I'm not a big fan of TV but since i started this journey watching realities shows about losing weight gives me motivation....
When watching the Biggest Loser I compare myself to them and say if they can work out and lose weight then so can I! It motivates me to know that someone who used to be a couch potato (just like me) with bad eating habits actually be able to lose weight...

Though I think the unrealistic high weight losses, disappointment and ridicule for normal weight loss, and six-hour daily workouts of these shows can set up the overweight watcher at home for failure, I do find motivation from them sometimes. I was watching Heavy this week, and a woman much larger than me ran a 5K. I am doing the couch to 5K and it made me think, if she can do it, I can too.

Lucysam - I agree. I love watching biggest loser and keep them on my DVR to watch throughout the week. If I feel like I am having a rough day or struggling, I can watch it and say if they can do it, so can I.

But I also understand that the weight loss on the show is unrealistic. I don't have 6 hours a day to work out and someone to make my meals or a nutritionist to explain how to mae my meals. I also have heard that it isn't always just one week for the weigh ins. sometimes it can be over 2 weeks. I watch it for the motivation, not to compare my weight loss journey to the players.

I love them all too. And get a lot of inspirataion.

but I would never expect a tv show to be realistic.

I am a big fan of The Biggest Loser and I find the show extremely motivational. But, I would never compare my results with those of the participants - oranges and potatoes.
Also, I recently watched a few episodes of I Used To Be Fat (where a young person has 110 days to tranform his/her life before starting college - at least the 3 episodes I saw all involved participants who were just about to start college). I am quite impressed with this show, but again, I am not comparing (the participants basically work out as a "full time job" - 6 or 8 hrs a day).

Also, other good shows are X-Weighted and Bulging Brides.

It might be weird but it works lol. I record Heavy and I Use to be Fat on my DVR. Every morning when I get up I watch an episode. It jump starts my day! Just like in the last episode of Heavy, the girl (Ashley i think) started running. Im am around the size where she started running. She has inspired me to try it. There's a 5k coming up in March and I'm going to participate. Probably wont be able to run the entire thing but it will be a big confidence boost!

Uh yeah...I am a Biggest-Loser-Heavy-I-Used-To-Be-Fat-1/2-Ton Dad junkie.

And I really can't say why.

I am not a fan of The Biggest Loser at all because it is extremely unrealistic as to what the average person can accomplish which sets them up for failure.

Reality TV in general is not my thing. I used to enjoy it but a friend of mine went on a reality TV show and what I discovered is that it has almost nothing to do with reality.

We all know that editors cut up footage to tell the story they want to tell but what we don't know is that assistant producers work with script writers and feed lines and ideas to the people on the show. As it is so heavily manipulated reality takes a big back seat to the story that they want to tell. Knowing that, reality TV became much less compelling for me.

Each to their own I suppose.

OH! I've never heard of X-Weighted. I'm going to find it and give it a try. I watch The Biggest Loser, but it is not my favorite. I hate the staged "breakthrough" moments and all the grunting and screaming in the gym. LOVE the transformation moments at the end, though.

I have really enjoyed Heavy and I Used to Be Fat so far. I am not time-motivated, so I can work out less and enjoy probably a few more calories than the participants do -- but on those 2 shows in particular, it's really easy to relate to the people and it IS inspiring them to do things they never in a million years dreamed they could do. Makes me believe I can, too! Till I started hanging out here and watching these shows, it never even OCCURRED to me that I could EVER run. But lately I am really believing if I continue to work toward it, sure I can. Very inspiring!

I like the weight loss shows too. X-weighted is my favourite (it's Canadian and it's on Discovery Health and Slice) but I dislike Paul Plakas and his bad attitude. If I were on that show I would probably smack him- not that he's not right, he's just so self-righteous!

I also watch TBL, but I fast forward through a lot of it. Too much drama! Blah!

What I like is seeing people like myself succeed at weight loss and fitness goals. It motivates me and makes me feel like it's possible for me too. If the individual featured isn't relatable to me, I confess that I like the show less. I guess I'm egocentric that way

Yep, don't like the Biggest Loser program at all but one season I just watched the weigh-ins at the end with the sound off. Turns out that was the season that a woman my age (Helen) won the main part and a senior man won the at home contest so it showed that the over 40 crowd can transform their bodies every bit as much as the younger folks. I needed to see that as I kept hearing how "impossible" it was to budge the weight at my age.

I'm pretty sure that I watch every reality show about weight loss:

Too Fat for 15
X-Weighted
Diettribe
TBL
Heavy
Money Hungry
Thintervention
I Used to be Fat
One Big Happy Family

If I'm missing any let me know. I just get such a sense of elation for those people who are able to take that weight off of their bodies. People say it's not healthy...blah blah blah. I say they're in a controlled environment w/professionals (doctors, nutritionists, trainers) tracking every move they make. The speed of the weight loss and the dramatic amounts lost are not realistic for the everyday person, but the joy that they feel when they meet their goal is the same feeling that each one of us will have when we meet our personal goals.

I'm a sucker for all those shows. I LOVE "X-Weighted"! That is probably the most realistic of all the shows. The people on that show never leave their homes, jobs, or lives to go lose weight. They choose their own fitness goals and Paul Plakas helps (with a very straight forward no bull attitude that I LOVE) to teach them new ways of eating, etc. I like that it is stretched out over a 6 month period and the weight loss goals they have are always safe and realistic also. Plus it's Canadian and so am I

"Biggest Loser" is something I have always watched and will always watch. I watch it for the motivation when I see them working hard and see how happy they are to lose weight. I do not for a second buy in to how they do things on the show because obviously for the average person that's just not possible. Not to mention how many contestants have gone on since the show to gain everything back once they are at home. If you can pick out the positives though, it can be a motivating show.

I also watch other shows like "Bulging Brides", "Last 10lbs Boot Camp" and have just started watching "Heavy"

I like watching Biggest Loser, Heavy, and I Used to be Fat. I find the shows motivating and encouraging. It is great to see what others are going through. I like how honest Heavy and I Used to be Fat are.