Fitness and Health Shows v. Surgery shows

[Pedal Wench]

Reportedly, it was a rejected contestant's sister who committed suicide.

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/e...er-1004611.php

[Pedal Wench]

No worries -- it's still tragic, but changes the impact of the show.

I do have problems with the number of youngsters going for gastric bypass. They just haven't lived long enough to have tried exercise or diet. Plus, I strongly feel that they don't have the maturity needed to stick to the strict diet that must follow after the surgery. At that age, if they haven't been able to stick to a weightloss diet, how can they be expected to follow the post-surgery diet?

I also don't think they have the foresight to commit to a lifelong restrictive diet. I know that to fuel the type of riding I'm doing in my 40's, I need to be able to eat. Lots. When I was 18, there is no way I could have imagined I would be an endurance cyclist in 20 years.

[Tweet]

I saw a story about a bedridden beriatric once, who lost a lot of weight. He said one day he was in bed watching an aerobics show and just go so frustrated that he started clapping with the the instructor and that was the the first brick in his yellow brick road.

I definitely don't prefer plastic surgery shows unless its reconstructive surgery.

In general, I don't like reality shows, but there's a series of shows about a weightloss hospital that deals with the super obese that I find compelling. I think it's called "Inside Brookhaven"? Something like that. Anyway, it's made me cry every time I've watched it. It's really heartbreaking. These are people who are too heavy for weight loss surgery, too heavy often to even get out of bed.

I don't know why I like that one more than the ones where they lose 200 lbs and win a million dollars. I guess it's just more honest. You sometimes see the real person, not just the body, and it's really painful, but it makes me understand a little bit how hard it must be to suffer like they do.

[Pedal Wench]

I watched a little bit of the Brookhaven shows this weekend. Very sobering.

Many, many of the patients order takeout food to be delivered to the clinic. One patient gained 300 pounds while there. They also only exercise three times a week. I just wanted to scream at the screen!

[Trek420]

Has anyone seen this article?

www.bicycling.com/newyou/slide29.html

[Tuckervill]

That was cool. Thanks for sharing it!

Karen

[Trek420]

Inspiring movie of one of the featured riders:

http://video.bicycling.com/video/stacisjourney-mov

[kjay]

Thanks, Trek, for posting the link to this excellent information. It's greatly appreciated!

[Eden]

One of the original people in the printed article was a racer from around here. I never would have guessed she'd been nearly 300 lbs at one point.

[bikerHen]

I feel the need to "weigh" in here. I never watch reality shows, and rarely even watch TV, cause there seems to be nothing on but reality shows. Anyway as a semi heavy weight I am compelled to come to the defense of fat people.

Too many "thin" people think us fatties just sit around eating and feeling sorry for ourselves. But for me and I'm sure others that's not true. I know I have eating issues, but I also have a body that's very good at storing fat. I have been working hard at better eating and it is paid off. But even the slightest backslide to my old way of eating and I gain weight. And I'm talking about having a couple extra slices of bread and a few chips with lunch, not eating a carton of ice cream. It amazes me how pro food this country is. We really can get by on a lot less food. But we are bombarded with the message to eat more and more. It's disgusting. No wonder there are so many fat people.

I've logged over 4500 miles this year on my bike, go to the gym three times a week and lately have been spending a lot of time behind a snow shovel. I am losing weight but only about a pound a week. It's hard to come in and have a bowl of cottage cheese with a banana for lunch when I've been out shoveling snow all morning.

Maybe I'm just a little cranky with the 60" of snow we've had fall in the last two weeks. Or maybe it's because I've had no cookies, cakes or candy since September. Anyway, not jumping on anyone toes, just saying it's not that easy for everyone to be thin.

And now that the plow has just come and plowed out the street, I'll be going out to dig out the driveway, AGAIN! bikerHen

[Di bear]

I go outside and play with my friends. I'm not a fan of reality tv.

[ReadMyMind]

I always roll my eyes when a new diet challenge show pops up but i end up watching them all regardless lol. There's new ones this week..diettribe is on lifetime starting tonight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv3OqEhpQls has the therapist from celeb fit club and there's also the national body challenge on the discovery channel. Both look entertaining.

[divadump]

I was over weight, then one day I got a bike, and now I just ride every where i can. I think my childhood affinity for biking really inspired my new lifestyle.

I did actually happen to watch that show diet tribe last night by the way. I think its crazy how all those women began indulging and over eating together, but it makes sense. What did you think of it ?

[badger]

I like to see people actually sweat their way to being healthier. But having said that, some of the people getting extremem makeovers did have some serious aesthetic challenges. It wasn't so much about weight, but how they thought the world perceived them.

I can kind of relate and attest to that. When I was small, I was given tetracycline for vague illness that the doctors couldn't really identify (in retrospect it was psychological trauma that should've been treated by a mental health practioner, but that's another story). That stained my developing adult teeth horribly and my having other health issues I ended up with severely darkly stained, small teeth. I had huge gaps between my teeth, and when I was 18, i begged my parents for veneers.

It changed my world drastically. But, as the years went by, the dental technology developed in leaps and bounds. While my veneers were far better than my natural teeth, they still were bluey/grey and quite obviously fake.

So, when I was 35, I shelled out $10,000 (yes, $10K) to have laser gum surgery to increase the length of my teeth and 8 brand new, very realistic veneers. If it changed my world before, this was being catupulted to another galaxy!

Having been in a situation where I was dealt a bad card in the aesthetics department, I can appreciate how much your self esteem changes when you look better because you feel better, too.

On another note, I'm curious how many of those contestants on the Biggest Loser actually kept their weight off??