenges to kick people off the show. This doesn't make sense to me, they take morbidly obese people and try to get them to lose weight and then kick them out when they lose a challenge?

They have challenges that give immunity from elimination or some other prize/advantage.

However who is nominated for elimination in any week is based purely on their weight loss performance for the week. Now there's also some shortcomings to this method, but it is completely inaccurate to say they get kicked off for losing a challenge.

Then they make it worse by having the other contestants choose? That is a bit hard on ones self esteem, and very likely to cause someone to relapse into an unhealthy lifestyle, as evidenced by the numerous cases of people who got kicked of the show and gained all the weight back.

You might think that in practice, but this is a very different show than Survivor and the thought process for voting people out ends up being pretty much the opposite. Players perceived to be "playing the game" but not serious about changing their lives are vilified by the other players. People actually volunteer to be voted off so that someone they feel "needs the help more" can stay. It is a common occurrence for weaker players who *should* (if they want to win the prize) collude to eliminate a stronger player to do the opposite.

It's actually refreshing, although some of the crying "pick me" discussions can be annoying.

If they actually cared about the health of the contestants they would keep them all on the ranch until the end, then simply pick whoever lost the most weight as the winner.

As someone said, it's still TV. The ticking time bomb of elimination is far more compelling than everyone getting to stay each week. Also, eliminated players are still competing in an at-home challenge for $100k, so it's not like they are hung out to dry the instant they get voted out.

 

[ZOOYUKA]

I think it would be more interesting to see a contest with everday people instead of morbidly obese ones. Most of the contests do everything wrong eating and fitness wise and the slightest change equals great results. It would be great to see average people who actively try to eat healthy and stay fit, but are falling short because they don't realize they are making poor decisions.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I think it would be more interesting to see a contest with everday people instead of morbidly obese ones. Most of the contests do everything wrong eating and fitness wise and the slightest change equals great results. It would be great to see average people who actively try to eat healthy and stay fit, but are falling short because they don't realize they are making poor decisions.

Or find people who are mediocre at certain sports and try to improve their skills and fitness. They could attend the sports' professional tryouts at the end, if they had competitive numbers. I think that would be much more interesting.

 

[Red Dawn]

There is no point to the show and I refuse to watch it. If you ask me, these people are by and large addicted to food, and going on a reality TV show does little to fix the underlying behavioral/psychological problem. The majority of people lose the weight and then put it back on, demonstrating that although they may have changed their appearance, there are many things that are unresolved: social support, family dynamic, depression, financial issues, stress, lack of time, access to low-calorie foods, etc., among others.

Of course, there is more than one way to look at this.

My neighbors from across the street were contestants on that show (The Durocher's from Boston) Both are 300+ . When they were on that show they were given dieticians services and food, physical trainers etc. and actually lost about 50 lbs each. Since then they've gained it all back plus. They're good guys and hard workers they just like to eat and they love their beer.I doubt they'll ever be fit.

 

[Kipper]

My neighbors from across the street were contestants on that show (The Durocher's from Boston) Both are 300+ . When they were on that show they were given dieticians services and food, physical trainers etc. and actually lost about 50 lbs each. Since then they've gained it all back plus. They're good guys and hard workers they just like to eat and they love their beer.I doubt they'll ever be fit.

...So like I said, there is an unresolved behavioral problem that wasn't addressed by giving these people education and access to services. Eating behaviors are more complex than "I eat XYZ because I like XYZ." If they were that simple, it would be an easier problem to fix and I'd be out of a job. We eat for a variety of reasons and purposes, the least of because we "like" something a lot. I won't hypothesize on the reasons why your neighbors may overeat, but I will tell you that I've never met a person who had a weight problem simply because they "like to eat."

 

[Red Dawn]

...So like I said, there is an unresolved behavioral problem that wasn't addressed by giving these people education and access to services. Eating behaviors are more complex than "I eat XYZ because I like XYZ." If they were that simple, it would be an easier problem to fix and I'd be out of a job. We eat for a variety of reasons and purposes, the least of because we "like" something a lot. I won't hypothesize on the reasons why your neighbors may overeat, but I will tell you that I've never met a person who had a weight problem simply because they "like to eat."

OK, they like to eat a lot

 

[SlitheryDee]

...So like I said, there is an unresolved behavioral problem that wasn't addressed by giving these people education and access to services. Eating behaviors are more complex than "I eat XYZ because I like XYZ." If they were that simple, it would be an easier problem to fix and I'd be out of a job. We eat for a variety of reasons and purposes, the least of because we "like" something a lot. I won't hypothesize on the reasons why your neighbors may overeat, but I will tell you that I've never met a person who had a weight problem simply because they "like to eat."

I don't really have a weight problem, but I like to eat a lot. I say I don't have a weight problem because I am not currently overweight, but I do have to exercise constant control over my diet to maintain it. It's very hard for me, and I can't do it for very long periods of time, but the net result is that I stay around the same weight.

I don't really think this is the way it should be. My impression is that a "normal" person could stay around a healthy weight with no effort at all. Their hunger levels would adjust naturally to the amount of food they take in to result in an overall caloric equilibrium. They simply would never have the desire to eat more than they needed. In fact, the bulking stage of a diet would present more problems than the cutting stage to this kind of person. I see evidence that these people really exist in the threads started around the internet by so-called "hard gainers" and the extensive attention that is given to them by weight lifting resources everywhere. A lot of people literally get sick when they attempt to eat what seems to me to be a paltry amount of calories. People actually get sick on GOMAD of all things. It boggles my mind, to be honest.

When I'm ready to "bulk" all I do is loosen the reins on my diet a little and allow my eating habits to settle into the caloric surplus that comes naturally to me. By and large I still eat healthy foods, but I eat quite a lot of them. I don't think there's anything "wrong" with me, except that my satiation reflex is stuck permanently in the caloric surplus territory. By force of will I can control my weight, but it always feels like I'm fighting a constant and insistent pressure every minute of every day. I can guarantee you that when I get older and care less about my appearance, I WILL have a weight problem, and I think it's really for no other reason than that I like to eat. I actually look forward to a time when I can relax my food restriction, as I constantly feel that I am denying myself something I love a great deal.

 

[RobertR1]

I enjoy TBL as an entertainment source. It's fun to watch. However, the results and methods are not applicable to the real world. Watch it for fun and leave it at that.

 

[Scarpozzi]

It's much easier to gain weight than it is to lose weight. Considering you can eat some fastfood meals (burger/fries/shake) that are 1500 calories in 10 minutes time....and you can't burn that many calories off in your sleep...(or running for an hour)....it's no wonder that people get fat. There are tons of markets out there promoting 'diet' foods. Most are all marketed to be good for you when everything's still processed and nutrient deficient.

The only way to really lose weight is either to restrict your calorie intake and/or burn more calories through intense physical activity. The fatties are typically lazy when they get there....they workout....after they get home, they take a week off....which becomes 2 weeks....a month, a year....etc... They often show contestants from previous seasons. Most gain back at least a large portion of their weight because they don't make time to work out....the ones they don't show gain it all back.

The show is just a platform for sponsor advertisement and network ratings. It is what it is...