Reaction to the biggest loser??

MizStephanie

I am curious to know what people think about Rachel Fredrickson, the current winner of the biggest loser. There has been a lot of controversy around her losing 155 pounds in 5 months, taking her down to just 105 LBS. Speculation of her being unhealthy, even throwing the word "anorexic" around, has been all around the media. I would like to know what your thoughts/comments/feelings are??

Happy Friday!

Booksandbeaches

There have been several threads here about the topic...just a heads up...

I thought she looked too thin. Tumi, the at home winner, looked healthy and fit. Rachel didn't look that way to me. The real test will be if Rachel can maintain her weight at that level.

melissaka7

I have never watched Biggest Loser, I am a fan of Extreme Weight Loss (with Chris Powell) where it's not a competition and there is no prize. All I can say is that she lost an awful lot of weight in such a short time and did not look healthy. It's hard to really judge someone you don't know, though. People don't need to be mean to her, but rather concerned for her health. Weight loss is not supposed to be about diet, but a lifestyle change and being healthy, not skinny.

MayberryMama

I don't have a problem with it. What I imagine happened there is she really wanted to win and went to the extreme to be sure she succeeded. But it's not likely she can maintain that low weight long term, so she will probably bounce back up to a more suitable weight in the coming months and be just fine. I thought she looked beautiful, and the only part that looked a little too thin was her arms. But I know that some ladies just have really spindly arms and when you lose the fat, you end up with chicken wings, lol. I wish her the best, because I am sure she really worked hard to win.

kdsp2911

So many threads about this topic...my question remains where in the world did all her excess skin go?

scottjoh

It was an unthinkable amout to lose, but her's was done with medical supervision and was for $250k. I'm sure like most winners, she'll put on enough to get her back to a healthy more realistic weight. I just hope she doesn't go back to the 260 she was to begin with.

TCarter18

I think she did what she needed to do to win $250k. I can't criticize her for that. I would've done the same thing. She can always gain back a few pounds later on to make up for it. People are making a bigger deal of it than it really is. It's like you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

MizStephanie

I don't have a problem with it. What I imagine happened there is she really wanted to win and went to the extreme to be sure she succeeded. But it's not likely she can maintain that low weight long term, so she will probably bounce back up to a more suitable weight in the coming months and be just fine. I thought she looked beautiful, and the only part that looked a little too thin was her arms. But I know that some ladies just have really spindly arms and when you lose the fat, you end up with chicken wings, lol. I wish her the best, because I am sure she really worked hard to win.

I agree, her face looked a little odd too!

MizStephanie

I think she did what she needed to do to win $250k. I can't criticize her for that. I would've done the same thing. She can always gain back a few pounds later on to make up for it. People are making a bigger deal of it than it really is. It's like you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Totally agree with you on this one, its a lose, lose situation (literally!) LoL.

Deipneus

All I can say is that people who say other people are "too thin" should not get bent out of shape if someone says you are "too fat".

fbmandy55

So many threads about this topic...my question remains where in the world did all her excess skin go?

She may not have had any... She was 200lbs to start, not 500. And genetics play a big role in that.

minizebu

I do not watch that show, but I just read a brief headline about the controversy. She is 5'4" and now 105 lbs. This puts her at a BMI of 18, which is below what the medical community considers a healthy weight.

However, this forum is probably not the appropriate space in which to have this discussion.

Perhaps a forum moderator will move it?

MizStephanie

All I can say is that people who say other people are "too thin" should not get bent out of shape if someone says you are "too fat".

Agreed! Wish society was different...

Agate69

So many threads about this topic...my question remains where in the world did all her excess skin go?

Ditto, except she is young, and young skin shrinks..... Also who knows what scars lie under the clothing.

isobeltheodora

haters gunna hate. i'm sure she rather be 105lbs than 200 or 300 however much she weighed. and that's what losing weight and being healthy is about..feeling good about yourself and i guarantee she feels great.

