So last nite, against my better judgment, I watched The Biggest Loser. Nothing against it, I just didn't plan to watch it till it came out on DVD. Season 1 is in my Netflix queue. Fuzzy tv sucks sometimes.
But I was flipping around for some background noise and it was on, so I watched. It was okay. I missed the intro so I'm really not sure what they went over but a few things struck me as odd.
- When the men weighed in, they took off their t-shirts. As if it had extra pounds...heh...but the poor women, due to modesty, could only take off their shoes.
Come onnnnnnnnn NBC, lets be REAL!!! Just about everyone trying to lose weight, weighs in buck naked. Don't let my pudge pics fool ya, I don't even wear the skimpy bikini on the scale. Can't trust it. Hell, did they also "relieve" themselves before weigh in? That counts too ya kno.
- The men were losing almost twice as much as the women.
Now I'd hope NBC took the time to explain to the participants, as well as the tv audience why that is the case. I suspect not, as each woman, after being weighed, looked crestfallen in comparison to the men. How could they not? After hearing 22lbs back to back to back, and they come in @ 11lbs and 15lbs, it would seem like a disappointment.
But since they have resources to work thru that issue, I'm more concerned w/the unrealistic expectations the viewing public will have. The same viewing public that buys pills and potions by the billion fold b/c they claim you can shed 5lbs or more.
11lbs in 1 week from a woman that weighs over 250lbs and is eating 1200-1500 calories is understandable BUT, it is not the norm nor is it typical.
Despite being a mathaphobe, I do like to crunch #'s, so let's go w/Suzanne aka "The Bride to Be"
Her starting stats:
Age: 30
Starting weight: 230
Week 1 loss: 16lbs
Keep in mind, I am not an expert, just a bit learned, so I'll try to make this understandable so that the average person around her starting weight, or more, who loses 2lbs, or less, after one week doesn't say damn it all to hell after seeing Suzanne drop 16lbs.
For Suzanne to maintain her 230lbs @ her age & as a sedentary person she needs 2254 calories per day. If she adds heavy exercise she needs 3065.
So here she comes and is put on a 1200 calorie diet. Without doing anything physical, she has already created a daily deficit of 1054 calories (2254-1200). If she keeps it up for a week, her weekly deficit is 7378 or 2.1 lbs (3500 calories ='s 1lb and 7738/3500=2.1).
Now, lets get Suze nice and sweaty, keeping her on a 1200 cal diet of course.
Just for giggles, since she is on a reality show and all and has the entire day devoted to working out, unlike the rest of us schlubs, lets carve out 5 hours of activity for her. The activities will vary, but let's say 2 hours of vigorous aerobics, 1 hour of vigorous weights and 2 hours of moderate activity.
Now @ 230lbs w/that sorta schedule Suze can easily burn 5000 calories. We haven't even included the calories she's burning just by breathing and walking around and @ a higher weight she'll burn more than a 130lb woman doing those same things. [...people who weigh more burn more calories when they exercise. The reason is that when you weigh more, it takes more effort to run, walk or participate in any activity, because your body has to carry more pounds.]
So let's look @ the numbers. She's already created a 1000 calories daily deficit by eating less add to that another 5000 calories due to working out and being active. She's now @ 6000 calories burned. That ='s 1.7lbs in a day or 12lbs in the week.
The other 4lbs she lost could come from misc activities like walking around, showering but b/c of the setting they are in, I'm going to assume their daily activity, though similar to ours, is much more intense. Plus the stress and nerves of being away from home amongst new people 4lbs is realistic.
That is what 16lbs cost her in food not eaten and sweat dripped. Anyone her size, or more, not doing those things shouldn't feel bummed out that she lost 16lbs in a week.
Hell she lost more in one week than I lost the last 37 weeks, but not only is our starting weight way different, but as manic as I can be when it comes to working out, I don't have the luxury of doing it 5 hours a day.
All that to say, I'm not begrudging Suze or her fellow losers on what they lost, it is AMAZING, but just have some perspective is all.
