The Biggest Loser creates unrealistic expectations!

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bethannien
bethannien Posts: 556 Member
in Motivation and Support
I used to be one of millions who watched TBL and considered it a weight loss inspiration. These incredibly heavy contestants were figuring their crap out and losing incredible amounts of weight. They were becoming athletes! What could be wrong with that? But I realized that it had given me a strange attitude about all things related to weight loss.

I stopped eating bananas for a while despite their virtues because a contestant said you shouldn't eat such a high calorie fruit. When I got on the scale for my weekly weigh in and saw a loss of less than 3 or 4 pounds, I was disappointed. If I wasn't about to puke at the end of a work out, I beat myself up for not working hard enough. And the whole time, I was striving for the end because I knew I couldn't live like that forever. Predictably, I gained all 60 pounds I had lost, plus 10.

The Biggest Loser isn't to blame for my failure to stay fit. I am. But, it definitely helps create expectations that are just too high. The methods used on that show are unsustainable in a normal life. Not to mention the way it demonizes contestants who are "lazy" like when a big guy only loses 5 lbs in a week. The way Bob or Jillian look disappointed when a girl gets up and only drops 1 pound. It's just playing into our need to have what we want right now.

There isn't a magic pill to get skinny overnight. It takes hard work and dedication and, often times, it can take years to reach a goal weight. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, as long as you do the work.
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Replies

  • MizMimi111
    MizMimi111 Posts: 244 Member
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    So true!

    I put off starting a healthier lifestyle because I knew I couldn't work out like that or get those type of results. Even though I knew it wasn't realistic I convinced myself to not even try if I couldn't do it that way.

    Finally, I got smart and have started to make changes that I can sustain long term.
  • moni_tb_192
    moni_tb_192 Posts: 188 Member
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    Definitely, and not only do they create unrealistic expectations; it also makes you want to reach unhealthy goals, like dropping +5lbs in a week.

    I remember I did some research on how TBL winners had done after the show, and I was shocked by finding out that the first season winner had regained 32lbs in five days after the show. People in this show stop thinking about their health and only worry about the money... This guy starved himself and won, no wonder he gained all that back!
    http://www.celebritydietdoctor.com/ryan-benson-biggest-loser-follow-up/

    Anyway, I think that everyone who's interested in getting healthier should keep in mind that losing weight isn't the most important thing of all. If you start building muscle, you'll weigh a bit more... measuring and taking photos is another good way of keeping track of your progress; and of course, let's not forget about eating right! Crazy 1200cals/day diets with excessive amounts of exercise are just plain unhealthy :/
  • bethannien
    bethannien Posts: 556 Member
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    When you're only losing weight for monetary gain, you lose sight of the real point, which is to get healthy.

    Plus, the trainers act like they're psychiatrists....
  • donald149
    donald149 Posts: 211 Member
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    Just watch the follow up shows. Nearly all of them gain back the weight and more!
  • walleyclan1
    walleyclan1 Posts: 2,784 Member
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    I have only seen 2 people that gained back any significant amount of weight on the last follow-up
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Don't model your weight loss after a show about morbidly obese people losing weight. You lose weight in proportion to your body weight, for example, it is best not to lose more than 1% of your body weight per week, if you're losing more than that, it's a bad thing. If you're 400 or 500 pounds, then yes, losing 4 or 5 pounds a week might be normal. If you're not morbidly obese, don't be disappointed that you're not losing as much weight per week, be happy that you don't have as much weight to lose...
  • 4themoney
    4themoney Posts: 797 Member
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    oh it's horribly unrealistic and some of their info is down right wrong! lots of advertising in there too.

    from what i have learned, they do massive dehydrating before weigh ins, especially the last weigh in, which apparently is never actually live!

    most of the contestants gain back 10 + lbs immediately after the finale. kai from one of the early seasons is finally outside her contract date and has been speaking openly about the "reality" of it all.

    that said, the show has saved lives! many lives i'm sure!!!!
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    What's unrealistic? Just lock yourself on a ranch where you have no contact with the outside world. Then impose severely restricted caloric intake, do extreme volumes of low intensity cardio, and have personal trainers. Then make the week 10 days, and dehydrate yourself before each weigh in.

    Oh, and don't forget to compete with other ranchers once a week. And to cry a lot.