MizStephanie

haters gunna hate. i'm sure she rather be 105lbs than 200 or 300 however much she weighed. and that's what losing weight and being healthy is about..feeling good about yourself and i guarantee she feels great.

Nicely said!

erickirb

It was an unthinkable amout to lose, but her's was done with medical supervision and was for $250k. I'm sure like most winners, she'll put on enough to get her back to a healthy more realistic weight. I just hope she doesn't go back to the 260 she was to begin with.

I don't think her last 45 were medically supervised, they were from home. That said, she probably knew it was unhealthy but wanted the money and can get back to "healthy" after she wins it all.

pinkraynedropjacki

So many threads about this topic...my question remains where in the world did all her excess skin go?

This.



Also I love how the hosts looked 'shocked'.... they knew how thin she'd gotten as they as they are the ones there as well..... so for them to look shocked like they had not seen her in months is bull****.

pinkraynedropjacki

So many threads about this topic...my question remains where in the world did all her excess skin go?

She may not have had any... She was 200lbs to start, not 500. And genetics play a big role in that.

I'm the same height as her & started off at 210lbs, so not much bigger. I lost my weight in 7 months & have excess skin. She would have had heaps at her current weight. Skin does not shrink back that fast.

Deipneus

I do not watch that show, but I just read a brief headline about the controversy. She is 5'4" and now 105 lbs. This puts her at a BMI of 18, which is below what the medical community considers a healthy weight.

However, this forum is probably not the appropriate space in which to have this discussion.

Perhaps a forum moderator will move it?

BMI charts don't take into account body type. Coincidentally, my wife is 5'4" and 110 pounds. It was 105 lbs. when she was younger. She has never intentionally limited food to achieve it and in fact has a hard time maintaining it. The only people who have ever called her "too thin" were jealous overweight people.

Whambam087

Honestly I don't see the big deal. Before she was many pounds overweight and now she's just 3-5 pounds underweight. All she needs to do is gain 5 pounds and she'll look a lot better and be in the healthy range. When you're that thin 5 pounds makes a huge difference. That should be a piece of cake. Or a whole cake and a pizza pie lol.

BinaryPulsar

Yeah, there are many different threads on this topic. I'm not sure why I even care to comment, but I am. This isn't a situation in which only heavier people think she looks unhealthy from extreme, rapid weight loss. My weight fluctuates between 100 and 103 (I am 5'2" and small framed), and I think she does not look healthy. And I also eat over 2000 calories a day. Being small is a natural weight for me, I never went on a diet. Everyone has a healthy weight that is different. Just because I'm healthy at 100, does not mean everyone would be.

mekkzy888

I'm not even American so I haven't watched the series but after Googling her and seeing her weight loss I have to say I'm shocked! Although she seems happy with her weight loss she's obviously underweight now and it's not healthy. It's dangerous to lose such a lot of weight in such a short time and she's either been starving herself or working out excessively in the few months she was at home to get to that size. I know people have said she's only gone this far so she could win the competition and the money and hopefully that IS what's happened and she will gain a little back now, but otherwise I would definitely say she's either on her way to developing an eating disorder or already has one. There's no way she could healthily maintain that physique after losing so much so quickly, even though that's what she says she intends to do! What I don't understand is how they even allowed her on TV, it's plain to everyone that she's much too thin and you could tell from the trainers' negative reactions that they thought so too. I just hope it doesn't influence people who might have been watching into thinking she's a role model... she's amazing for losing the weight but no one should try to be that skinny.

jobean12

What bothered me is that she seemed to lose all the muscle tone she had. She looked extremely fit prior to the finale....... and at the finale she looked frail...... was sad to me.

BinaryPulsar

What bothered me is that she seemed to lose all the muscle tone she had. She looked extremely fit prior to the finale....... and at the finale she looked frail...... was sad to me.

That's how I felt also.

Monty_P

I thought from the waist down she looked great but her arms were very thin and her face looked gaunt.

This is just from a picture though, I haven't watched it, don't think we get it over here?

Cre8veLifeR

So many threads about this topic...my question remains where in the world did all her excess skin go?

