I watched the Biggest Loser the other night
 

I think that the show inspires people on many levels but I have a real problem with the message it sends regarding the amount of weight one should expect to lose in a week.

When you watch the weigh-ins on that show you see people in tears if they lose only 5 pounds in a week. That is ridiculous, and for most people it's about 3 pounds more than they should have lost for that week. Granted, we're dealing with the super obese on that show and the super obese have the potential to drop a tremendous amount of water weight over the first few weeks. So, for the contestants on the show it's reasonable to lose those big numbers initially. But they NEVER mention that joe blow who is 50 pounds overweight should not expect nor desire such numbers.

IMO, they like the big numbers so they can sell their books. Their program is solid, but they need to be more honest about what healthy weight loss normally looks like.

I had the same thought. I reckon it's a net positive, and that the contestants are only sad about losing 5 pounds because they've basically been living in a fat-loss camp where they do nothing but exercise while thinking about all the food they're not eating. Hopefully the viewers realize this and set more realistic (and healthy) goals for themselves.

What they don't tell people (aside from the blog websites) is these contestants work out.... 6 hours/day.

Their site nutritionist stated you should expect to lose up to 1% of your body weight each week. If you lose more you're not eating enough calories.

I agree, but I think the reason for tears for only losing 5 pounds comes from the competiton for your team. This year is the first year I have watched every episode, and I think the tears come from the fear of being voted off the show, and the fear that they have to do this at home.

Well then I could really see the reason for the tears. 6 hours a day! I feel really sorry for the guy that gained 3 pounds.

See, they should be saying that on the show. I did see one of the trainers scold one of the guys who gained weight and blamed it on him cutting his calories to 800/day behind her back. I thought that was excellent.

You're correct. I just think the show would come off looking more responsible if they reminded the viewer of just how extreme the situations are that they're seeing.

I think they need to have a male and a female winner because women are just not meant to lose weight as fast and easily as men.

That's another observation I had. I know they go by percentage, but they've never had a female winner and I doubt they ever will with the current format.

I agree. My wife has been working out and doing this diet with me and she hasn't lost 10 pounds yet. But it also didn't help her that she got the week long flu last week. But she still tried to eat right. She is always telling me if I can be married to a fat blob while I'm skinny.