Weight Loss Shows are Stupid
FIT_Goat
Posts: 4,227 Member
I'm bored and watching Extreme Weight Loss on Hulu, just in the background while I clean around the house. In episode 1 of season 5, they have twins. One of the twins gets side-lined from exercise because of health issues. So, Chris (the trainer) decides to do an experiment.
HCLF + extreme exercise
vs
HFLC + minimal exercise
This seemed cool to me. Except the whole "experiment" was for only 14 days. And, the low-carb guy was complaining about adaptation discomfort the entire time. How he couldn't exercise because of the injury and low-carb. As if exercising on low-carb isn't possible. I was just thinking, wait until week 3-4+, when you're adapted and you'll be kicking butt and feeling great. I didn't know, at that time, it was only going to be 2 weeks.
At the end of two weeks, they weigh in, and the low-carb guy loses 14 pounds compared to the low-fat 13 pound loss. The summary? Low-carb can be good if you're sedentary but exercise should be part of all weight loss efforts and you need a balance of carbs to be healthy. And, the low-carb guy talks about how he would rather do high-carb and exercise, than do low-carb and take it easy. Huh? I guess weight loss, without working hard for it, is bad. I think if he had stuck with it for a couple months, got past adaptation, and really understood how the way of eating works (and the process) it would have been a much better experiment.
In the end, they just concluded that the diets don't matter (they didn't flat-out say calories matter and we don't know if the diets were kept equal in calories or not). And, you need carbs. So, don't do low-carb. Do low-fat and exercise. I don't know how they can conclude anything after such a short trial, which was clearly stacked against low-carb and low-carb still did equally well (if not better).
HCLF + extreme exercise
vs
HFLC + minimal exercise
This seemed cool to me. Except the whole "experiment" was for only 14 days. And, the low-carb guy was complaining about adaptation discomfort the entire time. How he couldn't exercise because of the injury and low-carb. As if exercising on low-carb isn't possible. I was just thinking, wait until week 3-4+, when you're adapted and you'll be kicking butt and feeling great. I didn't know, at that time, it was only going to be 2 weeks.
At the end of two weeks, they weigh in, and the low-carb guy loses 14 pounds compared to the low-fat 13 pound loss. The summary? Low-carb can be good if you're sedentary but exercise should be part of all weight loss efforts and you need a balance of carbs to be healthy. And, the low-carb guy talks about how he would rather do high-carb and exercise, than do low-carb and take it easy. Huh? I guess weight loss, without working hard for it, is bad. I think if he had stuck with it for a couple months, got past adaptation, and really understood how the way of eating works (and the process) it would have been a much better experiment.
In the end, they just concluded that the diets don't matter (they didn't flat-out say calories matter and we don't know if the diets were kept equal in calories or not). And, you need carbs. So, don't do low-carb. Do low-fat and exercise. I don't know how they can conclude anything after such a short trial, which was clearly stacked against low-carb and low-carb still did equally well (if not better).
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SMH! What exactly did they let the LC guy eat that he complained about LC? I'm sure he was also constantly being fed the exercise for weight loss line the entire time precisely so he would feel bad about it - makes for good TV! So let's pitch a show about LCers who really enjoy the food, exercise if they choose to, and the REAL weight loss stories.0
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Weightloss shows ARE stupid. I've never seen one I didn't want to yell at. I watched one the other day from the UK with this guy who was fat and middle aged and they gave him a personal trainer, showed him what to eat and how to cook it etc, and all he did was piss and moan about how he wanted his chocolate bars and donuts and stuff, and complained about how he hadn't lost enough weight (even though he'd cheated). Effing victims, make me mad.0
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I saw that one too and it made me want to rip my hair out. The LCHF guy was talking about being exhausted and how he felt horrible. Grr.0
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you guys are missing the point….these shows are not about health or even weight loss..…it's about NATIONAL SHAMING of the fat person..we MUST MUST see them SUFFER for their sin….haul that big ball, or yank those ropes until they throw up and fall crying on the ground.. as we KNOW..they could eat LC and do NONE of that, and still lose..but what fun is that?
