I’m weirdly addicted to The Biggest Loser. I’ve told this to very few people, because most people who know me know that I am vocal about my hatred for reality shows. I really, really dislike reality shows.
Except for Biggest Loser. And Project Runway. They are my exceptions.
(I swear if you try to get me to watch a whole episode of MTV reality shows or anything akin to Survivor, I will claw you.)
But I think The Biggest Loser gives many people unhealthy expectations. This is a show were morbidly obese people lose 15 and 20 pounds in a single week. And unless you working out 8 hours a day, that’s all but impossible. On the Biggest Loser, they are doing a lot more work than they let on. Their “last-chance workout” as they call it probably lasts over 4 hours. But for us, it’s a 3-minute blip on the radar.
But the thing that I absolutely love about the show is that it’s all about retraining the mind, the emotions and the habits. Yes, they work out a lot. Yes, they have crazy trainers who scream at them. But they also are taught that you really can’t eat only cheese and meat and somehow magically lose 30 pounds. They’re taught that what you put into your mouth you have to sweat out later.
Another thing I love about the show is that it doesn’t dumb down how hard it is to work out. How much you really have to WANT it to do it right. People cry, they grimace, they whine, they collapse, they cough and sputter and look like they really wish they could die. I certainly don’t advocate exercise this crazy if you’re working at a normal pound-a-week pace. But at least it illustrates a point to all the other couch potatoes: Losing weight isn’t easy. It doesn’t come in pill form, and it probably hurts if you’re doing it right.
Unfortunately, even this show isn’t all sunshine and lollipops. I overheard one obese woman talking to another this morning as our company conducted “health risk assessments” for each employee. Part of the assessment was a height/weight/BMI calculation, and as one overweight woman was being shown her BMI, the other said,
“Oh, just go watch The Biggest Loser. You’ll feel a LOT better about yourself.”
Hrmph. I guess some people will use anything as a vehicle for rationalization. Awesome.
Except for Biggest Loser. And Project Runway. They are my exceptions.
(I swear if you try to get me to watch a whole episode of MTV reality shows or anything akin to Survivor, I will claw you.)
But I think The Biggest Loser gives many people unhealthy expectations. This is a show were morbidly obese people lose 15 and 20 pounds in a single week. And unless you working out 8 hours a day, that’s all but impossible. On the Biggest Loser, they are doing a lot more work than they let on. Their “last-chance workout” as they call it probably lasts over 4 hours. But for us, it’s a 3-minute blip on the radar.
But the thing that I absolutely love about the show is that it’s all about retraining the mind, the emotions and the habits. Yes, they work out a lot. Yes, they have crazy trainers who scream at them. But they also are taught that you really can’t eat only cheese and meat and somehow magically lose 30 pounds. They’re taught that what you put into your mouth you have to sweat out later.
Another thing I love about the show is that it doesn’t dumb down how hard it is to work out. How much you really have to WANT it to do it right. People cry, they grimace, they whine, they collapse, they cough and sputter and look like they really wish they could die. I certainly don’t advocate exercise this crazy if you’re working at a normal pound-a-week pace. But at least it illustrates a point to all the other couch potatoes: Losing weight isn’t easy. It doesn’t come in pill form, and it probably hurts if you’re doing it right.
Unfortunately, even this show isn’t all sunshine and lollipops. I overheard one obese woman talking to another this morning as our company conducted “health risk assessments” for each employee. Part of the assessment was a height/weight/BMI calculation, and as one overweight woman was being shown her BMI, the other said,
“Oh, just go watch The Biggest Loser. You’ll feel a LOT better about yourself.”
Hrmph. I guess some people will use anything as a vehicle for rationalization. Awesome.
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