Has the biggest loser gone too far?

[lisaviolet]

As a former high school and collegiate swimmer, my curiosity got the better of me and so I looked up some of her swimming times. They are nowhere even CLOSE to Olympic caliber, and in fact my personal bests are faster than hers in most events. Obviously had she gone to college, maybe she would have made greater strides, but I think that the show must have played up the "gave up her Olympic dreams" angle for dramatic effect. She was pretty fast, don't get me wrong, but they really hyped it up if they're saying that she was almost an Olympian.

Not a surprise.

Just like Juan Pablo gave up his entire soccer career for his child on The Bachelor. Ie. I'm sure there's another part of that story.

The drama of it all.

But I'm glad they pushed the story. It's good for young people, females especially, to see that leaving your dreams for another person is not good.

 

[JanaDee]

Tumi looks amazing. She looks strong, healthy and beautiful.

Rachel looks weak, sick and frail, as well as at least 20 years older than she is.

 

[RunningGirl]

Jillian's post on her Facebook page:

So here it is.

Bob and I want to take a moment to congratulate all of the BL contestants on their hard work. We're not comfortable commenting on Rachel’s journey because weren't her trainers and weren't given an opportunity to work with her at any point. Any questions about the contestants on the Biggest Loser should be directed to the show’s producers.​

 

[mnrose]

Jillian's post on her Facebook page:

So here it is.

Bob and I want to take a moment to congratulate all of the BL contestants on their hard work. We're not comfortable commenting on Rachel’s journey because weren't her trainers and weren't given an opportunity to work with her at any point. Any questions about the contestants on the Biggest Loser should be directed to the show’s producers.​

That pretty much speaks volumes, doesn't it? I don't recall Jillian being reticent to comment before.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

As a former high school and collegiate swimmer, my curiosity got the better of me and so I looked up some of her swimming times. They are nowhere even CLOSE to Olympic caliber, and in fact my personal bests are faster than hers in most events. Obviously had she gone to college, maybe she would have made greater strides, but I think that the show must have played up the "gave up her Olympic dreams" angle for dramatic effect. She was pretty fast, don't get me wrong, but they really hyped it up if they're saying that she was almost an Olympian.

The show didn't say she gave up Olympic dreams. Rachel says she gave up her shot to be a collegiate swimmer. She was a State Champion in High School and was being scouted. She gave that up. I don't remember them ever playing the Olympics angle.

 

[sonnyjane]

The show didn't say she gave up Olympic dreams. Rachel says she gave up her shot to be a collegiate swimmer. She was a State Champion in High School and was being scouted. She gave that up. I don't remember them ever playing the Olympics angle.

Ah ok, thanks for that clarification. I didn't watch this season, was just going off of the post that I quoted about her giving up her Olympic dreams for a guy.

 

[Robinrs]

Jillian's post on her Facebook page:

So here it is.

Bob and I want to take a moment to congratulate all of the BL contestants on their hard work. We're not comfortable commenting on Rachel’s journey because weren't her trainers and weren't given an opportunity to work with her at any point. Any questions about the contestants on the Biggest Loser should be directed to the show’s producers.​

I'm sure they're REELING with all the reviews, tweets and comments. Their faces said it all last night, they don't have to say a word.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Ah ok, thanks for that clarification. I didn't watch this season, was just going off of the post that I quoted about her giving up her Olympic dreams for a guy.

I am sure people get confused because there was an Olympian on the show. But she was a weight lifter.

 

[lisaviolet]

The show didn't say she gave up Olympic dreams. Rachel says she gave up her shot to be a collegiate swimmer. She was a State Champion in High School and was being scouted. She gave that up. I don't remember them ever playing the Olympics angle.

Ah ok, thanks for that clarification. I didn't watch this season, was just going off of the post that I quoted about her giving up her Olympic dreams for a guy.

