NBC's Biggest Loser - Real/Unrealistic
 

Hello to everyone out there. I was having a discussion with a friend who is also calorie counting and she start talking about the Biggest Loser. She was saying that she loves the show and it motivates her to stick to her plan but that it is misleading sometimes. When people lose over 10 pounds a week she says it made her think that she could lose a huge amount of weight like they were doing and reduce her body size in half in 3 months, but when you find out they are eating 1200 calories per day and exercising 8 hours a day the results should be like that with such a high calorie deficit and the fact that they are staying at a ranch. She was even more disappointed to have found out that several contestants have gain the weight back or a good amount of it back. I live in Europe so I have only seen a few episodes of the show which are like from season 2. I suggested that she join a support group like this one and she can see some of the biggest losers here and where we lose weight at a normal pace so that it will stay off.

I do remember a guy on season 3 who lost like 15 pounds in 1 week,is that healthy? I got a nervous when I lose 4 pounds for 3 weeks in a row.

I love that show also, but always have to remember that the results are not typical. They do exercise 8 hours a day and are limited to what they can eat. I will be watching it tonight though.. :carrot:

Some of the people do gain the weight back too. I think they get to the ranch and work out all day and eat little and then they are put back into the real world and fail.

I love the show too! It is dangerous for your friend to try and lose a lot of weight in one week on her own. There are doctors standing by on the ranch with those contestants. I too wanted to lose it fast like they did.

It's just not worth the risk!

Totally unrealistic! if only.....but most of us can't and wouldn't exercise 8 hours a day. And I read an article written by one of the contestants that said that on weigh in day she would give herself an enema to lose more weight. And they are supervised by doctors.

Invite your friend to come join us here and see how "real' people struggle with the weight loss and support each other. and lose! And get healthier!

I Totally LOVE the show. Though I only just found out about it the last season, so this is only my 2nd season of watching it....It comes on in a few minutes.

What I don't like about it is that the focus is mostly on exercise and little on food. Food should be the main focus IMO. I mean, what if you are in a car wreck and break both of your legs and can't exercise...will you know how to modify your diet to accomodate for that?

I love the show - but no it's not realistic. I think the timeframes are manipulated - a week might not really be a week. And I don't work out 8 hours a day with a personal trainer on my case the whole time.

A healthy focus on weight loss should include building habits that you will keep for a lifetime. Which flys in the face of losing it as quicky as possible for a cash prize. A lot of people gain weight back - the majority, in fact. For me - maintaining the loss has been because of the healthy habits I built while I was losing.

And I will stop saying the same thing over and over again...starting...now! :)

That's really unhealthy in my opinion. You have to keep in mind that they're producing a TV show that will get better rating with bigger weight loss results. Its pretty unrealistic though. And doesn't have the contestants' best interests in mind.

This show is ENTERTAINMENT, first and foremost. Yes, the people lose weight. But it's not always one week to the next, like they make it sound, and many of the former contestants and winners have regained. The show does not spend any time on maintenance. It is an artificial situation from the beginning and all the way through.

A more realistic show is National Body Challenge on Discovery Health. No bells and whistles, and the people mostly lose their weight at home. The show documents what it's really like to be struggling with weight. The contestants don't always do so well, and their losses are much more realistic.

Jay

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 always think its a bit silly to look at something like TBL and talk about whether it is "realistic" for the rest of the population.

They have no responsibilities other than weight loss. They have trainers, medical staff, and nutritionists available...every day! They have the time and the drive (and lots of monetary motivation) to exercise for 6-8 hours a day, most of it straight up cardio. They have only really healthy food available to them except for artificially placed "temptations". They eat, sleep, and do cardio, with a few hours a week of strength training thrown in. They are burning calories All. Day. Long.

If one was in that situation, one could lose weight like they do...it is realistic to say that if you are burning 6,000-7,000 calories PER DAY and eating 1,200, you could lose 10 lbs in a week. But most of us have jobs (they don't), families to take care of (they are separated), and more varied foods available to us. We cannot put ourselves into that same environment, and therefore cannot acheive results so quickly.