It wasn't until a couple seasons that 600 lb life had the Dr. telling them to eat low carb, not just "1000 calories". Obviousy they had serious mental health issues, all of them, that got them to 600+..but even the Hoarder shows offered a therapist, and in season three 600# life FINALLY did too…
we have become a nation of Purient Interest Vouyers.....the well being of the fat person is not the focus.. it is them learning they have to sweat and puke and say they are sorry for being a slob, then we will love them. Like the Hoarder shows and others we are seeking to invade lives of the weak and vulnerable…it's beyond disgusting. Some Biggest Losers have come out with truth on how the were treated, wrapped in plastic bags to lose water weight for a weigh in, etc…crazy stuff for TV ratings, if not for their youth some of them would have heart failure based on how they are dieting and overdoing the 'exercise'. As Volek & Phinney has noted in their book Art/Science anyone obese loses 5-15% fat metabolism AFTER 60 min of endurance exercise.0 -
PS..on the dieters who *kitten* and moan? Not one ever thought to TRY eating healthy before the show, or before seeing the bariatic doctor? of course not… that is why they are chosen….to engage you in hating them.
We see the people who WILL cause trouble and not agree...makes for better TV. On 600lb life every one of them arrives at the Dr. saying" my last chance"...and promptly fight the Dr. on doing ANYTHING to help themselves…. the women have incredible manicures and big fingernails in wild colors..but won't bother to eat right to save their life.0 -
What I don't understand is that they applied to be on these shows. So they know what's about to happen. Why bother if they won't even try? The trainer, nutritionist, Dr are all provided for free. I know if someone handed me these opportunities I'd sure try to make the best use of them.0
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I've not seen this show but let's just say this, who gives a *kitten* about some "reality" TV? None of that is real, people who want to lose weight will do research beyond some stupid tv show. Those who want to help themselves will do, the gullible ones will believe anything they see in TV, commercials and everything else. Do I feel bad for those people? Nope!0
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I think the show "Extreme Weight Loss" is a bit unlike shows like "Biggest Loser" in that the people aren't competing against others, only the goals set for themselves by the trainer. The timelines given are extreme and shouldn't be taken as an example for what people should aim for.
That said, I will always feel for the people on these shows. Regardless of how they ended up there, even if it's through an almost endless series of personal bad decisions, they are still people who are suffering and want to change the road they are on. Would I make the choice to do something extreme like that? No. That could only be because I found low-carb and it worked for me before I got desperate enough to do something that extreme. I also didn't feel healthy or well enough to even consider such extreme exercise and eating.
The shows are disgusting and horribly exploitive. But, that's not because of the people on them. It's because of the people who make them and the people (like myself) who end up watching them. I'm worse than anyone on those shows, because I'll watch them and thus provide "support" for the people who will make more to meet the demand.0 -
FIT_Goat. I hear you. People also believe in whatever their doctors and lauded experts tell them. 6 years ago I was so unhealthy, overweight, insulin shooting 2-3 times a day and told to eat HCLF with grains and fruit at every meal. I was being scheduled for a gastric bypass. I did some research on my own and lost 98 lbs in 10 months eating keto. I found out last year through blood testing and this year through DNA testing that I am sensitive to most carbs, especially grains and fructose.
I used to watch the shows because I like to watch people lose weight and feel great. It inspired me. I used to just watch the weigh-ins to see the weight loss and be happy for the people on the shows.0 -
Wow, this is all very sad. I've sort of insulated myself in that I don't watch much TV at all, and really only catch a glimpse of it during football season (when my family must watch every available game, and my kids and I get to see the predictably materialistic, hyper-sexualized commercials) and at hotels, when we travel (my husband/kids can't resist the thrill of cable, since we don't have it at home. We end up watching kids' shows.) I almost always feel worse about the world for having watched any amount of TV.
I didn't consciously choose to watch less TV in my early adulthood, it just gradually happened. I didn't own a TV in college for a long time, and didn't feel like I had time to watch TV anyway. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was slowly deprogramming myself from having watched a lot of TV as a kid/teenager. Looking back, I can see where my worldview had been distorted as a result of not questioning everything I saw and heard on TV, though I knew to question some of it.
