Fat/Fit shows

rpkg62

What's your opinion on shows like Biggest Loser, My 600lbs Life, Super Sized vs Super Skinny?

Does it help motivate you? Is it discouraging? Neither? Super curious what other people think of these shows

NotGivingUp2017

I've actually exercised to My 600lb Life, Lol. I guess seeing them unhappy and trying to make a change motivates me. Am I the only one?

heiliskrimsli

I hate-watch My Big Fat Fabulous Life because it reminds me that there's nothing at all fabulous about obesity. That show is like a continual documentary of stuff that Whitney can't do and cries about.

jennypapage

I actually find them motivating, because they remind me how i do not want to end up.

bobshuckleberry

I used to find them motivating until it was revealed that most of them gain it all back and sometimes more. Losing that much weight in that amount of time is not sustainable. It is not physically healthy and it cannot do much good for your psyche when you can't keep the results.
I have seen the one where the man works with people one on one and takes the weight loss over a year, which is still quick. However they are doing it while conducting the rest of their lives, not isolated at a camp.

heiliskrimsli

jennypapage wrote: »

I actually find them motivating, because they remind me how i do not want to end up.

Penthesilea514

It is a mixed bag for me. On one hand, it can be motivating to see someone who maybe has the same issues as I work very hard to lose the weight but on the other hand, it does seem almost cruel that the shows helps them lose weight unsustainably and then let them fall back after the show leaves them. So I don't really watch these shows anymore.

MissPauling

I don't find them motivating because I'm not that big, never been, never will be, so I can't relate.

The Kardashian show would have been more interesting here (that revenge body bs), sadly it's so focused on the Kardashian woman and lots of blah and boring styling bs I don't really care for and don't need to see people applying make up to other people's faces for 5 minutes, and to me it seems they don't really get in shape, only a bit.

zyxst

The show Heavy hit me hard because the trainers didn't always act like a$$es, treating the clients like whiny losers. The show followed up on the clients after leaving the compound to see if they were still following the program.

BurlzGettingFit

rpk62 wrote: »

What's your opinion on shows like Biggest Loser, My 600lbs Life, Super Sized vs Super Skinny?

Does it help motivate you? Is it discouraging? Neither? Super curious what other people think of these shows

I love them all! I typically watch My 600 lb Life while at the gym. I love Whitney and her family from My Big Fat Fabulous Life, I do think she is fabulous! I have no problem with any of those shows, it's not as though the shows are being done without the participants permission.

Jruzer

Here's my stock answer:

In my opinion, it's a modern-day freakshow. I don't mean that to be unkind to the people involved in it, but that's the purpose of the people who make and produce these kinds of reality TV.

In today's freakshows you're not supposed to gape like yokels at the people on exhibit. That's so early 20th century. Instead you're supposed to be moved to pity, or outrage, or whatever emotion the producers wish to foster.

In my opinion, of course.

cwolfman13

rpk62 wrote: »

What's your opinion on shows like Biggest Loser, My 600lbs Life, Super Sized vs Super Skinny?

Does it help motivate you? Is it discouraging? Neither? Super curious what other people think of these shows

I think shows like the Biggest Loser are horrible...if you read what many of the contestants talk about after the fact, it's really horrible...not to mention it is in no way "reality"...but it's a "reality show" so a lot of people think it is and the people who try to mimic that are idiots.

I've never seen 600 Lb life so can't comment...but my guess is that I wouldn't like it...never heard of Super Sized vs Super Skinny, but I wouldn't want to be either one of those things.

rpkg62

Thanks for the input! Sometimes I enjoy these shows, but they are pretty unrealistic. I use to feel really discouraged, watching all the people lose weight so fast! Now that I have started to keep a steady slow pace of weight loss, it's hit me how unhealthy unrealistic these shows are. I still enjoy them though.

SiegfriedXXL

Jruzer wrote: »

Here's my stock answer:

In my opinion, it's a modern-day freakshow. I don't mean that to be unkind to the people involved in it, but that's the purpose of the people who make and produce these kinds of reality TV.

