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secret eaters

DeanneScott2
Posts: 28 Member
Hi Everyone,
I have come across a few posts of 'why haven't I lost weight' type questions and it reminded me of a show I came across online. Secret Eaters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Eaters
I got obsessed watching it and I really think it helped me realize that everything that I eat counts and that you can really convince yourself that you are doing the right thing but reality is slightly shifted.
I also really like watching supersize v superskinny. Sounds silly but they helped me end up losing 12kg and I have maintained for about 6 months now.
If you get a chance you should check them out
I have come across a few posts of 'why haven't I lost weight' type questions and it reminded me of a show I came across online. Secret Eaters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Eaters
I got obsessed watching it and I really think it helped me realize that everything that I eat counts and that you can really convince yourself that you are doing the right thing but reality is slightly shifted.
I also really like watching supersize v superskinny. Sounds silly but they helped me end up losing 12kg and I have maintained for about 6 months now.
If you get a chance you should check them out

7
Replies
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I binge-watched that show at one point. I don't know why, but for a week or so I was fascinated with it. (I found the episodes on Youtube.)
I thought it got to be a bit much the way the hosts widened their eyes with shock after the hundredth time. Like it's any surprise that so many of us pack away the food, don't count everything, eat our leftovers late at night and that a whole lot of us are overweight. (I do realize Britain is going through this crisis where they're fast catching up to the U.S. which I don't think was expected...we've held the "overweight nation" title for so long.)
I thought it was pretty shaming and I doubted, each time, that the people being highlighted really didn't realize they were overeating. Most shows of this type are at least partially scripted but this one really felt staged.
I'm not putting anyone down for liking the show, and it's not like I never watch silly TV. I definitely do, I'm no upper moral crust about that. But this one...I don't know...I'd bet my lower intestine even the hosts binge once in a while, who has never done this? The ZOMG shock was hard to (wait for it) swallow.3 -
I just thought I would mention it because I really believe a lot of people do think they are doing the right thing and it may make them think about their own behavior. Im pretty sure I didn't mention anything about it being real... I didn't even mention the 'reality show' genre because I know these shows aren't real (big shock there too right?).
She wouldn't be much of a host if she didn't feign interest in each episode... But I guess you get bored like that if you binge watch.
Anyway, thought it might have interested some... but also just remembered why I rarely post on forums, wasn't trying to start a debate on TV, just trying to be nice and share.4 -
Okay...I did not mean to upset you...my opinion was not about you...it was about the show.
As I said, it isn't a judgment on people who watch the show. I have my just for fun shows.0 -
Shirataki is intersting food, if I'm very hungry0
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I like this show, it's one of my favourite trash telly treats, and a real eye-opener when it comes to how your perception of what you're eating can differ from the reality. In general I don't think it is shaming - these people signed up for a reality check, and that's what they get. It would be different if you walked up to someone in the street and did that.
I've wondered about how scripted it is, too - it seems so unbelievable that they could really not realise why they are overweight when they're eating a six pack of sausage rolls as a snack - but overall, I think that part is genuine. A few of the contestants never truly accept it, even when it's there in front of their faces.
None of us live in the real world, we live in an illusion made up of the information our brain chooses to give us. If it thinks something isn't important, it'll just blank it out, and that includes the details of what we are eating. Even people who track calories often just miss out and forget entire snacks. The message of this show - that we are all eating more than we realise and that the only way to overcome obesity is to face up to that - is so valuable that i can easily forgive it for its trashiness and for the moments when it's over-dramatised. There are some good tips too.1 -
I binge-watched that show at one point. I don't know why, but for a week or so I was fascinated with it. (I found the episodes on Youtube.)
I thought it got to be a bit much the way the hosts widened their eyes with shock after the hundredth time. Like it's any surprise that so many of us pack away the food, don't count everything, eat our leftovers late at night and that a whole lot of us are overweight. (I do realize Britain is going through this crisis where they're fast catching up to the U.S. which I don't think was expected...we've held the "overweight nation" title for so long.)
I thought it was pretty shaming and I doubted, each time, that the people being highlighted really didn't realize they were overeating. Most shows of this type are at least partially scripted but this one really felt staged.
I'm not putting anyone down for liking the show, and it's not like I never watch silly TV. I definitely do, I'm no upper moral crust about that. But this one...I don't know...I'd bet my lower intestine even the hosts binge once in a while, who has never done this? The ZOMG shock was hard to (wait for it) swallow.
I didn't find it shaming at all.
Look around, there are people convinced they are medical miracles and that they barely eat and are gaining weight. That show is quite empathetic and kind. And it's the most reality I've seen in the genre in a long time.
Sometimes the truth needs to be told.2 -
I watched some of this when it was first on TV. I think it makes a good point, that people can underestimate their intake and eat without thinking, but it seemed a bit exaggerated. They had managed to find people who could eat a takeaway meal without noticing, for instance!
I thought it might have been more useful if they'd used more ordinary people. (For instance, I sometimes eat when I'm preparing food, and forget about it). But I suppose it wouldn't make good TV!
One thing that was interesting was that with the amount the people were eating, you'd actually expect them to be bigger than they were. I just had a look at one, and the guy was eating 5500 calories a day, but "only" weighed 224 lb.3 -
It's all the tests they did on the "public" that annoyed me. For example people coming out of the gym to find a hotdog stand offering free hotdogs. Firstly would they have eaten the hotdog if it weren't free, secondly if it were something healthy would they have still eaten it. I think they were way too biased.0
This discussion has been closed.
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