She may not have had any... She was 200lbs to start, not 500. And genetics play a big role in that.

Some people are, on the bell curve of fitness, are total super-responders. I know one!! She works out for a week and gets ripped! Maybe her skin just shrank- she's YOUNG too so she has more elasticity. Personally the topic irritates me. When we live in a society where "there's no such thing as too rich or too thin" and where Kim Kardashian, Brittany Spears, and Scarlett Johansen (to name a few off the tops of my head) are "TOO FAT", and string bean super models with NO muscle tone are the standard of beauty, everyone should stop judging and realize the total insanity of that act alone! If she was someone on here and posted her "before and after" pics I SERIOUSLY doubt everyone would attack her.

It's amazing to me the double standards of society. If she went from one eating disorder to another, then she did - I hope not and I would HOPE that along with the fitness and diet aspect The Biggest Loser would address the REAL mental issues that are going on with a person who is a binge eater in the first place. Personally I think that if I saw her at my gym I would think she looks good - a little thin for my taste but she doesn't look emaciated. Does anyone know if she gained or loss LBM along with her fat, or did she gain LBM? How did she get so toned? What's her diet like? I hope she speaks out about what her health status is so people will leave her alone, and if she IS anorexic (or Bulemic) now, I really hope she gets HELP. That is a disease that kills, and it's absolutely body destroying and tragic. Women who suffer from those diseases also have an incredible high rate of suicide. If that's what happened she needs love, guidance, sincere compassion and concern, and not condemnation, judgement and attack!

jnr2012

I agree that she can't win - too fat - too skinny - I think she will be OK and work out hard to build some muscle - she's an athlete after all and seems to have a good head on her shoulders, just very competitive and she won.

widebride

She lost 45lbs in 3 months. In an article she stated she was eating 1600 calories and taking 3 exercise classes a day at the gym every day. I can't imagine her net caloric intake was more than 500 calories...but whatever.

SingingSingleTracker

I am curious to know what people think about Rachel Fredrickson, the current winner of the biggest loser. There has been a lot of controversy around her losing 155 pounds in 5 months, taking her down to just 105 LBS. Speculation of her being unhealthy, even throwing the word "anorexic" around, has been all around the media. I would like to know what your thoughts/comments/feelings are??

Happy Friday!

Hey - the point was whoever won received $250K. Guess what? She won!!!!

Typical Tour de France professional racer looks like this with their clothes off...




And most look like this with clothes...




Typical Professional Marathon Runner looks like this...


mar-leaders

Nobody freaks out when they see these professional athletes that look like that. This gal wins the contest dropping, cuttting weight and grabs the $250K check - and everyone freaks out? She won! 1/4 of a Million.

law_of_inertia

The Biggest Loser has never encouraged health. It has its contestants eating no more than 1200 calories and exercising for up to 4 hours per day (one person even said 7 hours), often to the point of sheer exhaustion - I've also read accounts stating that people would dehydrate and starve themselves before weigh ins just to get an artificial "loss" on the scale.

This is why the majority end up gaining back the weight after the show - it's because it doesn't encourage sustainable goals and normalizes several dangerous ones. Not only that, but viewers are going to see people losing obscene amounts of weight each week (I think I saw a person losing 20 pounds after a week in one week?) and then get disappointed when they're "only" losing a pound or less and then give up because they think they must be doing something wrong. I've watched a few episodes here and there and I just always found it uncomfortably abusive. Of course, I'm not forced to watch it, so I don't. But I still despise the messages it gives out.

As for Rachel, I can't possibly comment on her mental well-being because it just wouldn't be fair, plus you can't judge someone for going to extremes to win such a great sum of money. However, if people are asking whether what she did was "healthy" or not, then I think the answer is obviously no - she herself has admitted to basically spending her entire day walking on the treadmill and then taking 4 exercise classes a day while eating a limit of 1200 calories. I'd be surprised if she managed to sustain that for the long-term, and I hope no one tries to emulate what she did at home with no supervision.