I watched. And I even thought that was the angle. I guess I jumped to that conclusion too (no sarcasm). Maybe she mentioned *Olympic dreams* later, in the one on one talks, regarding getting a scholarship. Which would be a normal goal.

 

[goofinoff]

I'm sure they're REELING with all the reviews, tweets and comments. Their faces said it all last night, they don't have to say a word.

I follow them both on Twitter and Instagram and their accounts were overloaded with "What are your thoughts on Rachel?" and "When are you going to make a statement?" I think they handled it well. A lot of commenters were saying that they were throwing Dolvet under the bus. I don't really see it that way. But then again, I don't really know the dynamics between the three of them. It could have been a slam but who knows.

I'm interested to see if NBC issues any sort of statement. Rachel was on the Today show this morning and they were all saying how great she looked. But I can't imagine them saying "hey congrats but you look anorexic."

 

[mrzrich]

I think that during the Salt Lake City Olympic training episode they sort of made it seem like she had been an Olympic level athlete.

 

[Chelley00]

A lot of commenters were saying that they were throwing Dolvet under the bus. I don't really see it that way.

I don't see it that way either. With Jillian's facebook post, it makes it sound like none of them were her trainer AFTER she left the ranch. One of the comments on facebook is that Rachel tried to hire a trainer at his gym and no one would take her because her weight goal was not healthy for her.

 

[Allison]

The show didn't say she gave up Olympic dreams. Rachel says she gave up her shot to be a collegiate swimmer. She was a State Champion in High School and was being scouted. She gave that up. I don't remember them ever playing the Olympics angle.

Yep. It was the weightlifter that the Olympics was talked about.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

What bothers me about the show is that it portrays weight loss in such an unrealistic and demeaning fashion. The contestants know they need to lose weight. They've left their families and lives to focus on their health. They work really hard and, in the beginning, it's tough. One guy works out to the point of vomiting. Then Jillian yells in his face, "Don't you dare throw up. You're weak if you throw up!" Nice. How about his body is telling him it's time to stop for a minute and recover? It's not that he's weak or that he's giving up. He's simply pushing too hard. Let the poor guy puke if he needs to!

My other problem is the weigh-ins. Everyone loses weigh at different rates. It has to do with metabolism, genetics, how they process nutrients, health conditions, etc. Two people can eat the same food for a week and work out for the same amount of time at the same intensity. One might lose 20 pounds. The other might lose 5. The one who loses 5 isn't a failure, but that's how they're made to look and feel. Jillian says, "Geez man! I expected more from you." Allison says, "You're not the biggest loser. It's time to go home."

Weight loss should never be a competition. We shouldn't be seeing people who are encouraged and rewarded for losing unhealthy amounts of weigh. It doesn't matter if they're closely supervised medically, etc. It shouldn't be a spectacle.

How about a show that outlines a reasonable weight loss plan and has viewers follow along? Show us some menu plans. Have some cooking segments, exercise segments, etc. Show a group of people who are following the plan while going about their everyday lives. Show how they incorporate exercise and eating right while working, raising families, etc. Check in with the people each week and let them talk about their successes and challenges. Show us how they look, but don't weigh them. It's not a contest. As long as everyone is making progress and feels good, they're doing fine. I would love a "how-to" weight loss show that I could watch each week. How about encouraging and helping Americans to get healthier, rather than holding a competition where people are rewarded for losing massive amounts of weigh and taking abuse from Jillian?

 

[Schmeck]

Anyone else realize that she looked odd because the skin shrinkage didn't equal the weight loss? I mean, they all seem to have flappy parts (especially the women) but the winner looked like she did because her skin was stretched out and floppy. If she got some tucks here and there, she'd look totally different. Her face looked drawn because gravity causes the excess skin to hang down.

One of the Gabor sisters said the secret of staying younger-looking was to very slowly gain weight as one aged - not to gain a ton of weight and then try to lose/maintain it, just add a pound (or less) every year. The added weight fills in the skin as it loses its ability to snap back. I think muscle would be better to gain than fat though.

