FWIW, they DO teach them those things. But those don't make good TV, so they only show the "product plug" food stuff, not the actual lessons. But they are getting constant education on nutrition and healthy eating and how to cook properly...you can sort of see that coming through in some of the challenges, where they have to guess the calorie counts of things and etc. But a nutrition discussion is not nearly as interesting for the public to watch as the contestants being pushed hard on the equipment.
Personally I would love to see the lessons being taught then the contestants throwing up all the time.
in re to the product plug food. . .I was watching on Tuesday and They were talking about Breakfast. . .Fiber 1 so for 2 days I was like oh I should try that mind you its $5 in my grocery and Kashi is $3 I came back to work with Kashi!
I can't watch TBL with my husband, because we get in arguments. Last night I jumped all over him for being disappointed in one of the contestants for "only" losing 12 pounds. Heck...it took me 10-12 WEEKS to lose that! Constant source of agitation for me....
This show makes me sad sometimes. I know it's a game and it's based on numbers, but it is so disheartening to see these people work SO hard and then it all comes down to what happens on the scale. They pretend, on the show, that the number that comes on the scale directly correlates to how hard you worked, how good you stayed on track, during the "week." But it's not necessarily true. What about building muscle? What about random plateaus when your body needs to adjust? What about random water retention? Do the girls on the show never get periods? Because that would affect things too.
I like the show, I think it's a good motivator for exercise especially, but it focuses way too much on the scale, on the number of pounds you lost each week from your "hard work." That's what's sad and unrealistic to me. Not only are they setting people up for being disappointed that they can't lose that much, but they are contributing to America's obsession with the scale.
Don't get me wrong, if they didn't use the scale the way they do, it would certainly not be as exciting and would get worse ratings, so I don't blame them, but it still bothers me!
Hey Pecc, that is a great question, do the women get their cycle? because I know 1 week before mines is due I feel like a water ballon because of the water that I'm retaining..
I've only seen the show about 3 times and I did notice how the build up is all towards the scale and it is the main focus in the show and that they all want to see a big weight loss. One contestant I can't remember lost 8 pounds and was upset. It does focus a lot on the scale and what about the muscle. I'm sure they have gottne more muscle and muscle is heavier than fat..
I will say it is a motivator to get out and lose weight and see these people do it but also at the same time they are in special circumstances - personal trainer, 1200 diet and 8 hours of working out so of course it's possible to lose that much weight with an 6000 deficit or more each day..
Hi! I love BL because it helps me keep focused on the benefits of weight loss and the realization that it's a huge commitment and focus in my life to keep the weight off. I think there's a lot to be said for rapid weight loss under medical supervision in cases such as those portrayted on the show where many contestants are unhealthy and desperate because of their obesity and I don't think that because some contestants (notably one recently reported in the media) gain weight back that it invalidates the method, which is admittedly extreme but medically supervised, in fact it validates it because kind of illustrates the amount of focus, commitment and medical supervision it actually does take to achieve results like that.
Re who would exercise eight hours a day? I would if it were possible to retire with a nice income, but for most people that isn't a viable option, but the show does illustrate that it can be done.
I also have a problem with all the drama about the exercise and how it is portrayed as so cruel the people are throwing up, falling off treadmills, etc., that to me is just acting and gives viewers who need to develop a liking for exercise the idea that working out is joyless and painful and life threatening, when for many of us it is wonderfully enjoyable.
Ditto to what someone in this thread said about they'd prefer the real nutrition discussions instead of all the product placements. That said, I don't mind the product placements too much as it does give me ideas for products I might want to try, but when BL began they did talk more about real nutrition ... NOT yogurt with High Fructose Corn Syrup in it, which I saw advertised in one of the product placement spots ... HFCS is very controversial and many of us feel it definitely does NOT belong in a weight loss program as it triggers the desire to eat, but I digress ... I do like the calorie counting challenges and the temptations .... but I watch the show mostly for the weigh-ins, as actually it does illustrate for me that weight loss, for me, was extremely worth doing, that it changes lives and changes people, so I enjoy the show and I don't ask it to be perfect.
I find the show entertaining enough but I don't think it's realistic at all. I just hope the viewers who want to lose weight know this. Come on, who eats that few of calories and then exercises that much in one day? I wonder how many contestants are able to maintain whatever they lose?
The show is motivating and shows that if they can lose weight so can you, that I agree with but it is unrealistic for those you can't exercise 8 hours a day and have trainers and medical staff around the clock. I admire the people in this forum who has lost weight by calorie counting and exercises because it's more realistic for me. I've only seen about 3 episodes( I live in Europe) and it was interesting and good.. but for me this forum I relate to more because we are all in the same boat..
