So this article has raised some questions about whether this type of show has now crossed the line of helping others to entertaining the general public by coming up with more drama and more drastic transformations, finding the heaviest people in American to transform in a few short months.
There was also this article that was written late last year regarding safety
I think there are pro's and con's to this show, as anything and my hope is that a balance could be found and that ultimately, the care of the contestants would be more important than coming up with more and more drama to obtain more viewers.
This show is really awesome. The trainers really seem to care and they have been able to breakthrough to some of these people who clearly were not ready to change from the start. I agree that one must be pushed hard and go beyond their limitations in order to go to the next level. We practice that at our gym all the time. We put people who are overweight and out of shape in tough situations to overcome, so I agree with that. They inspire people all the time. We always tear up when we watch it! It is beautiful to see people conquer such a challenging area of life. The show inspired us to start the Quest 12 program and many other programs around the nation. It has put something more positive and meaningful back on TV. So understand I am not a Biggest Loser Hater, just want to make sure people are not changed for a TV season to entertain us all , but for a lifetime.
Would really like to hear more stories about what happens to the people after the show. Remember when Michelle won? I had read she had to quit her job so she could keep up working out at least 4 hours a day to maintain her weight. What percentage of these people are able to keep this up?
It is similar to going on a diet. You do something radical, you will definitely have results, but what happens when you back to real life and you cannot exercise 6-8 hours a day or have someone provide and help you prepare your meals. You go right back to where you are. If God gave you your perfect body tomorrow or 6 months from now, you would put it right back to where it was. That isn't enough time to learn how to keep it that way. The joy of this entire process is the journey! The way there!
We have to make small changes we can live with forever. We cannot workout 8 hours a day forever, we can't go on a no carb diet forever, we can't drink Slim Fast or take diet pills forever, it will hurt us in the long run. Gradually make changes and it will gradually come off and stay off. Not only that, doing it this way gives your family the ability to do it also without expecting them to do something radical.
I am open to all opinions as I know there are some die hard Biggest Loser Fans, so share away!
I have a lot of opinions about Biggest Loser. I have watched it for many seasons (altho I record it and fast forward thru the fabricated drama and product placements).
ReplyDeleteWhat do I like about Biggest Loser? Well, it IS inspirational. These contestants learn that they have more power to change than they give themselves credit for. Seeing them complete physical challenges they thought were impossible is really uplifting. Seeing their results at the finale is very motivating.
I like that Bob & Jillian care about the contestants. I like that Bob & Jillian push them out of their comfort zones, to show them that they are capable of so much more.
I like that the show now focuses more on the contestants overall health. I believe it is important for them to see what their obesity and bad habits are doing to their bodies and I love how weeks later they see the benefits of their weight loss and new, healthier habits (lower blood pressure, going off meds, etc.)
Now, what I dislike. For one, so much importance is placed upon "weight loss", the contestants have been known to practice some really unhealthy things (water loading... starvation dieting.... over exercising) all for the sake of "winning". I realize this is a competition and that some contestants are going to do things they shouldn't all for the sake of winning the money. Perhaps that is the only reason some of them are involved in the first place. Who knows.
I don't like that so much importance is placed upon simply "weight" lost. They never show us how many inches the contestants are losing. Because of the nature of the show, it is produced for maximum dramatic effect and that equates to big numbers on the scale. Let's face it, showing a healthy weight loss of 1 to 3 pounds per week just won't draw viewers in.
(to be continued)
I don't like that the contestants are put thru rigorous workouts, to the tune of some 6 hours a day (3 2-hour sessions from what I've read). I don't like that they are expected to burn 6,000+ cals a day (per the Body Bugg's they wear, this has been mentioned on the show several times in the past). On the ranch, the contestants have a team of "trainers" behind the scenes who give massages, ice downs, etc. after the workouts. We seldom see reference to this -- I think they showed bits and pieces of it once this season but that was out of the norm. For the most part we are led to believe that the contestants work out like animals and severely restrict calories. This is completely unrealistic in the real world. Again, it is designed to produce BIG numbers on the scale, for dramatic effect -- but to an at-home viewer with NO knowledge of proper exercise habits, nutrition and what is a healthy rate of weight loss... is it irresponsible of the show not to explain this? Should the show put more into emphasizing that they can do these things on the Ranch because they are so closely monitored? That it would be irresponsible and even dangerous to try it this way on your own, at home?
ReplyDeleteLately there has been a lot of publicity about "where they are now". I saw Bob on an interview show and he said the success rate for Biggest Loser is about 50/50, which is likely the same for any "weight loss program". Maybe he's right. I wonder, though, if that 50/50 figure is correct. I have read, as Krista mentions above, that contestants go home and are baffled as to how to manage 4-hour a day workouts while maintaining a family, home and job. I believe this comes as a direct result of the show not teaching the contestants how to maintain their results in a "real life" setting.
I also take issue with the nutrition lessons of the show. Biggest Loser is huge on "product placement" and to be honest, some of the products they choose to promote are not that healthy after all. Subway is one of the big endorsers of the show, and each season prominently has the contestants hiking to Subway for a "healthy" lunch. Are they really taught about things like sugar intake, sodium intake, the dangers of artificial sugars, etc? Or are they simply taught "calories in/calories out"? We just don't really know, because, again, emphasis is placed upon dramatic effect, and watching 15 minutes of real, valuable nutrition info is probably considered pretty boring by the viewing public. Not to mention it would turn off the advertisers of the products they promote.
So overall, I think we have to remember that the Biggest Loser is a TV show first and foremost. It is heavily edited and designed to produce the most shocking drama in order to draw in the viewers. And it works. I tune in to see the results. But lucky me -- I know what they do on the ranch is entirely impossible to maintain in "real life".
Perhaps the producers of Biggest Loser could make a spin-off show: "After the Ranch". They could follow a contestant home and show the contestant learning real life strategies for keeping the weight off, yet balancing home, family and work at the same time. But.... would you watch?
:)