And the final thing that sorta rubbed me the wrong way, @ the end when the women won and okay I admit, I totally was into the show by that point, they squealed like little school girls, it was so endearing. But when the men went off on dude who "cost" them the victory. It made me cringe a bit.
I think someone even yelled @ him, if he got his arse outta bed he woulda gave up those 2lbs and they would've won.
Excuse me?
Yes yes yes, it's a tv/game show and winning is part of it, but given the fact that the physiology of weight loss is sorta glossed over, a remark like that makes it seem like one could just jump out of bed, get themselves all nice and sweaty for an hour or so and force the lbs out. That's where I have a disconnect w/the show.
We alllllllllll know how fickle the scale can be. Hell, why didn't he just force all the men to fast before weigh in so their stomachs would be completely empty. Or deprive them of water so they wouldn't bloat, or give them an enema. B/c all those things factor on the scale fluctuations.
I cringed when the last lady weighed in and kept jiggling around. I wanted to yell, "STAND STILL you are FUGGING up the reading lady!!!", but I didn't.
All in all, I sorta kinda liked it. If for nothing else, regardless of my minor irritations, it is very inspiring to see people lose weight and they are doing it thru diet and exercise, I really commend them.
Will I watch it again? I dunno. I inadvertently got hooked into Big Brother 6 and it's always an emotional investment to see a show thru the end, I hate committing to another one. Plus in the beginning there are too many people to keep track of, I tend to start watching @ the ½ way point, like I did w/BB6 and last years Survivor. And b/c I do that, I tend to be out of synch w/the general consenus, like I liked the Nerd Herd. By the time I started watching they seemed to be the underdogs and I root for the underdogs. I have no idea what Cappy did, or who he is for that matter, and while I thought Kaysar was a cutie, I thought Howie was mean as is Janelle. I want Yvette to win. There I said it.
I feel like Jerry Seinfeld when he admitted to watching Melrose Place.
Comments: 14
09.14.05 | Elle commented: Did you know I went to the casting call for the first one. I don't think I was heavy enough (though at the time I was 70 pounds over weight) I don't know. Or maybe i was't CRAZZY enough to be interesting on TV. 
Still, I'm more than sort of glad I didn't make the show.
Actually, I watched the first one a couple of times--but I don't think I'll watch this season. I think it is a great show, but hey man, I'm livin it. I don't really like the competitive aspect of it, though I know that works for some people. For me it's a lifestyle thing, and I don't want to get caught up in the numbers.
09.14.05 | Shelley commented: I'm not certain of this for "Biggest Loser," but on "Celebrity Fit Club" though it airs every week, sometimes it's more than a week or 2 between tapings. If it's just a 7-day break, their wt. loss goals are smaller. Maybe they're losing 11-22 lbs in more than 7 days. Just a guess.
09.14.05 | dieting blog commented: I wish I could drop 100lbs in 4 months the way they did on the first show. I would probably die though.
09.14.05 | jj commented: I watched the first season pretty religiously... this season, I didn't even know the show was starting up. Now I gotta check it out... sounds like they made some changes from last year.
09.14.05 | Fig commented: Hey! You are doing great! Finally got a chance to catch up on everyone and wow- you look awesome in your pic up there! As for me- ugh-hated the nerd herd- all of em. Funny, the one I really cannot stand is Ivette! 
... Oh, and the biggest loser? They said it was 10 days between weigh-ins and they did explain that men lose faster than women and why and that is why the do percentage lost, not pounds for the winning team. Other than the fact the trainers irritate me- I think they are doing a very responsible job with the show.
Anyway- keep it up! FIG
09.14.05 | Queen commented: Sometimes, I just wonder how healthy losing that quickly can be... wouldn't it be cool if they did a follow-up of all the people from last season to see if they maintained, lost or gained some back! Just a thought.
09.14.05 | Dee commented: I think you brought up a lot of good points, really good points. I get sucked into reality shows and it just annoys the hell out of me. I know I watched the Biggest Loser for the inspiration and I agree that people who watch don't get the full perspective of what goes on with these people to lose so much.
