I've been talking about this with other people and I just wanted to voice my opinion here.

First off before I complain let me say I love the Biggest Loser Show. I watch it every week.

Here is my personal gripe.

THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION ABOUT DIET /FOOD !

You see all this working out and crazy challenges that I personally can't do and after awhile it just hit me..... If I worked out 5 hours a day that I guess I'd lose all that weight also. But in the real world most people just don't have that kind of time.

I would love to see what some of these people are actually doing on their own. Now that would be a good show.

"AT HOME WITH THE BIGGEST LOSERS"

Okay that's my gripe.

2feelbetter,
you are so right. If everyone had 8 hours a day, a personal trainer and a large sum of cold hard cash, it would be easy.
That probably also explains why so many have gained their weight back after the show. Such a disservice to those people.
I don't watch anymore, it's A ratings show.

I agree, it would be really nice to get more nutrition information from the show. However, my personal opinion is that like the exercise, their eating is probably very unrealistic for the real world. It might be a disservice to show us how they really eat for the risk that many people would try eating that way and without medical supervision.

Yeah unless the food is sponsored, they dont show it.

I think PART of the reason they show less and less of the diet is they dont actually eat what the sponsors sell. They can't advertise yoplait light and then admit they dont eat it.

In general the women are on 1200 calories and the men are on 1500 calories, but they give no info on how they work that around the workouts.

I know to do the kind of schedule they do I would have to be really careful about what I ate when. On days when I do "biggest loser" style working out I actually eat very little in terms of fresh produce because I cant digest veggies fast enough to get back out there. I have to pack all my veggies into my dinner and THEY workout after dinner.

They do lipservice to fresh fruits and veggies and whole foods, but I bet for the ease of digestion while working out they do a lot of the protein shakes and other quick food. Not all that healthy, not all that sustainable.

Several of the contestants have admitted that while the show management officially endorses 1200/1500 well-balanced calories, the real behavior of the contestants is much different. Fasting, eating and then vomitting, spending hours in the sauna to dehydrate before a weigh-in.... all of the obsessive, compulsive, destructive behaviors they're officially against. But with all of the money that's at stake, and the stigma of failing in front of the whole country, it's no surprise that people are willing to do anything to get there.

When i was young I worked out 8 hours a day and ate low calorie. I lost about 5 pounds a week (best I've ever done on a diet but I was 13 and I'm old now). I am boggled by how they lose weight. I can only think they pick people who are eating insanely but their bodies are really wanting to be thin. I'm not one of those people. I also really think people pack on the pounds before their first weigh in :/ I keep thinking of all those wannabe contestants that are packing on the pounds in hopes of getting on the show.

You'll never get the nutritional part of the show. They have the Biggest Loser Club that gives you that or the books. Why not buy one instead of expecting everything to be free?

I'm not expecting everything to be free. I just gave my oponion of the show. So I won't be buying anything.

For each show, hours and hours are edited down to what we see. And yes, as with all tvshows, it's about ratings....I'd be interested to see how they deal with the psychological and emotional issues that come with weight struggles. It also seems that the contestants are 'cast', there's the one whose whiney, the one who is a witch, the one who is this and that....I doubt that what we see is the best representation of what the contestants are really like.

On a side note, I met the trainer that worked out with Michael ( this season's winner) when he was at home....

Cost really isn't the issue, if the book is not the plan the contestants have actually been following.

I'm guessing most people want to know what the contestants are actually doing, not what they may or may not have been told to do, so the cost of the book really is irrelevant if it doesn't reflect the contestants' actual behavior.

Because of the way the show is edited, you don't really get to know how the folks are really eating (and unless they were live-camming everything, there'd be no way to do that, even if snippets were included in the televised show).

If it is true (as some former contestants have claimed), that everyone is actually following their own self-invented plan (which may include risky and even dangerous tactics), it would explain why the show would edit that out. If their real behavior is inconsistent with the official position, it could affect ratings and possibly even liability issues (though I would think with all of the "don't try this at home" disclaimers that would be the least of the issues).

It may simply be the editorial style of the editors (they may simply include what they think makes the most exciting show) or there may be other issues, that will never be clear to the audience - only to those privy to the behind-the-scenes events.

I follow a bunch of contestants on FB/Twitter and have met Jerry & Estella. I also belonged to the TBL club for two years and listened to all Jillian's radio shows.

They follow their respective trainers diets, TBL club is NOT the plan the contestants follow. They push cardio, cardio, cardio and then more cardio. That is how they lose the big numbers.

It doesnt have anything to do with getting something for free. Viewers are curious to see how the contestants are eating to see just what their entire day consists of beyond the working out 6 to 8 hours and how they can do that. There are not other shows that viewers are required to purchase a book to follow along with.

I have no intention of following the biggest loser plan so why would I waste my money. That doesnt mean i still dont want to know how they are eating.

Beyond that my satellite tv bill indicates I'm not getting anything for free.

I'm surprised none of the past contestants have done a blog or written an article online somewhere about what it was REALLY like to be on the show...what the actual diet and exercises regimine is. there HAS to be SOMETHING SOMEWHERE online!! although i admit...i have scoured but haven't found anything. i REALLY wanted to hear from Sherry (from this season)...she went home and absolutely KILLED IT! and she ain't 20 something!!!

They probably are under some kind of contractual obligation and also risk being sued for defamation.

One former contestant who's blogged & interviewed extensively about the more unpleasant behind-the-scenes action is Kai Hibbard.

In November 2009, the NY Times wrote an article, "On 'The Biggest Loser, Health Can Take a Back Seat" which included these paragraphs:

I am assuming that when they sign up for the show they have to sign something to not disclose information, which I would love to know myself what their nutrition is like on a daily basis and how much excercise they actually do. I guess it will remain a mystery for us viewers.