The Biggest Loser Review

I watched the first two seasons of The Biggest Loser. I found it to be inspiring. I got bored though. You get morbidly obese people together, make them live in close quarters, make them exercise until they vomit, after vomiting exercise more, put them on a diet that is unsustainable in the real world, tempt them, get them to run each other down, and vote people off. The scenery changes but the story stays the same.

Every season, new people, similar challenges, someone wins. They claim it's under doctor's supervision and it's safe. I don't think it's true. In no way is it healthy to lose 20 or more pounds in a week. I saw an episode where the first challenge, right after they arrived was to complete a one-mile course uphill next to the beach. This was before they even had one session with a trainer. One woman collapsed 100 feet from the finish line, was urged by EMT's on the scene to stop, and she dragged herself on her elbows across the finish line. She then became non-responsive and had to be MEDIVAC'd to a local hospital. She could barely speak when she was dragging herself. She should have been REQUIRED to stop. Two people ended up in the hospital that day. People would be all up-in-arms if you whipped an animal until it dropped. It's okay if it's for a game show though.

It doesn't matter if it's under a doctor's supervision. It doesn't conform to accepted guidelines for healthy weight loss generally. Don't they always say lose 1-2 lbs a week realistically? That would be boring and take forever. Just because you have an MD or DO, does that make you a good doctor? Ask Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's doctor. They do lots of fancy tests, but the tests never show that you should limit your exercise to a certain amount each day. No, I am not a medical professional. Do I need a degree to know that when you collapse or vomit, maybe it's time to slow down?

Those people are not treated well by the trainers either. They get kicked around like an old gas station dog. When they screw up, even a little, they get browbeat and emotionally manipulated, by being reminded that they let their biggest advocate down big time. One time in Las Vegas, they had the option of playing a card game for money, but if they played, they lost their trainer for a day. One lady won $2500, and Bob asked angrily: "Is losing me worth $2500?" Well, the short answer is yes. That's a good chunk of change. Jillian once called a contestant a "fat, pathetic loser."

They are SO restricted as to what they can eat and have to carefully measure every crumb and scrap. They don't get told how to integrate that into family life. Lots of people gain weight back. Eric gained 100 lb. back. It's hard out there.

They also shamelessly promote their products on this show. Bob and a contestant marveled over how extremely good strawberry Yoplait yogurt was like it's exotic and unusual. Jillian showed us that you can write on a Ziploc bag with a magic marker after thoroughly explaining the advantages of the zipper top. They should do it like on "The Price Is Right," where they hold up the product and say "this segment is sponsored by..." rather than acting like no one has ever tasted strawberry yogurt before.

As far as reality goes, it's tons better than your alternatives. The Real World, Rock of Love Bus, Charm School, The Bachelor(ette) and America's Next Top Model are some choices. Those have no message and no one is improved. As a matter of fact, most are debased.

If you have watched, the people that get voted off still compete at the end of the season. The very first people that get voted off still lose a lot of weight. They do it while living a life and working and taking care of their kids, etc. It's great that they learned to do that. Bravo for them. Maybe that is the one bright spot in this show. When you get voted off early, you learn how to realistically lose weight. I don't like watching people with health issues get abused, so I pass on this show.