 

[lisaviolet]

Anyone else realize that she looked odd because the skin shrinkage didn't equal the weight loss? I mean, they all seem to have flappy parts (especially the women) but the winner looked like she did because her skin was stretched out and floppy. If she got some tucks here and there, she'd look totally different. Her face looked drawn because gravity causes the excess skin to hang down.

One of the Gabor sisters said the secret of staying younger-looking was to very slowly gain weight as one aged - not to gain a ton of weight and then try to lose/maintain it, just add a pound (or less) every year. The added weight fills in the skin as it loses its ability to snap back. I think muscle would be better to gain than fat though.

No on the first question. She's a young woman who looks nowhere near her age now, in my opinion. If someone said she was late thirties, I wouldn't be remotely shocked. And I didn't think she was *floppy*, as you say, as many become after rapid weight loss. Why didn't that happen to her? Because even though she was obese to start, her body probably kept some of her fitness and she's young.

So no. She had deep lines that women have decades later. That says too much to me.

I am around a lot of athletes. And a few who exercise excessively (unlike professional athletes that have people monitoring their body/nutrition levels), and are very strict about eating low fat, have that look even if they didn't lose a great deal of weight. So her look wasn't about the huge/rapid weight loss in itself, in my opinion. Heck, there are a few weight loss doctors that have that look.

Look at Bobby. He's young too, although not as young as Rachel. He didn't have that look at all in his face, despite rapid loss.

 

[disney1990]

I have not read through this entire thread.

But, I think that she lost that much weight to guarantee that she would win the $250,000 prize. I am sure that, a year from now, she will be 20 pounds heavier - and healthier.

 

[mnrose]

http://fitandfeminist.wordpress.com...f-the-biggest-loser-is-not-all-that-shocking/

This blogger said it better than I could.

 

[thedonduck]

What bothers me about the show is that it portrays weight loss in such an unrealistic and demeaning fashion. The contestants know they need to lose weight. They've left their families and lives to focus on their health. They work really hard and, in the beginning, it's tough. One guy works out to the point of vomiting. Then Jillian yells in his face, "Don't you dare throw up. You're weak if you throw up!" Nice. How about his body is telling him it's time to stop for a minute and recover? It's not that he's weak or that he's giving up. He's simply pushing too hard. Let the poor guy puke if he needs to! My other problem is the weigh-ins. Everyone loses weigh at different rates. It has to do with metabolism, genetics, how they process nutrients, health conditions, etc. Two people can eat the same food for a week and work out for the same amount of time at the same intensity. One might lose 20 pounds. The other might lose 5. The one who loses 5 isn't a failure, but that's how they're made to look and feel. Jillian says, "Geez man! I expected more from you." Allison says, "You're not the biggest loser. It's time to go home." Weight loss should never be a competition. We shouldn't be seeing people who are encouraged and rewarded for losing unhealthy amounts of weigh. It doesn't matter if they're closely supervised medically, etc. It shouldn't be a spectacle. How about a show that outlines a reasonable weight loss plan and has viewers follow along? Show us some menu plans. Have some cooking segments, exercise segments, etc. Show a group of people who are following the plan while going about their everyday lives. Show how they incorporate exercise and eating right while working, raising families, etc. Check in with the people each week and let them talk about their successes and challenges. Show us how they look, but don't weigh them. It's not a contest. As long as everyone is making progress and feels good, they're doing fine. I would love a "how-to" weight loss show that I could watch each week. How about encouraging and helping Americans to get healthier, rather than holding a competition where people are rewarded for losing massive amounts of weigh and taking abuse from Jillian?

But it is just that.... A tv show. It doesn't need to be realistic. It isn't there to make these people healthier, it is there for our ENTERTAINMENT! It is no different to me than watching The Bachelor or Survivor or any of the other game show/reality shows

 

[mrzrich]

But, many people watching, especially young people don't get the difference between reality and reality TV.