Skip to main content

A Problem with "The Biggest Loser"

I was flipping through the channels a few minutes ago and came upon The Biggest Loser. I've watched some of the show before and know that the person who loses the greatest percentage of bodyWEIGHT is deemed the winner and is destined for fame and glory...well, maybe not fame and glory, but I guess they get some money or cool stuff.

Anyway, as I'm watching this poor woman try to decide whether she'll trade in the $10,000 prize she won for a 1 pound advantage at weigh in, it hit me - they're doing it all wrong! The person who loses the highest percentage of bodyWEIGHT at the end of this show isn't necessarily the fittest person there. The winner could be totally skinny-fat like I was just two months ago. I was still squeezing into a size 4, yet I had no muscle tone at all. I thought, how dumb.

Granted, I was never morbidly obese like many on this show, but let's take me as an example: I lost about 13 lbs or nearly 10 percent of my bodyWEIGHT in two months of IF, high protein/carb cycling diet and lifting heavy before my weight stabilized at 115 lbs where it has been for the past two months. Based on the scale, I've made ZERO progress in two months, yet the mirror doesn't lie. My body is changing tremendously - I'm getting delts for the first time in my life; my biceps have exploded; my chest is more defined and my quads are growing. I'm even getting obliques and lats and my strength continues to increase weekly. My body is undergoing a tremendous transformation as I trade body fat for lean mass yet the scale isn't budging. Does that mean I'm not getting into shape? Hell no.

The more I think about it, the more this show pisses me off. No WONDER people in general don't know what it means to be in shape. If this is the example they're striving for - the greatest bodyWEIGHT lost, then they will always fear the scale.

Based on the current rules of the show, there is absolutely no incentive to build muscle because it'll end up making you heavier than if you just strip off the fat. I guess they can't judge by body fat percentage lost b/c calipers and tape measures aren't as "sexy" as the stupid scale shit they use that makes them look like they're at a damn weigh station.

I wonder if this is the reason so many contestants regain their lost weight after the show? If they're not packing on lean, metabolically active mass, they're going to rebound. Build muscle, eat clean and turn your body into a 24/7 fat-burning furnace. They really ought to rethink this concept.

In the meantime, if you're a fan of the show, keep this in mind: The last man/woman standing may not actually be the fittest. Sorry. *shrugs*








Comments

Well said. They work way too hard. Too much time in the gym and no rest. Who can keep that up indefinitely?

I'm doing the same thing too. Scale has shown no change but I can look in the mirror and see the muscle growth. I know we can't convert fat to muscle but apparently we can trade it.
Anonymous said…
Great post.

Aside from the body composition issue, I also think the huge level of overtraining in the show will just make obese people think "Screw it. I'll stay huge."

I recently did a post on Rebecca Wheatley who went from 24 stone down to 18 stone with changes to her diet alone. Then she added exercise to get down from 18 stone to 12 stone. Took her a little over two years. She has kept the weight off for several years now. That's the key thing.
Ulfur said…
Hey Jen, have you stopped blogging?
Jenn said…
@Ulfur - no, haven't stopped, just been very busy. I'm working on some new stuff and will be posting again soon!

Popular posts from this blog

I may never eat ice cream again

What looks like ice cream and tastes like ice cream, but has 12g protein, 19g carbs, a paltry 2.5g fat and just 150 calories packed in a 1.5-cup serving? It's not frozen yogurt, it's not fat free ice cream and it's not sugar free ice cream. What you see in the above photo is my newest creation and the clear front runner for my evening dessert choice for the foreseeable future. Meet Strawberry Cottage Delight.  To whip up your own bowl of this delectable must-try, you will need the following: 1/2 cup 2% lowfat cottage cheese ~1cup or 5-6 large frozen strawberries - no syrup, chopped (could prolly sub other chunky frozen fruits) 1/2 - 1 tsp Truvia or your favorite zero-calorie sweetener to taste Add all ingredients to a food processor and puree until it reaches your desired consistency. I personally enjoy some strawberry chunks in mine. I plan on experimenting with canned coconut milk, bananas and nut butters in my next attempts.  In comparison, an identical

Optimal Fasting Times for Female Fat Loss - A discussion.

How long should I fast? This is probably the most common question I see among women new to Intermittent Fasting. Unfortunately there is no hard-and-fast definitive answer to this question. We all react to stress differently. Yes, I said stress. Fasting is a stressor to the body - especially the female body. Like money worries, relationship drama, and exercise, fasting will cause the body various levels of stress which can, and often will, result in negative consequences regarding our health. I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing most of you have jobs and financial responsibilities, relationships, some of you have children or are care takers of family members. You probably rarely get eight hours of sleep and, let's face it, who has time to meditate daily when living in the real world? All of these things are life's stressors. Now, add lack of sleep, job and family/relationship stress to a boiling pot of intense daily exercise and a lack of food and your bo

Finally - Progress Pics

Recently I've been struggling with my motivation. I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. My workouts stalled (poor diet, lack of discipline and no sleep). Then, today, I hopped on the scale to a solid 116.0 lbs (was literally 117.8 yesterday at the same time). I think the two pints of Guinness I had to celebrate St. Patty's with my girlfriend and the bar appetizers I shouldn't have eaten may have given me the "Whoosh" that Martin Berkhan speaks of. "By the way, a nice bonus after a night of drinking is that it effectively rids you of water retention. You may experience the "whoosh" effect, which I've talked about in my two-part series about water retention. That in itself can be motivating for folks who've been experiencing a plateau in their weight loss." In any event, I'm pleased at my results so far and look forward to seeing how I will look in another two months - just in time for Memorial Day at the Jersey Shore. Here the