Thanks for all the responses!

I definitely know the odds of actually making it onto the show aren't probable, but I won't get discouraged. I think just the fact that I've finally worked up the courage to make a video and put myself out there says a lot.
Should I not get picked, I know I can still do it on my own. I just want to be able to say that I did try.

Eh, multiple contestants have come forward with varying degrees of horror stories since the show started, and while it seems to have improved since they moved to the pairs system, it still isn't a safe or healthy way for most people to lose weight. I wouldn't recommend it or idolize it. It can be motivating to watch, but also psychologically harmful to someone who doesn't understand fundamentally that losing half a pound per week is no less admirable or desirable than losing fifteen pounds per week... Perhaps quite the opposite.

I have very mixed feelings on the show, but needless to say it is NOT necessary to do to lose weight. Why not make a start video and enact a plan with your friends and family at home? You can even weigh in with them there for accountability and cheerleading, and set before and afters once you reach yor goal. You can have the benefits of the show without the distinct disadvantage of losing weight as a cash cow for producers, with your health considered secondary to good tv.

Do they have all of the people? Or just the ones who have maintained?

Just wondering because I saw a 'where are they now' slideshow and about half of them had regained the weight if not more.

But will you stop trying to lose weight until you hear, because you don't want to get "too thin" in the meantime? I can see this being a real danger. Frankly, it's the kind of thing I used to tell myself (not about TV, but other things--"It's better to start in January (or the beginning of the school year) so I better not even worry about it now."

Wow, that's just... horrific. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to go through that. And I never thought about the fact that, for the rest of their lives, the contestants are going to be judged on their weight first. I wouldn't even know how to handle a stranger coming up to me and asking what I weigh.

:yikes:

Thanks for linking that. You expect "reality" tv to be a lot of editing and staged stuff but WOW. That is just awful.