I love Extreme Weight Loss with Chris. I like that he takes a year and he often will change goals based on personality. Like the young woman who was developing a an eating disorder he changed the whole goal into dealing with her food issues.

I really liked the idea of the show when it first started, but I do not watch it. I've tried to go back to it a few times but I can't stand to watch people being screamed at when they are about to pass out or are crying. People who are on their own can't work out for as many hours per day as they do. I am happy for the people who learn how to be healthier from the show

I also can't stand the yelling on the biggest loser. The stories themselves are inspirational but the weight-loss is totally unrealistic and so many regain.
I love extreme weight-loss though. I can't wait for the next season.

I have never had any interest in Biggest Loser for the reasons stating. It isn't motivating to me. I've watched a few episodes but just didn't find them motivating.

i'll watch it sometimes when there's nothing else on but i absolutely cannot relate to the amount of physical exercise they do. I can only do 1/2 hour on the treadmill and i just find all that yelling and pushing to be de-motivating. Also i wish there was much more focus on nutrition and what they're eating because IN REAL LIFE THAT is what it will take for the average person, not hours spent on grueling exercise

i also find it interesting that in the beginning the ladies are wearing bra tops which expose their stomachs, and as they near goal, it's tanks which are probably spandex and hiding the loose skin.. would be nice to have that talked about as it was something that was unexpected with me simply because i didn't know any better

Like all "reality TV" BL needs to be taken with a large grain of (low sodium ) salt!

I bet that if you and I were willing and could afford to go through the 4-6 hours a day of intense exercise, being pushed to the absolute limit and following a strict diet, complete with personal trainers and all the equipment one could ever dream of, we too could lose 100 lbs in 4 months. Obviously most of us do not have this luxury!

We also have to remember that these people put their lives on hold to do this. No job, no relationships, no distractions. Their entire life revolves around one thing and one thing only. The rest of the world doesn't get that option.

I find it extremely motivating. Knowing that it does take dedication and that it is possible, for people who are not to dissimilar to myself to lose 100+ lbs. I find something relate-able to many of the contestants, and that gives me hope. I see that these people who are heavier and in worse shape than me, CAN work out, and HARD for a long time. Sure they might puke, but they don't die, and they are better next week for it.

Is it sensationalized. Yes. Everything is these days. You have to be able to pick out the useful information from the entertainment.

Anyone who watches BL and hopes for the same results at home are just foolish.

I never watched BL until this year except for an episode here or there. I am anti time goals so that part of the show, which is a huge part of it , turns me off.

I have watched about half of the season 15 episodes and I might be missing it but they don't seem to spend much time on diet.

And one episode a training tip was one of those pretty bad for you fruit yougarts. Obviously it was a sponsor. But that was disappointing. Overall though it seems better than I remember earlier years. I just hope the show pays for skin removal surgery. Because with how much and how fast it comes off, it must be a huge problem for them.

I've been watching BL a little bit while exercising (season 13). I know it is dramatized for tv though. I have heard some of the behind the scene things for both Biggest Loser and Extreme weight loss and I almost feel like Extreme Weight loss is much worse.

I just always wonder where they find people who can not work for 6 months or so... I mean even if I told my job that I was going to leave without pay for 6 months they would be like what the ****..

I also don't know if they have shortened the weeks to actual weeks? I know when Biggest loser started, their weeks were almost 2 weeks long so the numbers they pulled were really over 2 weeks, not 1.

Anyway, yes if you think it is something you can do at home, you don't realize that they have doctors on staff behind the scenes constantly monitoring the contestants. They also are spreading their workouts throughout the day as well. And they also have chefs preparing them specific meals. So I think it is interesting to watch but not something to emulate at home.

Nelie and everyone you have to read this. It should probably be its own thread. It seems credible. I came across it wanting to know how some cast members are now.

Really, pardon pun, food for thought about these shows. Or at least extreme weight loss makeover.

http://blackgirlsguidetoweightloss.c...ows-practices/

I used to watch it, I thought it was motivating despite what I thought of the methods. I WISH I had doctors, massage-therapists etc...at my disposal after a whole day of working out with a paid trainer, and my food chosen and paid for as well. And each contestant gets paid depending on how long they are on the show too, so there is some monetary compensation. It's fantasy for me, but I liked seeing the transformations.

I think I got turned off when Jillian started to act as a therapist, I forget which season it was.

Yeah, it occurred to me the other day I've never NOT seen Jillian Michael's belly button. Does she ever wear any clothes?

The thing with EM is that skin surgery is a GIVEN. Yes, as fast as they make them lose it (80 pounds in 3 months? Yikes), it's going to be loose. But they let NO TIME go by for your body to even catch up a little.

I want to like BL but I have never understood why you're MADE to stand there in that spandex and then they pretend like they care about you. It's not okay to wear some regular shorts and a t-shirt? That's not humiliating enough? And the one episode where they had an entire buffet of nothing but sweet desserts? Um, why? It was only for the gratification of people at home watching these "fatties" being "pigs".

As someone who used to weigh more than many of the female contestants and lost over 100 lbs, some of it very quickly (75 lbs in my first 3 months), I don't think skin removal surgery is a requirement. Yes, when you lose quickly, the skin will be noticeable at first but then it gets better. I felt 100% better with the weight loss and the loose skin was just a thing...

Yes i can't watch the show. Its horrible. The abuse , the conflicting strategy that makes "good tv" but it harder for contestants to achieve their main aim, the way that people put off the show are probably going to end up back to where they started from because of the ordeal and rejection they experience.

But i can see how it might be inspiring to many who identify with the contestants.

Ugh, season 7, don't get me started on Janelle! That girl pissed me off to the nth degree! That said, she bugged me so much that I haven't seen about half the season, and it was a good season. Going back to it now.

I find the theme song very inspirational. At the end of every day, corny as I know it sounds, I ask myself, "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" It makes me happy that I can easily answer that question these days.

Biggest Loser does totally skew my expectations. I don't ask such huge numbers of myself b/c I know it isn't safe (and a lot of the contestants put the weight back on anyway). I do get discouraged when I don't seem to look different in a week or two, the way they do. I look at how hard they work out and ask myself, am I doing enough?

I know this is dangerous territory, so when I get into a Biggest Loser watching phase (they tend to come and go with me; not a big reality show person generally) I try to limit myself to an episode a day.

The messaging may not be the best, yes I think judging on body composition would be better - still, the show is a good insperation for me, cause it shows if you do the work and dieting, you can lose the weight.