Biggest Loser might be Big Set up for Failure

I watched the season finale of the biggest loser last week and I am still thinking about it. I had not seen the show before. As a nutritionist I have heard so much about it that I needed to experience it first hand to see what all of the hype was about. I had such mixed feelings when watching it. Sometimes I felt like crying with joy and other times I wanted to shake the TV with frustration. Being a compassionate person I am excited to see people setting goals and feel the thrill and confidence that comes with reaching them. However I am left feeling concerned about the future for some of the participants. How sustainable is their weight loss going to be?

For one where is the team that they were working with? It appeared to be their trainers provided all of their support. Even for the best trainer on the planet this would be too much. We each have a different specialty area which is why the team approach is most successful. Maybe they omit having a nutritionist because they might not be able to do all of the food plugs that I saw. Working with clients over the years with sustainable weight loss I see that people often need a trainer along with a nutritionist and therapist. I think this really helps set people up for success on all levels. Because after a tough day at work if someone’s usual pattern is to go for the ice cream, that is going to be a challenge to break. People need to gain the skills to learn how to deal with stress and how to eat throughout the day so that they don’t get cravings. The underlying issues for their weight gain where not addressed so therefore bound to repeat themselves. How sad to provide an unsustainable plan that would be unrealistic to follow outside of the pressure of such intense competition.

I don’t mean to be super negative. I am happy for them and their success however, I am concerned about their long term happiness. The reality of the situation is that most diets fail. Over 95% of people that lose weight on a diet gain it back and then some- usually 5 more pounds. Plus health was not a priority. The woman who won for the most weight loss looked very unhealthy; deficient, frail and highly susceptible to illness. The runner up was a younger woman who looked like she had more vitality but showed strong signs of eating disorder behavior and potential. I wonder for her how not achieving the goal she strove so hard to reach will affect her eating post show. I doubt it will be good.

I would love to see more support for these women but the focus is on weight loss at all costs. I find this sad. I would like to see a follow up on all of the participants of the biggest loser a year after the show and see how they are doing. Did they really get the support they needed for long term success? Did they have a true lifestyle change that was sustainable? My marker for success when I work with weight loss clients is not what their weight is 2 months after seeing me but what is their weight after 2 years.

At the International Eating Disorders Institute our goal is to create healthy relationships with food while teaching skills to cope with life so that women in our culture do not need eating disorders and have a healthy body image.

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