    Yep. Realistic.
  • 1802go
    1802go Posts: 77 Member
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    Thank you this I needed to hear.. thank you
  • cici418
    cici418 Posts: 12 Member
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    You're right....realistically speaking....if we all removed ourselves from our temptations and environments, with no quick stop to the store for whatever craving you can't shrug off and personal trainers, with nothing to do but go for a walk when you get bored...

    SHoooooooot....I would have reached my goal weight a LOOOONG time ago! LOL
  • guessrs
    guessrs Posts: 358 Member
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    This show was an eye opener for me. I always thought that fat people are just that fat and that encouraged me to stay fat. Here, I saw people who sweated, who made own salads etc and lost weight in front of my eyes. I kept thinking there is no way they'll get to have a thin waist, that's only for those who are that way, sure enough, they kept losing till they had a thin waist. It made me think, what if I ate better? What if I began to exercise? Could I look better? It sowed a little seed for me that I could start living healthier that's all.
  • ingeh
    ingeh Posts: 513 Member
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    the one thing I dont like about the show is when someone loses 5lbs (which is loads even if you are heavy to start) they act like they gained a pound and its terrible. A loss is a loss, I kno its a contest to lose the most weight but its not a good thing to aspire to, working out 5 hrs a day and losing 10lbs a week. No wonder people get down on "only" losing 1lb a week.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
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    I do think it creates unrealistic expectations for how much weight to lose per time for a sustainable result, but that said, I admit that I sometimes push myself through my workouts by telling myself that if the contestants on The Biggest Loser keep going until they puke, surely I can keep going if I'm not even to the point of puking.
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
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  • sherry666
    sherry666 Posts: 36 Member
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    Personally, I like to watch the show while I exercise. Seeing these 300lbs + people busting their *kitten* until they literally can't do anymore motivates me to stop being a whiney ***** and suck it up, haha. I do agree that they tend to focus more on the fact that it's a contest and less on the fact that it's really about losing weight and getting healthy. Yea, they probably dehydrate before weigh-ins (which I don't agree with) so their actual weight is probably more than they show, but they still lose a ****-ton of weight in the long run, which to me is amazing. Hopefully they are educated on how to live a sustainable, healthy lifestyle after the show.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    I have never seen that TV show, and I never will!
  • vanillacoffee
    vanillacoffee Posts: 1,024 Member
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    I agree. It's occasionally good motivation, but I have to admit- after reaching plateaus, it didnt help when I would compare, and be like "SOME PEOPLE CAN LOSE A HUNDRED POUNDS IN A SUMMER AND I CANT GET PAST THESE FIVE" and then I'd have to talk myself out of it and realize how unrealistic that is.

    If there is one thing I have learned- slow & steady wins the race.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    it's good in that it shows people that it's possible to get fit and healthy, no matter where you start

    but there's not much else good about it. Healthy sustainable fat loss is 1-2lb a week, maybe 3lb a week if you have well over 100lb to lose in the first place. And it's far better to focus on long term maintenance and what's sustainable in the long run, seeing as 95% of diets fail because people can't stick to them... than it is to try to lose as much as you can in a short time. what counts is keeping the fat away for life, not how quickly you lost it. That's what I don't like about any weight loss programme that emphasises losing a lot in a short time, rather than keeping it off for life.
  • dazzer1975
    dazzer1975 Posts: 104 Member
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    Those losing weight on those shows have it easier than most. Not easy per se, losing weight takes a lot of work whoever you are.

    BUT put me in a situation where I am provided with nutritionists, personal trainers, fully stocked free gyms, fully stocked freezers and fridges with the food the nutritionist recommended for me, a full medical assessment and constant check ups, along with all the monitoring, group support in person and motivation of being in front of millions of people every week for the weigh in, and I think every single one of us would find it relatively easier.

    So yer, don't use those shows as the benchmark for your own journey, whoever you are, you don't have that level of complete, intense and focused attention on that one goal in your life
  • jlahorn
    jlahorn Posts: 377 Member
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    TO be fair, the trainers frequently tell contestants ( and therefore the audience) that what they're doing on the ranch isn't practical for most people nor sustainable in the long run. That's the entire point of "at home week". It's not like they try to pretend the situation is normal.

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