To me, it is still inspiring to see people who believed that they "couldn't" push themselves in extreme ways to meet goals. Like a 3FC success story, but compressed for TV. And I know a lot of folks, here and in the rest of my life, that have taken TBL and used it as inspiration to go about this the way that is reasonable for them.

Wow did one contestant take an enema, now I must say that is very unhealthy and I'm even more disappointed that they would allow it..

I agree with you all, it isn't realistic and they are focus on exercise and not eating. What's the point of having them lose all the weight and focusing on exercise and not teaching them life long habits. Most of us are overweight because we had bad eating habits and I'll be the first to say that I never really learned out to eat properly until now. if they are pushing the contestants to lose weight for ratings that is twice as worse. They should be teaching them life long eating habits when they can't exercises for 6 and 8 hours a day..

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.

The trainers also aren't there for the majority of the contestants workouts. They are there for the strength-training portion (the part that is shown) and very little cardio a week (just enough to get footage). The rest of the time, those contestants are just slogging it away at a moderate pace on the cardio.

I too enjoy TBL and watch it weekly. It has changed some over the years, and seems more geared towards rating that it used to be. I know a lot of it is for 'shock and awe' effect, but it does help motivate me as far as exercising. I have gotten some ideas for strength training from watching the show. Anyway, it is TV, so we have to take that for what it is worth. ;)

Sandy

Starting weight 270
Current weight 222 (1/24/09)
Goal weight 150

I agree with most everything that has been said. It's a show and the science behind what they are doing (counting calories and working out) is correct and the right way. The rest of it becomes the show. When you have nothing to worry about but eating right and working out all day, then you too could lose more than 2 pounds in a week (a week on the show isn't always a week in reality as was pointed out already).
The show IS a motivator for a lot of us working to change our lives and I think that's what is important. As long as people realize that the results are "reality show" based, you are okay.

I've never seen the show (although people always assume I love it, which irks me to no end and is another story) - but I know of people who are inspired by it and I think that's great. It's great that it inspires people, makes them think twice, it's great that a formerly taboo subject is prime time.

Maybe if I sat down for an episode I'd change my mind. I dunno. ??

I've never talked with someone yet who fools themselves into thinking those results are achievable in real life.

Personally I would love to see the lessons being taught then the contestants throwing up all the time.:barf:

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..

Where are the 'Biggest Losers' Now?

An interesting article that talks about how long the weight loss lasts and how some of them managed to keep it off.

Personally? I'd rather do it slowly and learn to change my habits than to lose it fast and then gain it all back.

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? :lol: 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 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. :(

What injuries have there been on BL kaplods?

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.

But I just can't look away...

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.

Please remember, everything that surrounds the contestants is the BEST. They eat nothing but clean organic food (less for temptations). And yes, this CAN be done at home, we can do everything they are doing but lose the amount of weight they lose all at once and workout for 6 hours a day. If you follow the way they eat (sans the artificial promotion crap), count calories and workout for about 5-6 hours a week you will lose about 2 pounds weekly which is what a "normal" person's goal should be.

Well okay, that would be an okay good addition. But, people need to be smart and realize that the contestants are overseen by doctors and professionals every step of the way. It's a reality show, no one should ever completely duplicate what happens on a show of that caliber.

You're not the only one. I don't watch it either. I don't find it inspirational, entertaining or informative... so why bother?

Having no life lately, I am reading this thread again :lol: and just wanted to comment re the vomiting being taken as a healthy sign of working out hard enough, yes, although I am a huge fan of the show and it helps me to realize, frankly, just by the visuals and weigh-ins that a healthy weight is best for me.

The vomiting, though, does bother me. Vomiting is NOT a healthy result of working out; proper exercise should not be inducing vomiting on a regular basis; when exercise induces vomiting it is NOT healthy or even effective and that person should be checked out by a doctor; however, BL contestants are monitored 24/7 for any signs at all of being in health crisis and that is made clear by the show more than one time in each episode with disclaimers plus shots of med techs, etc., moving in checking people at various times.

There are also scenes of them talking to the doctor about their health, making it clear that the are for the most part in poor health, often diabetic and relating that to their weight, which they say is why they are there :lol: (although $250,000 doesn't hurt). To my mind, they are in no more danger performing some of the stunts, admittedly a bit extreme in some cases, but that's TV :rofl: , than of continuing on in a lifestyle that seems to be not good for them, for the most part.

