TV shows such as BL and Losing w/Jillian

I was thinking the same thing when I watched Jillian last night. Everything I read says 2 lbs. a week is the max to lose safely but on these shows they lose 5 times that sometimes. It makes me less excited about losing 1-2 lbs in a week when I see that!

I agree. Those shows motivate and depress me at the same time. LOL. I still like them because they give you good ideas for working out, and also teach you to push yourself. It also shows that LARGE people can do it, and can be successful!

After watching Losing it with Jillian Michaels last nite, I have been thinking about what motivates the family members to lose the 40-50 lbs in the 8 week period. I wondered if they only receive the $50,000 IF they lose the weight. If so, isn't she then essentially paying people to lose weight??? I don't find the shows discouraging based on the amount of weight lost in a short period of time...I' m quite happy going at my own pace. Having said that, I might pick up the pace if offered a huge sum of money in 8 weeks!!

How they can lose so much in one week really confuses me. They can't be consuming 1200 calories, can they? I also wonder if they end up with more excess skin because of the rapid weight loss. I thought losing slowly helps prevent that somewhat. (that's what I'm hoping anyway.)


On another note they really seem happy at the end and I like watching the last show.

I love both shows and it doesn't bother me that they lose those numbers each week it actually motivates me because I know that if I had the time and dedication like them I would get those same results however since I don't I should atleast push hard to hit the 2lbs a week which is a healthy realistic loss. Any of us can lose those rapid numbers and keep it off it's just the matter of determination. Because as you see many of them keep it off and there are a few that put it all back on that will be the same for all of us doing it the slow and steady way as well some will keep it off and unfortunately some will put it back on!!!!

I never realised they got paid for it ,just thought the winner got the prize money ,they lose a huge amount every week as all they seem to do is exercise like maniacs from they get up until they go to bed on BL ,have to say I love watching it .
I dont like the UK version as much as the American one .

After watching Losing it with Jillian Michaels last nite, I have been thinking about what motivates the family members to lose the 40-50 lbs in the 8 week period. I wondered if they only receive the $50,000 IF they lose the weight. If so, isn't she then essentially paying people to lose weight??? I don't find the shows discouraging based on the amount of weight lost in a short period of time...I' m quite happy going at my own pace. Having said that, I might pick up the pace if offered a huge sum of money in 8 weeks!!

From my understanding they are unaware of the prize so they are just motivated to lose the weight!!!

I don't think anything's wrong with it as long as the shows are responsible in highlighting the amount of work they are putting into it. Most of us don't have 5-8 hours a day to exercise! Once the viewers are cognizant of that, they can do the math.

I find it interesting how people look at this from a negative perspective.....and no I'm not here to defend either show (haven't watched losing it w/jillian but can already gather what's going on there).

What I can say is that the weight loss for these people is somewhat secondary to the emotional damage that each of them have faced because of their weight, childhood, upbringing, etc. I find that to be a bigger triumph than the weight loss alone. I always thought the main idea of the show is to show people that if you work hard enough and try, anyone can lose the weight. It's true, these people had no outside lives to interfere with their weight loss journeys. They probably spent in excess of 6 to 8 hours a day working out. I'll bet if any one of us had that kind of free time, we'd pull similar numbers, especially in a controlled and monitored environment (doctors, trainers, everything facilitated). I'm sure there were people who used dehydration just as well as over (hyper) hydration to fluctuate the numbers because people still treated it like a game......it was a game, but the reality is you'll get more out of people when you make them comptete (have something to strive for). In the end though, these people still looked and felt a lot better about themselves. I look at the show as a motivator because even though I know I'm in range for where I want to be, I won't want to fall into the trap and gain the weight back.....because you never forget what it took to get you there, much less want to have to go through it again.

Agreed! To be honest, I can't help but wonder if there is something a bit dodgy about the show like maybe it is filmed over a longer period than they let on.

There is, at least in the case of The Biggest Loser, a "week" on the ranch is often 10-14 days. Also, it is a contest for money, and you know the producers can't watch people 24/7. According to veterans of the show, a LOT of dodgy things (dehydration, seriously undereating/overexercising) is going on.

I tried to watch Jillian's show, but it angered me so much in the first five minutes I had to change the channel. She was screaming and humiliating a woman (who was a young widow) in front of her two young children. That's not "inspiration" that is abuse!

I used to find The Biggest Loser inspiring, but now I just worry that the average American will quit because they're not losing double digits every "week".

Sorry, that was opinionated.:ohwell:

I love BL but I'm not a fan of her new show. I guess it's because with BL I know the workouts are a full time job and the eating part is restrictive. With her new show there's very little info on the regime these people are on. I watched it a few times - 1st episode and caught the end of last nights episode and I get depressed thinking that these people are losing 50lbs in 2 months and I can't seem to go beyond 1-2lbs a week. I know that's healthier but like most people I want results now.

If the contestanst are burning min of 8000 calories a day, there simply isn't enough time to eat and they must feel pretty sick from all that working out....I know it looks like they are working out all day when we watch the 1 hour show, but I guess they pretty much are doing so even when the cameras are not rolling. Last month the show came to my town for tryouts, several reasons I would not tryout the first being, I know I could not do those workouts! They deserve the results they get, but what a shame the show sets them up the failure in the long run. many regain since it's not a realistic lifestyle. Oh well it's just for ratings anyway... and seeing someones weightloss is inspiring. They should just have a show that highlights peoples before and after pics, we all love to see those!

I think typically people are eating much more than 1200 cal per day. Men in the 2200 range and women probably more like 1800.....but they are burning way more calories per day.....and they need the extra calories for fuel. In the case of BL those people are working out 8 hours a day or more......that's all they do. Have not watched the new Jillian show.

And yes it is unrealistic to judge what you do at home by the people on BL......they are essentially "working" on losing the weight. We are here working, having families, dealing with everyday life. It is reasonable to lose 1-2 lbs a week.