So if you haven't checked out the behind-the-scenes Biggest Loser documentary on Netflix, I'd say it's worth a watch.
Bottom line: Even though the 3-part series gives the people behind Biggest Loser every chance to do their best to defend themselves and their mission, you probably aren't going to end up feeling too many warm-fuzzies over the supposed "let's help out the poor fatties" premise.
But along with the not-surprising aspects (still fascinating) there were some genuine surprises as well!
Some Not-So-Surprising Highlights of Fit For TV:
1. Abuse and mistreatment! And they didn't have to dig deep to find it. As you may recall, it was happening right in front of us in every episode: the tirades, the humiliation, the tears, the exhaustion, the insults, the temptations, the barfing. We get more details about what contestants went through, and it's ugly, but then torturing fat people always seemed to be viewes as a feature, not a bug, of the show.
2. The fact that most contestants gained a bunch of weight back, and some ended up weighting more than when they started. Because of course they did! We all knew that exercising practically every waking hour and starving yourself is not sustainable.
3. The show was all about making money, not helping people. Well duh, welcome to capitalism! Still, some of the details of the decisions that were made may make your blood boil. And the lame efforts of those behind it to pretend they were at the same time being ethical is equal parts amusing and nauseating. I mean sure, there is something very inspiring about seeing people meet their fitness and weight loss goals! So much so that I made my poor AI research assistant, Chatty, gain a bunch of weight and then lose it again just because I could.
Way to go, Chatty!
But knowing full well that sudden dramatic weight loss is unhealthy and that the vast majority of people can't sustain it, ratings and money, not healthy inspiration, were clearly the real goals.
Second Biggest Surprise for Me
Bob was such a dick! Here's where I have to confess I didn't watch the show much, because somehow in my mind Jillian (who doesn't appear in the documentary) was the evil drill sergeant and Bob was the nice guy. Uh, not so much, it appears. His attempts to defend himself and his role come off as sniveling, self-serving, prissy, condescending, and generally contemptible. I wanted to slap him. Or maybe it's just me, this is one of those times I'd really like to hear what others thought.
Biggest Surprise for Me
Turns out I was a complicit Biggest Loser product-whore! As a health blogger during the height of its popularity, I thought the premise was horrible. I rarely watched the show, but I checked in often enough to watch the finales and I knew full well what it was all about. So as soon as we finished watching the Fit for Life documentary, I went scurrying to the Cranky Fitness archives to find all the posts I surely must have written vigorously condemning The Biggest Loser and all it stood for.
Well, to quote Gomer Pyle: Surprise, Surprise! (And if you are of a certain age, you can hear Jim Neighbor's loopy exclamation in your head right now, clear as a bell, am I right?)
So yes, there is a Biggest Loser post on Cranky Fitness pointing out all that is wrong with it, but it is written not by me, but by my co-blogger at the time, The Merry. (A lovely woman whom I've lost track of, damn it! I hope she finds her way back.)
Meanwhile, what was I doing? Snuggling up to the notorious Jillian Michaels! (And now I'm discovering she's turned into a MAGA-adjacent Trump voter, sheesh). I tried her 30-Day Shred video, and then wrote three posts about a fitness arm band she was hawking in order to host a giveaway and get my own for free. Well, the armband crapped out on me a few months later. Served me right.
Some Unanswered Questions
So a small follow-up study of Biggest Loser contestants found that almost all of them gained substantial weight back after six years, and that their metabolisms were permanently fucked up. (Ok, so "metabolic adaptation" may be the more technical term for fucked up). It became nearly impossible for them to keep from gaining the weight back.
However, in the documentary some contestants were still noticeably slimmer than they started out, so many years later.
So, how did they do it? What is the secret to dramatic, lasting weight loss? At least one credited the new generation of weight-loss drugs (the subject of a future post, I'm thinking). But was it true for all of them? It seems like there are inspirational health journeys out there, but those, I guess, are not the kind that it's easy to make money off of.
Anybody out there watch The Biggest Loser or the recent documentary? Thoughts?
