Biggest loser and binge eating

LoveLifeToday
LoveLifeToday Posts: 20
edited October 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I was watching The Biggest Loser USA today, and the participants could take part in a temptation where they had to find a gold ticket which would grant them the one and only vote. To find it they had to remove the lid of a domed platter to find either a high calorie food, money or the golden ticket.

This made me think, from someone who suffers from binge eating episodes naming an item 'temptation' and making it as out of bounds as it is portrayed in the show would drive me mad. I just wonder whether the approach that the show uses is doing more harm than good, and allowing the participants to gorge on thousands of calories suggests to me that they are paving the way to binge eating (because I'm sure many of you can agree with me, that even though I hate it when I binge eat, during the binge can be enjoyable). And then when the trainers act mad and angry at them about eating all the calories, the guilt that is all too familiar with me after a binge must set it.

I don't know what you guys think, it just seems to me that they are not being taught a healthy relationship with food. Being healthy is about moderation, and I know all too well that the deprivation and the view of junk food as 'temptation' and out of bounds that seems to be portrayed in the show can lead to binge eating.

I may be talking utter rubbish, but it's all that occupied my mind whilst watching.

Hope everyone is having a nice evening. :) x

Replies

  • saffir27
    saffir27 Posts: 68 Member
    I completely agree. I have a binge eating problem and I think is cruel to put these contestants into this situation. Especially since the trainers only reinforce the guilty they must already feel for "giving in"
  • Athena413
    Athena413 Posts: 1,709 Member
    I watch BIggest Loser all the time and agree that their tactics are not always the most healthy way of doing things. It's a reality TV show, though, so the producers are going to show people what they want to see, not what's actually best for the contestants. That's why I prefer shows like Heavy and Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition - these shows actually teach the contestants how to live a healthy lifestyle and make it work in every day life. That why a lot of Biggest Loser contestants gain back their weight.
  • Fatbuster205
    Fatbuster205 Posts: 333 Member
    Totally agree - I was anorexic bulimic for a long time and now I have such a good relationship with food, eating, dining out etc. I think these shows, while they can be inspiring, can give false hope and create problems. I think people here (on MFP) for the most part are genuinely aiming to change lifestyles rather than "diet" and that is why it works. Personally I feel totally committed to this - I have my own personal reasons for so doing - but what I love is I am succeeding on a level I never imagined and it has changed my life for the better. I think what we have here works because even if you start out in one frame of mind, the community quickly makes you realise that change is possible and it can be for life. As to binging, been there, done it and hugged the ceramic! It took CBT for me to sort myself out and I am really happy to say that 15 years on I am in a really good place so keep focussed, and if you like add me as a friend.
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