The Biggest Loser is back!

I was excited about this at first, anticipating it returning. I searched for info on the past contestants and I admit that I was a little disappointed to find out that most of the previous "losers" and namely the first winner, had gained back most, if not all, of the weight lost for the show. Then I read an interview with one of the former contestants who revealed that all of them partook in dramatic weight loss activities in order to appear in the grand finale and win one of the prizes. Activities as extreme as severe caloric intake and even fasting, all so that they could wow the television audience and possibly win one of the runner up cash prizes. Not that they couldn't or didn't lose weight - they lost plenty! But when you're competing against another, especially for multi-thousand dollar prizes, even one pound can send you home with nothing. So even though they'd already lost 85 pounds, they'd force themselves to fast so they could get off 2-5 more for the ultimate weigh-in.

With that in mind, its no wonder they've gained back the weight. It was really all an illusion. For both us and them. But what it really shows is that fast healthy weight loss is a pipe dream. Sure, you can lose fast, but what do you lose besides the weight? Muscle, healthy tissue, a healthy metabolic rate, your thyroid, your hair - the list goes on and on. If the whole pitiful Kimkins saga wasn't enough to turn your stomach, here's the Biggest Loser back on NBC to remind us that nothing worth having, comes so easily.

This show also says alot about how desperate people are to lose weight. Why subject yourself to such embarrassment and humiliation on national television? It's no secret formula, what they're doing on the show, you could do at home in private, or form a group of friends who will do it with you. Why go on television and be forced to go shirtless - or bare your bulging waistline - for the titillation of the audience? We don't need to see the actual flesh, we know you're on the show because you want to lose weight, so why make these people wear those horrendous spandex suits for weigh-in? The only thing I can figure is that they think the shock value will equal ratings. After all, reality television has done nothing but sink lower and lower, and now even the ones that pretended to be altruistic have started scraping bottom for drama and filth.

I was appalled at how the trainers pushed the people to near heart attacks. Whatever happened to starting slowly and building up your strength and resistance? Is there something we're not seeing behind the scenes? Because we've been told all of our lives not to just leap from a sedentary lifestyle to trying to be a marathon runner in one day, or not only will you risk injury but you risk heart attack and stroke. But here these people were being pushed so hard that they looked as if they were about to pass out. That can't be healthy, physically or mentally. We all know that if you overdo it initially, you'll just lose interest and want to give up and not stick with the program.

Then the whole thing with the table full of food, and everyone's gagging and talking about how disgusting it is. Well, newsflash, if you take a table and fill it with ANY week's food all sloshed together, its going to look pretty disgusting. Well, unless you're a vegetarian, then you've got one big a** salad! But pretty much anything else is going to look gross. All of this is such overkill and obviously for dramatic purposes.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Biggest Loser diet itself. I think its a wonderfully healthy and balanced program of high protein, high fiber, moderate carbs and consistent cardio and weight training - you can't NOT lose with that formula. But I really wish they'd retool the show and do away with the illusions and the magic tricks and just keep it real. Unless you're going to stay on the ranch for the rest of your life, then you've got to learn how to maintain that weight loss in the real world. I used to prefer this show over Celebrity Fit Club because of the huge difference in pounds lost, but with CFC, the contestants are at home and just returning to the site bi-weekly to go through the training paces. So their three month weight loss is substantially less than TBL, but its more realistic over the long term. I would much rather see The Biggest Loser work with the contestants in their own environment, so people watching could see how to apply it to their own lives.

They do have an excellent online component to the show, where you get the same fitness and nutrition advice as the players, but I worry about people watching the show and comparing their results to these impossible examples.