So grateful you're out there doing the deep dives into the muck so the rest of us don't have to! I can't remember if I heard anything about Biggest Loser anywhere but here. Probably, but it just wasn't on my radar. (Me and my haven't owned a tv since 1986, don't want to waste my limited bandwidth on video unless I'm completely certain it's worth it lifestyle.) The entire spectrum of "reality tv" seemed icky. Our completely weight-obsessed society seems icky. (Though not as icky as politics these days.)
ReplyDeleteWow Mary Anne, I am truly impressed! You haven't owned a TV since 1986? And yeah, Biggest Loser would not have been your kind of show, you're too sensible and compassionate to sit back and watch all the contestants be tortured in order to have their 15 minutes of fame and an unsustainable weight loss.
Delete"sensible and compassionate". I might be able to put that aside for a show called Biggest Liar, where politicians compete for votes as the audience pelts them with rotten fruit....
DeleteI never watched the show and had no idea what it was like, although I knew it was about weight loss. Of course you can't lose weight fast and keep it off long term.
ReplyDeleteIt's always all about the money, which is so sad.
Good for you for never watching it MessyMimi! It was really hard to avoid for a while there.
DeleteYes, I watched it. I was somewhere in the life-long journey of weight loss crap. I was searching for that magic pill, that magic answer, that would lead to (effortless) weight loss. I felt like a failure because I couldn't do what the contestants did. In later years, I watched it so I could be up to date on what they were doing. At those times, I was leading a weight loss support group and felt I needed to 'know the enemy' so I could answer questions about the show. (Don't get me started on 'My 600 Pound Life')
ReplyDeleteI stopped watching it and don't even consider watching the reruns. I want to say this show was the first show that helped me realize how fake all reality shows really are!
After 60-some years of battling the bulge(s) I finally have lost the weight that had me obese for most all my life. What was my secret? There isn't one. There are so many steps to figuring out why one is overweight and how one loses it. It is metabolism? Is it the Mediterranean Diet? Is it working out at the gym until you drop? Is it 800 calories diets? In my opinion it is a little bit of everything and each person has a unique way they need find, to tackle their efforts, to lose weight.
I think one has to educate oneself so they know some of the why's of their problem. You should know calories in foods, know what foods to push and what foods to limit. You should try different forms of exercise to find what ones you like better than others. I could go on and on.
I finally found my answer in making the commitment to do what I was willing to do, for the rest of my life. It's a lifestyle choice. I set my commitments low so that I KNOW I will do them each and every day, for the rest of my life. For me, using what we call Gizmos, has been my best motivator. I have one of those smart watches that I set so that I commit to burning 200 calories per day and doing 3500 steps per day. That doesn't sound like much, does it? Well, it was more than what I had been doing! Most of the time, I exceed that goal but, if I only MEET that goal, I feel good! I used all the research I've done throughout the years to make better choices in my foods. I use tricks like using a small plate for meals. I never say no to foods that are "bad" for you. But I don't eat the whole cake, I eat a smaller piece than many eat and I don't feel deprived. There are lots of things I could say, but this is already too long of a comment.
Motivation has been the hardest thing to deal with. That is partially why my base goals are so low. I don't want to break that streak of days where I met my goals. I now weigh what I weighed in middle school. My wt seems to have stabilized at 150-154 and it's been this for almost a year now. (5'9", 70 years old) It took two years to lose over 100 pounds. My doctor even ran tests to be sure I wasn't losing weight due to some hidden illness. So far, everything has checked out just fine.
Sorry to ramble so much but I've been up since 4am and I think I might be sleep-typing. lol
Sherri, I absolutely love this comment and how you summarized pretty much everything that works and doesn't when it comes to healthy lifestyle and weight loss. Common sense, but no simple solutions, and going slow and steady over time. Bit by bit finding the best foods, exercises, and motivational tricks--what works for one person won't work for everyone. Your success is amazing, because so many people start off with unrealistic goals and than quit when it's just not sustainable. Yay you!!!
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