Tom Venuto's take on The Biggest Loser

SHBoss1673

for the record I agree with almost every point he makes, and I'm a big fan of Tom V.

http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2009/09/the-biggest-loser-pros-and-cons-an-in-depth-objective-review-of-televisions-most-popular-reality-show.php

Hottness4Lyfe

Bump....

aWashCloth

He does make a lot of great points, I do agree pretty strongly. When I was taking my group fitness program to get certified, one thing that always stuck out to me was the idea we had to "Exaggerate every movement, because people watching tend to do only about half the amount of effort that they see" I kind of take the biggest loser with this kind of grain of salt. If people watching this show will take something from it and start working out at least even half an hour a day, I think it has great benefits. But the premise of the show the mentality of the contestants kind of focus' on the mainstream idea of weight loss "The faster the better" and that is usually one of the worst ways to teach real maintenance that will keep somebody in shape for a longer period of time. Like sprinting at the start of a marathon.

fmeisele

I've never watched TBL and never will. I completely agree with Tom V and his honest assessment of the show. The terrible messages that this show gives people far outweighs the slight chance that it will get someone to workout. If that show were focused on children, there would be outrage and it would be cancelled. But because it's focused on "Big Losers" it's ok to abuse them and subject them to humiliation and physical danger. And it's ok to send the completely wrong messages to the "Big Losers" watching at home. It makes me sick.

SHBoss1673

I'm not so much against the idea of the show, just the metrics they use, and the fact that in general they make it look like exercise is the reason these people are losing all the weight, when in reality, while the exercise is a help, it's all about their new nutrition plans and the environment that is fostered for them.

Barneystinson

I'm not so much against the idea of the show, just the metrics they use, and the fact that in general they make it look like exercise is the reason these people are losing all the weight, when in reality, while the exercise is a help, it's all about their new nutrition plans and the environment that is fostered for them.

Agreed!

And in most cases when I hear office chatter about TBL - it's always "wow! If I had the time to work out for 3 hours daily I'd be so skinny, too!" The reality is that people DON'T need that excessive amount of fitness (unless, perhaps they're training for an Ironman) but rather need a better control on what they're eating daily.

maidentl

I do watch the show but some aspects of it do really bug me. The worst i think is setting up unrealistic expectations.

I had some friends join Weight Watchers a couple of years ago. The first week they lost big and I tried to kindly encourage them to prepare for smaller losses. They acted like I was crazy and then the next week were crushed to "only" lose a couple of pounds and that was the end of WW. I've seen people post on here lamenting that they should be "pulling bigger numbers." That's BL lingo. In reality, I go weeks without losing a pound, then I lose a few, weeks without again. A lot of people who watch the show wouldn't tolerate my "failure."

Sidesteal

OP: Thanks for sharing that article. What a fantastic read. I think Tom Venturo hits the nail on the head with every point made in this article. Great Stuff!

funkycamper

Thanks for sharing this. I'm not a fan of TBL either for all the reasons stated. Venuto's stuff is the bomb. Lots of great info there.

Acg67

A great read

this is my fav critique on everything that is wrong with TBL

http://en.wordpress.com/tag/the-biggest-loser-by-tristin-aaron/

SHBoss1673

you're welcome guys. Glad you enjoyed it.