The Biggest Loser - Opinions?

[Dogmama]

OK, I admit it. I watch this show. I've always wondered, though, if people keep the weight off after the show ends. I've also wondered what goes on when the cameras are gone. I don't like the "game playing" part of it but I love to watch the trainers work with the contestants.

I ran across this: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/bu...er=rss&emc=rss

What do you ladies think? Is this a good message to our overweight population? Are we encouraging people to make changes? Or are we encouraging the American ideal of the "quick fix?"

[Sadie]

I watch the show too, and love it! Seems to me, most make life altering changes and deal with the emotional side of their overeating. Love Bob and Jillian. I have a personal trainer like Jillian, and it sure is motivating...

[Zen]

Jillian grates on my last nerve and now she's pushing some sort of weight loss supplement pills

Sometimes I think they're pushing those people a bit hard considering their history of inactivity.

[NoNo]

I have no doubt there are people there solely for the money and will do whatever it takes to win. But I also believe there are people that truly want to change their lives and actually take what they learned and carry it forward after the show. I've never felt the workouts were realistic for someone just trying to do it on their own, but watching those people change so dramatically may be what it takes to get someone off the couch and start making some little changes.

Go Danny!

[roadie gal]

We watched the first 2 seasons religiously but we haven't watched it much lately, since the game playing has overshadowed the weight loss for some people.

I think the workouts are unrealistic for these people. I'm surprised that there haven't been heart attacks and deaths.

There's a "Where are they now" show coming up next week that profiles the previous contestants. Now THAT'S the show I want to see.

[katluvr]

I am addicted. And not for a good reason. NOt sure why I am obsessed with this show. (And I sit and sip my wine while I watch!)

I do get very frustrated by the time they spend in the gym. And if they dont' have a gym the all freak out. They should show people how to incorporate non-gym activites and to have fun. They have moved more towards the running doing those 1/2 and full marathon distances.

But you can tell there are mroe and more injuries as they push these people harder than they should.

I also wonder if they put them on appetite suppressants. How does one go from eating thousands and thousands of calories to eating probably between 1000 - 1500???

I think there are some good messages...just not enough.

I am most interested to see tonight's look at who kept if off. I have ALWAYS wondered what happend to those folks.

(Oh and what about all the crying...drives me insane. Actually it is like a comedy to me. Sorry, don't mean to offend anyone that watches...because I watch it toooo!)

[tongue_tied]

I watch it as well, and as someone who's also trying to lose weight, it almost seems unreal to me for someone to lose 16 pounds in a week. I have a job, and I work out 4-5 times a week. These people work out 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. Maybe if I had that time, I too could lose 150 pounds. Besides that and the product pushing they do after segments, I think it's a good show which, underneath it all, has a good message to get out there and change your life.

[Tri Girl]

I watch it, too, but know it's changed since it's inception. It was more about the lifestyle changes and learning how to live healthier in the beginning, but I feel it's gotten way more "commercial" and out to sell merchandise/items lately. Might be just me, but it seems like they're trying to find heavier people and push them harder (bigger, faster, more).
I can't wait for the special tonight. It is inspiring to see people change their lives. As someone who lost 35 lbs with WW only to gain it all back plus 5- I feel their pain. It was so incredibly difficult for me to go from "dieting to lose" to "eating to maintain." I can't imagine trying to keep 100+ pounds off.

[Crankin]

I've only seen a few of these shows because the first hour is on against my favorite show (NCIS).
But, I agree with everyone who said that the work outs seem a bit over strenuous for that population, given their history of inactivity and medical issues. I did see the first show this season and when that person fainted and had to be taken away in an ambulance, I thought about what kind of message it sent to the general public. It goes against everything I learned when I was training to be a fitness instructor. Aren't they afraid of the liability issues?
The show seems to be doing some things right, like addressing the emotional aspects of eating, but really, who has 8 hours a day to exercise.
Get those people on a bike!

