WHAT DO YOU THINK OF "THE BIGGEST LOSER"?

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

The show gained its worldwide popularity (we even have our own edition of The Biggest Loser here in my country) especially in addressing the ever increasing obesity epidemic.

In my opinion, while the show has some good points such as creating inspiration & hope that anything is possible, accountability & social support, overall I think the show is quite misleading for us viewers & needs improvement because of the ff:

1. it only focuses on weight loss & not in fat loss - no wonder so many people feel frustrated whenever they don't see the scales moving down despite improving their overall physical stamina, body composition & decreasing BF%. you will never know if whether that loss consists of only pure fat or mainly muscle. its normal to not shed a pound while losing inches once in a while especially if you're gaining muscle but this show only makes us think that the scale is the only criterion to weight loss success.

2. extreme overtaining - there was one episode wherein the contestants were asked to run a mile just after they got off from the bus & one of them got collapsed while already nearing the finish line. that contestant was immediately taken to the hospital. of course since these people were not used to run like that so its not surprising at all. if you've been a couch potato for so many years, you have to do the begginer version first but from what I see, this is more like advanced versions that even some moderate exercisers couldn't even do easily. Also these people spent hours training for 7 days. we all know that we need a "rest day" for our bodies to recover.

3. the trainers are being too abusive - although sometimes we have to act tough to get people to follow but talking s**t & foul words to someone who is in need of encouragement can be demoralizing. although its only a TV show but then it will just encourage us viewers to act like that & for the obese people to feel more depressed.

The only advantage of these contestants is that they got a trainer, a nutritionist, a medical team & a complete set of exercise equipments that they can use. But otherwise, they, like us are just normal human beings who deserve to have a rest day, a more understanding approach to weight loss & not just by monetary means. Money is only an incentive for them to keep going but more importantly it should be their health. Us viewers can only look up to them for inspiration whenever we feel down & hopeless to lose either 100+ lbs. or that last stubborn 10 lbs. but not necessarily copy what they are doing in that camp.

Jennyzfit

I really like your take on this. Thank you

Ruchell

One of the contestants from the second season lives in my town and has gained plenty of his weight back. I think maybe when your focus is on losing as much as you can and quickly as you can you aren't really learning how to maintain the lifestyle and keep the loss.

SaundraU

I think a lot of the stuff you see is edited to make you see a certain thing because it makes people want to watch not because it is the real or full picture.

Also after the 1st season anyone who signed up knew what they were getting into - and for some people may be exactly why they choose it - many of them had tried all kinds of other means and it didn't work so maybe they thought a kick in the butt was what they needed.

I agree with the rest needed but then again we only see what they want us too.

lbewley3

Agree on the over training 100%. I believe weight loss/health is at least 80% what you don't put in your mouth. Exercise is important for health and goes hand in hand with healthful eating, but for weight loss, you just have to quit eating! I hate how they show the 'before' video shots of the contestants eating massive quantities of food too. I never ate like that at 300 lbs - it's the cookie here and piece of candy there that add up. I am sure people looked at me and thought I was eating a dozen donuts or a whole pizza at one sitting, but I never did that. That's why tracking calories has been so key to my success. It's the 100 calories here and there that added up through the course of the day.

BethanyMasters

I find the show entertaining and I'm happy that these people are doing something for themselves improve their health but I really don't see any actual informational value in the show anymore.

They over work and under feed the contestants.
I saw an article written by a previous contestant talking about how they purposely dehydrate them before a weigh in.
The amount of weight they lose in the time they lose it is unhealthy and most of them end up with some really nasty looking loose skin.
It gives people the wrong idea about weight loss.
I'd say 95% of the show is staged and scripted and it's only getting worse. Like they are not even putting any effort into hiding the advertisements they try to pass off as genuine trainer / participant interaction. It's painfully obvious they are acting and they are not doing it well.

All that on top of the things you listed.

This show really only has a moderate amount of entertainment value and that's about it.

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

I think a lot of the stuff you see is edited to make you see a certain thing because it makes people want to watch not because it is the real or full picture.

Also after the 1st season anyone who signed up knew what they were getting into - and for some people may be exactly why they choose it - many of them had tried all kinds of other means and it didn't work so maybe they thought a kick in the butt was what they needed.

I agree with the rest needed but then again we only see what they want us too.

Yes its edited for some reasons but then again some of what they're trying to show us is more misleading. Do you think its desirable to lose a muscle as long as you're losing pounds? Also a lot of those pounds lost are water & muscle. I came across a My Space blog by Ryan Benson, season 1 winner & there he stated that prior to the final weigh-in, he didn't eat anything solid & on the day of weigh-in, he didn't drank anything, not even water. Then after he weighed-in, he was already peeing blood. After the season, he regained 32 lbs. & his weight was back to 230ish lbs (can't remember exactly but its in that range).

Blabob

To the extent heavy people watch and gain inspiration I think it is good, but my fear is that there are a lot more viewers laughing their *kitten* of at the fat "clowns" and that bothers me.

Most "reality" shows bother me for what it says about viewers. I think American's would line up to watch executions, drunks abused or just about anything short of hurting small animals. We'll watch fake survivors but ignore real survivors because no sponsor has figured out how to make a buck showing people help illiterate kids learn to read and succeed or people stopping the atrocities in Darfur.

But, that might just be me.

Bob

joanneferrato

I tried watching the show a couple of times and it didn't interest me, because it's horrible what those people go through..Why don't they call it the biggest winner and put a more positive spin on it. As far as I'm concerned the show is physologically demoralizing...put right up there like the show called hoarders, I refuse to watch.:smooched:

JeanWalker109

I think it's good for what it's meant for: propaganda & entertainment.

koosdel

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/25/biggest-loser-contestants_n_370538.html

rml_16

What I think is that it's a reality TV game show and if people watching aren't smart enough to realize it isn't real life and measure their own successes or failures against it, they probably weren't going to be very successful, anyway.