A couple
of weeks ago I started watching the Biggest Loser on Netflix. I had never really seen the show but decided
to give it a shot. I had just finished
all 8 seasons of One Tree Hill available on Netflix in a matter of months and,
since my brain was in total OTH mode, I wasn't ready to "betray" my
friends in Tree Hill by getting too emotionally involved in another drama
series right away. :)
I have been watching tons of
documentaries on Netflix about nutrition, weight loss exercise and the like, as
well as Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition and Heavy. So given my recent viewings, Netflix
suggested that I might like Biggest Loser.
I started with season one and was instantly hooked!
I could absolutely relate to the
people on the show and the struggles that they were facing. I could relate to their feelings of
insignificance and self loathing. I
could relate to their shock the first time they were weighed on the show {which
also was the first time many of them had been weighed in years}. I could relate to them when they kept saying
"I had no idea" or "how did this happen". In fact, I was relating so much to the contestants
that I may have cried on {way} more than one occasion!
I think the show is a great starting
point to opening up the nationwide discussion that NEEDS to happen about the
rising rates of obesity and all the health risks that go along with it. I also think the show sends a great message:
"you can get healthy". It
shows people that no matter how far "gone" they are, they can always
come back. Sure , its going to take hard
work and dedication, but its absolutely possible. I know I was personally thinking that if they
could do it, I could certainly drop these last 10 lbs. I also learned a few nutrition and exercise
tips from the show that have been beneficial in my own journey.
With that being said, I also have a
major problem with some of the methods on the show and the unrealistic
expectations that it may bestow upon your average Joe or Jane watching the
show!
First of all, who really has enough
time to exercise 6+ hours a day?!?
Biggest Loser contestants and body builders, that's who. The rest of us are lucky if we get in a solid
hour in the gym. Therefore, it should be
obvious that the average Biggest Loser viewer trying to lose weight should not
expect the same results as the contestants.
The thing that infuriates me when watching the show is when the
contestants are upset that they lost "only" a few pounds that
week. I would give just about anything
to be able to lose 3-5 pounds in a week right now. I'm afraid that their enormous weekly weight
loss {some contestants lost upwards of 25 pounds in just one week} could possibly
be discouraging to viewers trying to lose weight the healthy way. Because honestly, its not realistic, nor
desirable, to loose more than around 2 lbs a week.
Additionally, viewers need to
remember that the only thing that these people have going on in their lives
right now is weight loss. They live on a
ranch with no access to phones, computers and the outside world. They are in it to win it and the majority of
them have no other pressing problems to hinder their weight loss efforts. I know they are dealing with being homesick
and missing their families and all of that, but they have the luxury of
focusing solely on themselves for the duration of their stay on the ranch. I'd venture to say that the majority of
Americans do not have this luxury.
Therefore, I think it is important for people on a weight loss journey
to give themselves some leeway. Its
really not the end of the world if you slip up on your diet. Its ok if you don't make it to the gym every
day of the week. Its not nearly as bad
as you think if you don't lose any weight one week or , God forbid, actually
gain a few pounds. The world will go
on. Tomorrow is a new day. Pick yourself back up and keep pressing
forward.
All in all, I'm really enjoying the
show, I just wish that they would have made it a little bit more relatable, as
far as the actual weight loss goes, to those of us on the
"outside".