[NoNo]

They alluded to this season's first episode in the article, but I think it served as a wake-up call about how out-of-shape a lot of people are, not that they're pushing them too far. It was a mile, no one said they had to run it. Just walk a mile. I bet if you asked any of those people before they started, they'd say "Oh, I could walk a mile!" It sounds so simple. But then you got the reality of how bad a condition they were in. I hear my dad say things like that all the time, and then he's sucking wind after going up a flight of stairs. Maybe that was the wake-up some people needed to say "Gee, maybe things aren't as rosy as I like to think they are".

[badger]

like everyone else, I've also wondered what happened to the previous contestants. I've tried to look them up before, and there's not much info out there on them so I just assumed they all gained back their weight.

It's all hunky dory when you're at the ranch and you get all the time in the world to work out and get support on food and stuff, but when you're back to your real life, it must be more difficult to maintain their weight loss.

[GLC1968]

I have a mild obsession with the show. I didn't watch it for the first few seasons, but then one day, I saw an episode and I was hooked. I even plan my own workout/training schedule so that I have a rest day on Tuesdays so that I can watch 'guilt free'!

I get annoyed at the game playing, but I understand why they do it. And I agree that they should show more of the background information that they get about nutrition and training. Yes, it's not glamourous and yes this is a TV show first and foremost, but clearly these people are getting way more information and help than they show on TV.

And I was reading a commentary by one of the contestants about why they push them so hard. It's basically to remove a stereotype - that fat people can't exercise. They purposely push these people as hard as they do to 1) show the world that if THEY can do it, so can everyone else and 2) to show the contestants that they can do it. This guy was saying that prior to being on the show, he had NO idea what he was capable of and he really needed Jillian (I think he worked with Jillian) to show him that he was. I thought that was pretty telling.

Presumably, they screen the hell out of the contestants prior to signing them up. Yes, they want heavy people, but I would bet money that they make sure that no one is going to be a danger to themselves right off the bat.

While the show has it's faults, I figure that if I find it inspiring and I'm only a little overweight and still active...what could it do for others who are more sedentary than me? Hopefully, it gets them off the couch...product placement or not.

[PinkBike]

I've watched every season. I don't like the accelerated product plugging during the episodes. I think NBC must have pushed that - 30 Rock parodied it last year. I mean do Bob and Jillian actually chew Extra Sugar Free Gum, it's shameless.

Anyway, I watched last night's "where are they now," and the thing that really struck me was that wierd Dr. H. said in order for these people to keep the weight off they'd have to exercise 1.5 to 2 hours a day 4-5 days a week for the rest of their lives.

Talk about disheartening. I can see them totally giving up, I think I probably would. I mean Eric looked SO GOOD when he won, and he put it all back on.

But I was so sad for Matt(?) who missed his Ironman Finishing Qualifier by 3 minutes.

I'll keep watching it though.

[Grog]

Anyway, I watched last night's "where are they now," and the thing that really struck me was that wierd Dr. H. said in order for these people to keep the weight off they'd have to exercise 1.5 to 2 hours a day 4-5 days a week for the rest of their lives.

Talk about disheartening. I can see them totally giving up, I think I probably would. I mean Eric looked SO GOOD when he won, and he put it all back on.

Personally I find it rather realistic than weird or disheartening. Or even: nice! I enjoy moving my body in the outdoors, using my own strength to go places and do things. Personally I "exercise" about 90 minutes a day getting to and from work (hilly commute on my bike), plus walking around (sometimes several kilometers a day) and running. I don't have a weight problem, but certainly having an active lifestyle has helped.

There are shifting guidelines in the world of health-related exercise, but recently I've often heard 1-hour a day, 6 days a week for regular adults, to say nothing of people with a hard time keeping weight off...

[roadie gal]

We watched the "Where are they now?" episode last night. I found it much more inspirational than the last few seasons. Most of them have gained back some of the weight, but it looks like almost all of them are continuing a healthy lifestyle.

The ones who have kept off all of the weight seem to have made fitness part or all of their professions. They've become personal trainers or they work with getting kids fit, etc. Interesting.