Biggest Loser Show - What did you think?

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doris_day
doris_day Posts: 159
in Chit-Chat
I really enjoyed the successful stories of the Biggest Loser last night. I cried so many times during the show - that my son asked that we turn if off because it was making me sad, but it was tears of joy.

But what made me really sad was the reunion of the 1st place winners. Did you see that most of them gained a bunch of weight back and the 1st year winner gained it all back.

They had the best trainers, great medical care, the best nutritionists, life coaching, and yet they gained it back.

I don't want this to be a losing battle. What did you think of the show?

Replies

  • kimberly428
    kimberly428 Posts: 237
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    I watched it last night and seriously cried like a baby at EACH reunion shot LOL
  • vdub88
    vdub88 Posts: 79
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    I found it depressing - it is always nice to see the progress they make each week. One guy said he lost over 155 pounds in 6 months - i just don't know how you maintain that loss so fast like that. I have lost 24 pounds since August and I think that is good sure I would love to be at 50 pounds lost but I know i am working hard making decisions to change my life. I don't think its good to lose it that fast.

    I really wonder how and what they are doing to lose 155 pounds in 6 months. Something is wrong with that. I rather lose it slow and keep it off.

    Very depressing - i could not watch all of it.
  • kioga86
    kioga86 Posts: 126 Member
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    I think the show is great, but completely unrealistic.

    The show is a wonderful motivator for people across the nation (and I've heard in other nations as well!), and a lot of people attribute their success, in part or in whole, to watching The Biggest Loser. Anything that excites people about being healthier and happier, I'm more than okay with.

    That having been said, the weight loss that these people have on the show is unattainable in the real world. "On the ranch," to use a turn of phrase from the show, is a VERY different world than the one we live in. You have all the time in the world to exercise, access to the best food without having to worry about price, access to top-rate medical care, and two of the best trainers in the world. Weight loss is the main focus (even the game play aspect can go to pot if you don't lose weight!), so why wouldn't you lose a ton of weight?

    I'm sure that the people who come home haven't gone through the mental, emotional, spiritual, and/or physical changes that they needed to in order to make this a complete lifestyle change.

    While our road is longer, and probably seemingly more frustrating, let's face facts here. If we keep our nose to the grindstone, we win much more than a cash prize. We win our future, our happiness, our health, and best of all, our own self-respect. And we earn it.
  • SoldierDad
    SoldierDad Posts: 1,602
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    I really enjoyed the successful stories of the Biggest Loser last night. I cried so many times during the show - that my son asked that we turn if off because it was making me sad, but it was tears of joy.

    But what made me really sad was the reunion of the 1st place winners. Did you see that most of them gained a bunch of weight back and the 1st year winner gained it all back.

    They had the best trainers, great medical care, the best nutritionists, life coaching, and yet they gained it back.

    I don't want this to be a losing battle. What did you think of the show?

    They gained it back because they lost it to quickly and not in a entirely healthy manner. Slow and steady wins the race. TBL is a game show. They get ratings by ppl losing a bunch of weight. Have everyone lose 2 pounds a week and they would be off the air. Behind the sceens, contestants are encouraged to do things for weight loss that are not healthy. I am coaching a friend right now and she is dying to lose 10 pounds a week.. And I could do it that for her. But she would gain it all back and then some. I am helping her lose 1-2 a week and she is learnign skills to keep it off for life.
  • alantin
    alantin Posts: 621 Member
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    They had the best trainers, great medical care, the best nutritionists, life coaching, and yet they gained it back.

    I suppose, the experience was just too different from their normal life so, once it ended, they slipped back to their old habits. That is the danger in any "quick diet".

    To be a fit person, you need to eat like a fit person.
    To be a fat person, you need to eat like a fat person.
    To be a morbidly obese person...
  • alantin
    alantin Posts: 621 Member
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    Behind the sceens, contestants are encouraged to do things for weight loss that are not healthy. I am coaching a friend right now and she is dying to lose 10 pounds a week.. And I could do it that for her. But she would gain it all back and then some.

    And be in a lot worse shape than before since she would have burned a lot of muscle in the process.
    I hate the whole show because IMHO it's as bad an influence as any three together!
  • KarenBorter
    KarenBorter Posts: 1,157 Member
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    Doris ... One of the BIGGEST problems on TBL is that it's a GAME with a HUGE monetary incentive. Even though they threw in the medical care aspect and showed the behind the scenes, losing that much weight over such a short period of time is a recipe for failure. It's one of the main reasons I never watched that show. I only started to watch this season because of my own struggle with weight loss. I wanted to see that other people are doing it but now as I watch TBL I get more upset then enlightened because they promote products like Subway which, while healthy, is so loaded with sodium and is misleading people in thinking that eating Subway is healthier.

    The great thing about MFP is that it promotes SLOW weight loss which is the SUCCESSFUL way to keep the weight off. There is also a setting here for maintenance which will tell you how many calories you need to consume in order to maintain your current weight. I think that if more trainers insisted that their clients sign up to this site and track their weight they WOULD be successful.

    I think that after this season is done, I won't be DVRing next season. I don't agree with how they lose the weight and how fast they lost the weight. It just sets them up for failure and even Ali, who seemed to be the skinniest, looks like she gained some weight back.
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
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    I do love the show. It's inspirational, however the contestants do not lose weight healthily. The contestants are losing 100+ lbs in a 16 week span. That can't be safe! It's not a sustainable loss. The longer it takes one to lose the weight, the longer they are likely to keep it off. So it's no surprise to me (howbeit entirely disappointing) that many of the contestants put a good amount of weight back on.
  • pamelasusan
    pamelasusan Posts: 90 Member
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    Although it is an entertaining show I think that it sets a lot of people up for disappointment.

    If people don't educated themselves and think that The Biggest Loser is 'real life' they are going to be frustrated and discouraged when they don't lose 20 lbs a week like the contestants.

    It's not real life....it's entertainment. Real life is 1 to 2 lbs a week. Small changes everyday, good choices and moderation.

    In the end......real life will trump the 'wow' factor on The Biggest Loser.
  • aaddaammggoolleeaaffss
    aaddaammggoolleeaaffss Posts: 230
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    Love the show, watch it every week and have for the last 2 -3 seasons :D
  • danadee
    danadee Posts: 49
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    The show is unrealistic. But, it is helping people. I agree with others that it is unhealthy to lose so much, so fast. If you watched the show last night, you can see that most of the contestants regained 20-30 lbs, which is still a healthy weight to be. And these are the same contestants that are competing in triathlons and marathons.
    They have learned that by staying active and eating healthy, their lives are better.
  • swaby
    swaby Posts: 51
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    i guess you can sum it up like this . No one is perfect . This is not a diet it is a life style change . Yes you can have a binge day and a drink every now and then but for the most part if you have a weight problem log your eating and cut back. Enjoy your life eat to live not live to eat . make new friends live life to the fullest and the happier you become the better you will do. lets face it most of us don't have all day to work on our bodies. But little changes make alot of difference. The biggest loser show tries to change all at once. It is a emotional thing to as well as nerve conditions cause people to eat so you must heal your inward person also

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