It would be very disheartening. 5hrs of exercise? yea I'd probably die too. oy.
I just hope [like you said] viewers at home don't base their efforts as defeating after watching shows like this.
09.15.05 | Yamfoot commented: I had the same thoughts as you Renee.
Hey....how about your weigh in????? Why you keep shifting the dates??????
09.15.05 | Renee commented: Yam, I just weighed in on 9/11. I don't do it weekly, too fickle...stresses the heart.
Depending on the length of the challenge I weigh in @ the very end, if it's 6 weeks, or since this one is 12 weeks, I'll do it every 3rd week.
I changed the date on the pic, b/c I really didn't work out enough to have any significant changes that was worth me going thru all the posing I do. The date on the top pic should really be 12 weeks from this week. I'll fix it later, b/c I only update that pic @ the end of a challenge.
Confused yet 
09.15.05 | Nikki commented: I tuned in at the end of last season and I wanted to see this one from the beginning.
I think it's pretty cool. They talked about their plans and the amount of exercise they were doing as well as explaining about the discrepency in the pounds lost.
Last year's season crew updates are available on the site. All except one seem to be keeping it off and one of them looks like she's continuing to lose. It's also great that they show that.
My biggest gripe is the mantras. The women's mantras, all except one, are about how they'll look. The men's, all except one, are about what they will be able to do. In the end it's about what's motivating to you. The whole mantra idea is fantastic though.
09.15.05 | Becky commented: It's interesting you mention these points, Renee.
I watched all of last season and was really so frustrated how these people, losing 15-20 lbs a week were DEVESTATED after not having lost more. What was worst, IMHO, was that neither of the trainers were like Hey, it's OK, look how far you've come, etc, etc.
I don't know...watching last season I had the constant impression that since in the end it was a competition caution was thrown to the wind and I didn't necessairly think the message was clear for people who may have unrealistic expectations of weight loss, even though as viewers we see these people have the luxury of time.
I liked the show, don't get me wrong, I just thought that they were seriously sending the wrong message.
09.15.05 | hopefulloser commented: I love watching the show. I forgot that the new one started but will probably watch it too. I mostly just like looking to see the difference in body shapes after people lose so much.
I think the show should make serious disclaimers that the results are not typical and may not even be healthy. I really think that it can be dangerous to lose weight so fast. Not to mention that it will be really hard to maintain it in a real life environment.
I watch out of curiosity, not because I believe the show is doing any real good. I would much prefer they let the people they vote off stay and continue to lose weight but just be out of the running for the money. They should send the message that it is important for people to be healthy and actually not be competetive about it. I know that probably isn't the most dramatic premise for a show but I think this is a serious issue and the show might be doing more harm than good. Have you seen the message board? There seem to be people who actually gain weight to try and qualify for the one in a billion chance to be on the show.
09.16.05 | Renee commented: Have you seen the message board? There seem to be people who actually gain weight to try and qualify for the one in a billion chance to be on the show.
Ok, I've calmed down and yet I'm not suprised. I've read about people who gain wait so they can have weight loss surgery. I'm not even gonna go there.
I agree w/ya hopeful that they person voted off should stay. When I saw the dude the voted off leave, I was hoping they'd put him up in a hotel for the duration so he could keep losing weight too.
I had the feeling they kept them off-site and kept working w/them, but I could be wrong.
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Renee, I suspect that there is more than a week passing by on TBL's weigh ins...Gary, the runnerup last year, had a post on his message board (www.garydeckman.com) about the time btwn weigh ins, and he was a little vague, and I got the impression it might be 10 days btwn weigh ins. They started filming for this in March, I think, and the people went home in July, so that's 4 months, not 3. But the show is 12 episodes of weigh ins. I'm really curious.
Also, Gary laid out the workout plan for the contestants, and they are working out like 4 hours per day, spread throughout the day! owie! They must be exhausted...
And Netflix has the first season???? omg, I'm going to go move it to my queue!