I had body issues galore, for one thing. I didn't realize the extent to which TV and magazine body images weren't real, or weren't the whole story. I feel for kids and teens today. My kids do watch some kids' programming, but my husband and I curate it through Netflix and AppleTV, other than the occasional shows they catch in hotel rooms when we are vacationing. We ask our kids questions about what they see and how they understand it, and try to give them context to understand what advertisers are trying to get them to think when they see ads.
There are some great shows out there, no doubt. But they're such diamonds in the rough, and most TV content is really pretty worthless at best.0 -
mlinton_mesapark wrote: »Wow, this is all very sad. I've sort of insulated myself in that I don't watch much TV at all, and really only catch a glimpse of it during football season (when my family must watch every available game, and my kids and I get to see the predictably materialistic, hyper-sexualized commercials) and at hotels, when we travel (my husband/kids can't resist the thrill of cable, since we don't have it at home. We end up watching kids' shows.) I almost always feel worse about the world for having watched any amount of TV.
I didn't consciously choose to watch less TV in my early adulthood, it just gradually happened. I didn't own a TV in college for a long time, and didn't feel like I had time to watch TV anyway. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was slowly deprogramming myself from having watched a lot of TV as a kid/teenager. Looking back, I can see where my worldview had been distorted as a result of not questioning everything I saw and heard on TV, though I knew to question some of it.
I had body issues galore, for one thing. I didn't realize the extent to which TV and magazine body images weren't real, or weren't the whole story. I feel for kids and teens today. My kids do watch some kids' programming, but my husband and I curate it through Netflix and AppleTV, other than the occasional shows they catch in hotel rooms when we are vacationing. We ask our kids questions about what they see and how they understand it, and try to give them context to understand what advertisers are trying to get them to think when they see ads.
There are some great shows out there, no doubt. But they're such diamonds in the rough, and most TV content is really pretty worthless at best.
I'm with you! If I'm home alone, the TV is off. If I do want to watch something, I find it on Netflix and that's pretty rare. I just can't get into the shows.0 -
I remember that episode but what I cant recall is did the just lower his carbs and increase his protein? I can't remember if they increased his fat as well? Because I know for me in the past the reason why I did so poorly on LC diets is because I also was trying to eat low fat.0
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I think the key word is "extreme" in every sense of the word. The reality shows for weight loss focus on exercise to the extreme, not really diet, so it's interesting they "tried" a diet comparison at all. As you point out, it would have been more interesting to see the diets, meal prep, including calories, what was actually consumed and when. In order for something to stick, it needs to be incorporated into one's way of life for the long term. Few people can drop out of life to enroll in a full day exercise program. My cousin lost over 100 lbs. exercising 6+ hours a day, when she was between jobs, that was her only "job". The minute she went back to work, the pounds were put right back on, because she couldn't exercise that amount of time and didn't change her eating habits and address the real issues behind her eating, whether physical, chemical or emotional.
It would be extremely boring just to watch someone eating appropriate LC meals and going about their daily routine. I'll watch the first few episodes of a reality program, and then it pretty much gets to be the same thing. So they toss in an ad for Subway (Ugg!) and have the contestant do an absurd exercise ritual, cry a little, step on a scale, reveal the new person.
With some contestants who are morbidly obese, I frankly think it must put an extreme amount of stress on the individual's heart and other organs, as well as knees, backs and ankles to dive into that type of "extreme" exercise without at least a few months of proper nutrition, gradual physical exercise being introduced and gradual weight loss first. The approach on the show is extreme and I find it difficult that would be recommended by any legit health professional for the majority of the population who need to lose weight. A person did not get to be 300+ pounds overweight in 2 weeks. It is absurd to have a permanent "fix" or diagnosis in that amount of time. A two week trial on morbidly obese people is exploitation, whereas a life coach for 3 years + might make more sense, but there's not much profit in that. I equate it to Dr. Phil who proclaims to diagnose and fix people in a half hour show. Solution? Send the individual to a rehab. Problems solved. Really? Next...0 -
I read an excerpt from a book written by one of The Biggest Loser winners who wrote that she starved herself when they sent them home to lose weight and win. So unhealthy but there's a lot of money involved.0
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I hate that stupid show. It took awhile for all the annoyances to build up though, so I've seen it plenty of times. The only thing I like about it is how the people have to learn on their own how to make their new diet and exercise routine work for them at home. More often than not they fail...so it could be implemented better. A couple have even quit the show midway through over it.