I've also had a lot of quibbles with the portrayal of the workouts sometimes in former shows. I believe things have actually gotten better on BL, though, not worse. They are being much more careful and the warnings are more prevalent, but at times in past shows, I've thought the exercise form was terrible, just a lot of explosive weight lifting was shown with little build up (no time, I guess) or conditioning that one would think they would need to get to that level. One time I thought Jillian really WAS going to kill a contestant, having him jump up and down on a bench, although he was out of shape, clumsy and ultimately fell down from a high bench, that was insane.

But the contestants do it.

And amazingly there have been few injuries on the American version (I can't get the Australian one); in fact in all the seasons I have watched (which is all but one as it is the only network TV show I regularly view), there have been fewer injuries than I've personally fallen prey to in a regular routine of working out daily or at some periods five times a week and not nearly at that length or intensity. In fact every regular exerciser I know sometimes gets injured (although I do think I'm maybe klutzier than some people), while regarding blood clots, I've known one person (sedentary) who died from a blood clot similiar to the one contestant on BL and another person who worked out in a gym regularly who also had a similar blood clot and was treated in a hospital. Blood clots aren't limited to overweight people working out to lose weight, IMO.

Anyway, I was glad the OP posted this thread as I like talking about BL so thanks for the great posts. Have a nice evening, all.

i love the show but i do know that they exersice a WHOLE lot more than I ever could .....

While I enjoy watching the show to see the transformations of the people at the end, it bothers me that there are people who look at the BL and think it is in any way a realistic picture of weight loss for a typical person. The BL is so far removed from reality that it seems odd to call it a reality show.

The fact is that most of the people on the show are losing weight in a very unhealthy manner for the long run. Yes they are medically supervised but when you read about all of their injuries and you look at how many of them gain the weight back, you can see how unrealistic it is. I have always been surprised at how they have these enormous people running on the treadmill. That has to be so hard on their joints and bones that it doesn't surprise me that they have injuries. But they are willing to endure it because of the money and the short term goal of losing weight fast.

As an overweight person my entire life, I always hoped there would be that magic something that would melt the weight off fast and I could finally be thin forever. As I've gotten older, I have come to learn that the only "magic something" is diet and exercise, with slow and steady weight loss for long term success.

I just watched this week's episode, and other than the huge and weird downer at the end, I have to say I find it super motivating overall. I feel sorry for the folks who watch the show and throw themselves into crazy and unsupervised exercise programs thinking that's the only way to do it, but for people who already know what they need to do & what's realistic, the show can be a great weekly boost. I really liked how Jillian reacted to Mandi's 2-pounds-in-a-month result this week, and I love the constant reinforcement that you have to work hard at this day after day, no excuses, if you want to see results. I'm especially excited about the Green team, since I look kind of like Tara, so watching her work crazy hard every day and start to look so good is really encouraging!! :D

oh come off it. obviously those who dont like it dont watch it regularly
they show them making healthy tips and about 3-4 times a show they give the viewers workout and lifestyle tips

and the vomiting? please. people do it all the time, its why i dont work out until at least an hour after eating and EVEN THEN sometimes i have to fight things back. and its mostly liquids like water for me. i've seen them throw up, looks like liquids, maybe a shake or something.

I remember reading somewhere a few seasons ago a "sample daily meal plan" for a woman on Biggest Loser and it was about 1200 - 1500 calories a day. It just didn't sound like enough food IMHO to sustain that level of workout.

Plus, no offense to anyone who is well over 300 lbs., but the contestants just keep getting bigger and bigger. I know that the bigger they start, the more dramatic numbers they can get the first few weeks and the overall transformation is more shocking, but I cannot relate at all. The first season, most of the women had starting weights between 200 and 250, if I remember correctly. Now, can you even get on the show if you are under 275?

I am not surprised to see so many past season stars have not been able to keep all of the weight off, but I loved seeing that S1 Andrea is still totally slim and fit, and that a decent number of them have kept a good deal of the weight off.

I LOVE the before/after photos and watching the progress from week to week. For US in the real world, I think the weight they lose in a week should be stretched out over a month or even 6 weeks. It'd help with long-term maintenance.