In today's freakshows you're not supposed to gape like yokels at the people on exhibit. That's so early 20th century. Instead you're supposed to be moved to pity, or outrage, or whatever emotion the producers wish to foster.

In my opinion, of course.

^^This^^ So much this. It takes a serious national problem and turns it into a spectacle to gawk at and shore up the esteem of viewers but assuages their conscience by saying "Look, we're helping these folks lose weight by heaping abuse on them in an unrealistic situation and system that they'll be unable to maintain once they leave us."

amusedmonkey

Neither for me. I just don't care for them because reality shows aren't entertaining to me (which is all they are, entertainment, no need to read too much into them).

NorthCascades

I've never seen one.

BurlzGettingFit

SiegfriedXXL wrote: »

Jruzer wrote: »

Here's my stock answer:

In my opinion, it's a modern-day freakshow. I don't mean that to be unkind to the people involved in it, but that's the purpose of the people who make and produce these kinds of reality TV.

In today's freakshows you're not supposed to gape like yokels at the people on exhibit. That's so early 20th century. Instead you're supposed to be moved to pity, or outrage, or whatever emotion the producers wish to foster.

In my opinion, of course.

^^This^^ So much this. It takes a serious national problem and turns it into a spectacle to gawk at and shore up the esteem of viewers but assuages their conscience by saying "Look, we're helping these folks lose weight by heaping abuse on them in an unrealistic situation and system that they'll be unable to maintain once they leave us."

You can't place all the blame on the creators and producers though. Those people sign on and after how many years of the shows being on television now know what they're getting themselves into.

BurlzGettingFit

And I should add I don't watch the shows for any kind of motivation or encouragement but in all honesty because I truly want to know how they came to be in their current situation so I can try and understand how people get to that point in their lives since it's baffling to me.

AnnPT77

BurlzGettingFit wrote: »

SiegfriedXXL wrote: »

Jruzer wrote: »

Here's my stock answer:

In my opinion, it's a modern-day freakshow. I don't mean that to be unkind to the people involved in it, but that's the purpose of the people who make and produce these kinds of reality TV.

In today's freakshows you're not supposed to gape like yokels at the people on exhibit. That's so early 20th century. Instead you're supposed to be moved to pity, or outrage, or whatever emotion the producers wish to foster.

In my opinion, of course.

^^This^^ So much this. It takes a serious national problem and turns it into a spectacle to gawk at and shore up the esteem of viewers but assuages their conscience by saying "Look, we're helping these folks lose weight by heaping abuse on them in an unrealistic situation and system that they'll be unable to maintain once they leave us."

You can't place all the blame on the creators and producers though. Those people sign on and after how many years of the shows being on television now know what they're getting themselves into.

I thought that comment was placing most of the blame on the people watching.

Watchers motivate advertisers, who fund and energize creators and producers, which results in more of this manipulated, unrealistic, unhealthful, voyeuristically-slanted nonsense being available for viewers. Even if the participants sign on with full knowledge - people will do anything for money, judging from the scope of reality shows in general - I'm not an enthusiast.

At first, I watched 'Biggest Loser' when it was first on, until I heard how the participants were being manipulated and used, and understood what a bad example the show was for average people. We see folks posting here regularly who think they're losing weight "so slowly" at 2-3 pounds a week, and think they have to starve themselves and exercise like maniacs, or they're failures.

So wrong, in so many ways. But JMO. I'd rather spend my time on something positive or productive.

pinuplove

I was over 'reality' TV almost as soon as it started but it just won't go away. I assume it's cheaper to produce, and since millions of people still lap it up, why should the networks change a winning formula? I watched a few seasons of The Amazing Race but other than that prefer my television viewing to be purely fiction, not fiction dressed up as truth of some perverted sort.

getupforchange

I used to watch BL mainly for Alison Sweeney, Bob and Jillian but I'm not too keen on the format of the show. The only show like it that I do like is Chris Powell's extreme weight loss, because it's done over a full year and people still have to work/go to school/take care of their kids while at it. It's obviously still "extreme" but I feel like Chris attempts to really deal with all aspects of the journey, the mental and the physical bit.