I like The Biggest Loser. I like seeing the transformations, the personal journeys and stories, people fighting for their lives...
I also love the trainers. They have so much knowledge, empathy, and skill. I wish I could bottle them up and dose them to me daily!
And fact of the matter is, I lost weight. Not on a ranch or by putting my life on hiatus, but with Time, Weight Watchers, the gym, My Fitness Pal, working with my trainer (hi Carla!)...80 lbs is a lot of weight to lose but I did it.
I'm still heavy. I still have a long way to go. And I know it won't be any easier post-partum, with a new baby, and going back to my new job.
It truly inspires me to see someone my size KILLING IT in the gym. And going through the same struggles as me. And getting to a place physically (and sometimes mentally) where I haven't gotten yet...it's awesome.
But here's where The Biggest Loser gets is wrong for me:
1. The weigh ins. Seriously - why does it take 25 minutes of show to weigh in? I guess it makes for efficient Tivo-ing but it's a waste of airtime.
2. The challenges. These are stupid. I guess it is a "gameshow" so it's probably not going away, but when in real life do you have to open pumpkins and force yourself to eat candy in order to win something? Real temptation success is in the weeks leading up to Halloween where you avoid the candy displays at the grocery store and don't come home with candy in your cart.
3. The education. I wish-wish-wish they would focus more on the nutrition piece of what it takes to "eat right" to lose weight (I bet you the trainers don't follow Myplate.gov). And how do they track calories burned? How do they cycle workouts? How much do they burn per day versus consumption? What about water? Do they have rest and recovery periods? DO THEY USE SUPPLEMENTS????????????????????????
4. The drama. If the show were more transparent about what it takes to take someone who is morbidly obese and change their physicality, the drama of last week's 'cheating scandal' wouldn't have occurred. I have never ever heard of any "rules" on the show - so a "rules violation" to me was crazy. (And seemed like a ruse to bring Ruben back, although I love him too.) Add in nastiness that 'occasionally' occurs in the house, or the true competitiveness, and guess what...I'm Tivo-ing through all of the show again.
So NBC, hear me out - please consider toning down the rhetoric for TV ratings, and increase the focus on weight loss and how it's happening.
You might just be able take your enormous success and change lives.
1 comment:
Congratulations on your 80 pounds lost that is amazing!! I love the show also, I watch it while I am on the treadmill. Just so you know they all wear a body media arm band that tracks the calories they are burning a day. I got one and it is a great tool for tracking calories burned. They set their calorie deficit each day, I think about 2000+ calories a day...that is the extreme part. I think a person working and being a real person should aim for 1000 or less deficit. It is a great tool though for tracking number of steps and how much movement you have in a day...great way to motivate yourself to get up and do that last 10 minutes of vigorous exercise for the day. I remember days wearing it that I would look at my phone and see I just need 100 steps to meet goal and 5 minutes elevated heart rate and I would get up and dance with my son…easy way to get in 100 steps and 5 minutes. One of the ex-contestants wrote a book about what it was like to live there and film the show and stuff, it was an easy 2 hour read and gives a few details, not everything, but would be interesting for you to read I am sure.
Post a Comment