I've already seen cases in real life aquaintences and in online friends, who've tried to duplicate some of the dangerous behaviors they saw on Biggest Loser. Not all of them were teens either, or people you wouldn't expect to know better.
No matter how many times the say "don't try this at home," the safer the techniques seem to those watching. Even though with each season there are more injuries and hospital ER trips with each season, but because "everything works out in the end," it's easy to underestimate the risk. But people at home don't have doctor's and an ambulance standing by, and many aren't even using a spotter or making sure they're not alone in the house, so if they needed to call for help, they'd be SOL.
Teens, I think are at highest risk for trying insane methods to try to lose weight (I did, and didn't even have TBL for a role model). However, I like many other girls in my class tried every lame-brained "celebrity diet" we heard of. I see those are still going around, as I saw recently the "candy and Red Bull diet" inspired (allegedly) by Lindsey Lohan's method of weight loss.
I know we can't protect people from themselves, and as a nation, we need to wise up and be more skeptical of what we watch on tv. I don't watch TBL anymore, I guess I'd love to say because I'm philisophically opposed to the methods used on tv (which is true) but the more mundane reason is I don't find it entertaining anymore because it seems to me the risk of injury in each season has just gotten too high for my personal comfort level, especially hearing what some of the "behind the scenes" dangerous methods folks are using to be competitive. They may be given education, but they're not using it.
I think I am the only one in America who does not watch BL.
I don't like weight loss competitions, and even though the stories can be inspiring - it's just so unrealistic.
I don't watch it either. A single hour of TV a week adds up to more than a 40 hr work week in a year. That is a lot of time. So, I'm very selective about what I watch. House is pretty much it. And that's rare. But that's kind of OT.
Hubby and I watch the show but I do not find it motivating or inspirational in any way. I don't think it's healthy and I think it gives many people the wrong idea about losing weight. Last year I almost quit watching because of those reasons. It didn't affect me but I was angry at how many people I knew who thought they should be doing what those people are doing. It upset me that my friends were feeling this burden to do something that wasn't even realistic in the first place.
Until a couple of weeks ago, I'd never watched the show. But it's currently showing just at the time I get home from work and yeah I'm watching. It's an older series - they're down to 4 people left who are Roger, Kelly, Ali and Jay.
OK, speaking bluntly here, I don't understand reality TV. It's not my thing at all. But this is trainwreck TV. It's completely unrealistic - seriously, most of us are thrilled when we get a 1 - 2 pound loss every week and anything above that is a bonus.
I just can't help but wonder, what happens when they get back into the real world where they can't dedicate that much time to exercise; where they've got to worry about getting to work on time and paying the mortgage etc as well as trying to find the time to squeeze in an hour's exercise and planning healthy meals etc. I read the article that Gretchy posted and I'm not surprised that many of them have put at least some weight back on - they're losing far too fast and they're in a completely false environment.
The only injury in the American version of the show that at least indirectly resulted in the person's elimination was Jerry Skeabeck's torn hamstring (there was initial concern when he was first taken to the hospital that it might be a blood clot, if I remember correctly).
I distinctly remember at least two emergency ambulance trips for two contestants in previous seasons. One was a woman I believe with an extremely violent asthma attack, and another was a man, I think for a possible heart attack that might have been then determined to be heat stroke (I'm not sure of the details, and someone with better memory skills may have the details).
There were several knee injuries of varying severity, and I've heard but do not remember for sure that there has been at least one stress fracture. The stress facture may have been in the Australian version of the show.
Even the show's dismissal of vomiting as a healthy sign of working out at the proper level, I find irresponsible.
No doubt, the contestants are screened very carefully, but alot of the exercises they are shown doing are extremely hard on the joints. Anyone with significant arthritis or an underlying joint weakness (one they may not even know they have) could seriously hurt themselves just attempting some of the workouts we see. Anyone with asthma or an underlying heart condition could drop dead.
I think it would be nice if the show were a little more proactive in describing why folks at home really shouldn't consider imitating what they see on the show.
I love BL because it helps me keep focused on the benefits of weight loss and the realization that it's a huge commitment and focus in my life to keep the weight off. I think there's a lot to be said for rapid weight loss under medical supervision in cases such as those portrayted on the show where many contestants are unhealthy and desperate because of their obesity and I don't think that because some contestants (notably one recently reported in the media) gain weight back that it invalidates the method, which is admittedly extreme but medically supervised, in fact it validates it because kind of illustrates the amount of focus, commitment and medical supervision it actually does take to achieve results like that.
I would if it were possible to retire with a nice income, but for most people that isn't a viable option, but the show does illustrate that it can be done.