I hate how staged it is too... I mean every reality show is, but it's like they are always so SHOCKED to see Chris and Heidi. Like is it really that much of a surprise? You're being taped on their show. It's like they're God's gift to fitness or something, just like Bob and Jillian on Biggest Loser are portrayed to be.
Edited so this isn't a clusterfck of a paragraph0 -
Oh, there are so many little irritations. I could list them all. The TV crew taping someone before Chris shows up wasn't a clue as to the fact that you were picked? LOL
How about the "we don't have a scale at the health center that can hold your weight so we need to use the one on the loading dock" shtick they used to do all the time? I didn't see it on the latest episode, but I may have missed it because I was cleaning. But, then later, they have a portable travel scale that easily would have held their weight (and often does hold more than some people's starting weight when heavier contestants get on it after losing some weight). That's nothing but "let's shame to fatty" ... "look you're too heavy for 'people' scales."0 -
Thanks for reinforcing my choice to avoid most television.
My I.Q. drops precipitously when I watch TV, with a very few exceptions. And I don't really have any points to spare!
So with so many other options I think I'm opting out.
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The fact that "fat shaming" is acceptable because it's a tv show is alarming. I'm all for educating people, but these shows are just going for ratings & how many of these participants actually see their "saviours" ever again after final taping?0
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Oh, there are so many little irritations. I could list them all. The TV crew taping someone before Chris shows up wasn't a clue as to the fact that you were picked? LOL
How about the "we don't have a scale at the health center that can hold your weight so we need to use the one on the loading dock" shtick they used to do all the time? I didn't see it on the latest episode, but I may have missed it because I was cleaning. But, then later, they have a portable travel scale that easily would have held their weight (and often does hold more than some people's starting weight when heavier contestants get on it after losing some weight). That's nothing but "let's shame to fatty" ... "look you're too heavy for 'people' scales."
haha yeah they don't use the loading dock scale thing anymore. I don't understand why they need to take their shirt off talk about humiliating.0 -
I only watched one, The Biggest Loser, once for about 5 minutes. Jillian and whoever the guy is were watching on camera as everyone came into the gym area and were laughing at their attempts at using the various machines. They're severely overweight, did you expect them to be experts? I turned the channel. That's one of the reasons I dislike Jillian Michaels so much. The other reason comes from the few minutes I watched one of her shred videos. I'm sorry but why does a 400lb person need to start with jumping jacks? That hurts my knees just thinking about it. Can't they just do some side steps?0
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I never watch them because if I had the resources and help they give those people ~ I would of already lost all my weight by now. Do the participants even have full time jobs???
The REAL HEROS are ~ all of you that do the weight loss on Keto & lo-carb with all the distractions of LIFE. Further, you are more knowledgeable about how and why lo-carb works. The TV shows just tell them what to do and they blindly follow.
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / IF / Sedentary
92 pounds down, 32 more to go0 -
OK, we're agreed how fake/entertainment only these shows are? As I said only being in their 20's keeps most of these poor people from stroking out in the hot sun…we don't see how much they have damaged thier knees for life.
how about MY BIG FAT FABULOUS LIFE.?. 380lbs- with the 30yr old girl with PCOS..also totally staged, but in the direction of "fat acceptance" ( what happened to that National Fat Acceptence group? why don't they complain about these 'loser' shows?) She is given free reign because of her PCOS..I wondered if her NO BS- Body Shame campaign would have her come back on TV with a LCHF diet LATER? She did NOTHING for better nutrition..but she was certainly entertaining and comedic. You love her and feel her pain. and shame because of her engaging personality.…. her mayo & banana sandwiches on white bread? ..we know that ain't good!! as she said" if I am not losing then I am gaining…what an awful position to be in.0 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »mlinton_mesapark wrote: »Wow, this is all very sad. I've sort of insulated myself in that I don't watch much TV at all, and really only catch a glimpse of it during football season (when my family must watch every available game, and my kids and I get to see the predictably materialistic, hyper-sexualized commercials) and at hotels, when we travel (my husband/kids can't resist the thrill of cable, since we don't have it at home. We end up watching kids' shows.) I almost always feel worse about the world for having watched any amount of TV.
I didn't consciously choose to watch less TV in my early adulthood, it just gradually happened. I didn't own a TV in college for a long time, and didn't feel like I had time to watch TV anyway. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was slowly deprogramming myself from having watched a lot of TV as a kid/teenager. Looking back, I can see where my worldview had been distorted as a result of not questioning everything I saw and heard on TV, though I knew to question some of it.
I had body issues galore, for one thing. I didn't realize the extent to which TV and magazine body images weren't real, or weren't the whole story. I feel for kids and teens today. My kids do watch some kids' programming, but my husband and I curate it through Netflix and AppleTV, other than the occasional shows they catch in hotel rooms when we are vacationing. We ask our kids questions about what they see and how they understand it, and try to give them context to understand what advertisers are trying to get them to think when they see ads.
There are some great shows out there, no doubt. But they're such diamonds in the rough, and most TV content is really pretty worthless at best.
I'm with you! If I'm home alone, the TV is off. If I do want to watch something, I find it on Netflix and that's pretty rare. I just can't get into the shows.
I'm not a TV watcher either. When hubby isn't home the TV isn't on. He loves to watch it in the evenings and we do watch the football on the weekend, but for the most part it's epic rubbish. I feel dumber for having watched it. We just recently got Netflix and I'm steering him away from (Masterchef, Reno Rumble and other such crap) and getting him interested in American Horror Story, and other goodness 0 -
EbonyDahlia wrote: »We just recently got Netflix and I'm steering him away from (Masterchef, Reno Rumble and other such crap) and getting him interested in American Horror Story, and other goodness
Netflix and Amazon Streaming are definitely the way to go. If you buy a small device called a Roku, you can watch these, plus about another million free channels including Youtube, right on your TV set while you lie in bed munching on pork rinds. Nice.
Ditto that (Netflix & Prime) on my iPad on my nightstand about a foot from my head when lying down. Helps me go to sleep too. A lot less commercials.
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / IF / Sedentary0 -
I have watched "My 600 Pound Life"
Those people are some quite dedicated and make a huge change
Some are In denial and probably will face an early death
At a certain point fat is fatal0 -
I've only got a Roku, no cable here. But, the lure of these trainwrecks on Hulu or Netflix is too much for me. I'll put it on and clean.
Actually, 80% of the time, it's pandora [music] that's on while I'm doing other stuff.0 -
Wow! Great discussion!0
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I have a Samsung Galaxy tab I watch Netflix on. It's great. Even when my OH is watching something stupid like the Cricket or Soccer (I don't mind the AFL) I can sit on the couch with him and watch an episode of something.
We have STAN here in Australia too, which is very similar, but it didn't work on my tablet. Stupid because I have a Tab 3, and the Tab 2 and Tab 4 are supported. I emailed them and they told me "something to do with the chipset" or some rubbish. I figure if Netflix works why can't they make STAN work? It's only video streaming after all. Needless to say I didn't renew after the free month.0 -
I find most reality shows are stupid. They aren't designed to help people, they are designed for entertainment value and ultimately to make a profit. Profit is the bottom line. If people won't watch the show advertisers won't purchase airtime during the show and stations won't purchase the show.
I don't watch any of them. I watch hardly any tv and what I do like is recorded so that I can watch it when it suits me and I skip the ads.
I can't stream tv or movies here. The sound doesn't match up with the vision and it buffers while watching. We live on the very boundary of a State Forest and our internet connection is straight out of the Ark. We do have the option with Bigpond Movies to set a movie download overnight and then watch it within a week.
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I never watch them because if I had the resources and help they give those people ~ I would of already lost all my weight by now. Do the participants even have full time jobs???
The REAL HEROS are ~ all of you that do the weight loss on Keto & lo-carb with all the distractions of LIFE. Further, you are more knowledgeable about how and why lo-carb works. The TV shows just tell them what to do and they blindly follow.
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto / IF / Sedentary
92 pounds down, 32 more to go
Actually my friend tried to get me to try out for the biggest loser partners season. in the audition paperwork it tells you that you will have to take a leave of absence for approximately six months. No going home. no work. etc.0
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