Last night I was watching"The Biggest Loser" while taking down my Christmas decorations. It's not that I agree with everything the show says or does…but it helps me to understand where the people I work with get their ideas about nutrition and exercise.
Anyway…the first pair to be removed from the competition was a father and daughter team. The father was not too motivated to participate in the competition, much to the frustration of his daughter. Adding to this woman's frustration was the fact that, despite her being in the gym and working at least twice as hard as her father, she lost only 1/3 of the weight.
And every season it seems to be just like that. The women who work the hardest see the least weight loss. And every time I see some woman removed from the show for her low weight loss…I want to throw something at my television and scream,"DUH…insulin resistance!!!"
A few years ago I participated in a local TV station's version of this program. Four teams of two screened videos in order to choose the people who would be competing under our guidance. The trainer I was teamed with actually turned to me in the middle of watching a video of a woman with a PCOS-type body and said…"I hate working with this type of person" I asked why, and he responded,"Because it takes them forever to lose weight."
If you happen to be one of these people who would be kicked off of national TV for not losing weight quickly enough, or if your doctor rolls her eyes when you mention that you're eating less and exercising more with no results…take heart.
It's not that you can't lose weight and get into shape, it's more that the ways we tend to believe it needs to be done in our culture are working against the hormone profile your body has drifted into when it was not getting the right mix of good nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and relaxation.
If you watch to the end of the show, these women always do lose weight, it just takes longer for their body to respond to the new way of doing things.
So don't take these messages or slow weight loss as signs that you're destined to have the body you currently have. Just remember that your body is one that responds better to consistency and diligence and slow changes better than it does to quick fixes.
I actually liked this episode. Maybe because it was more about what was going on emotionally and less about product placement.
I especially love the way Bob is gently confronting Vicki on the emotional issues that got her on the show in the first place. I have noticed from early on that her natural facial expression seems to be a frown. And she's such a beautiful person. Last night her facial expression seemed to soften quite a bit, and she seemed more like a real person. That woman needs to smile!
I do have a question, though. It always seems at the beginning of each season the contestants at weigh-in have to strip down to fewer clothes, and as they trim up they cover themselves up more. It seems to be the opposite of what you'd think. Personally I feel uneasy about that, because it's as if the show's producers are taking advantage of the audience value they gain from showing off the"ugliness" while it's there to capitalize on. (I must qualify, I don't consider anyone ugly no matter what their size or body shape. But since the show is about reducing fat, it seems to conflictual to show off that very thing and then put clothes back on as body shapes drift smaller.)
Oh! One last thing--for those of you who travel, mathematically it doesn't make sense to explain off the lower weight losses this week because of lack of exercise. The more likely scenario is that all that eating out in Manhattan upped the sodium intake and the weigh ins occurred before the contestants were able to correct the associated water retention. I always tell my clients if they tend to eat out on weekends, Friday/Monday weigh-ins can be especially demoralizing, and they don't really tell you much about your progress. It's always best to compare Mondays to other Mondays and Fridays to other Fridays. Same days are more like each other and you're not comparing apples to oranges.
Last night's episode, as far as nutrition and exercise information, was actually pretty good.
But there is an ongoing issue that's been bothering me that, since the"meat" of the program was great, I'd like to use this post to address.
Waste.
While the contestants' waists are shrinking, the waste on the set seems to be accumulating!
NBC made a huge deal recently about promoting cleaner, greener living. They flew their Today Show people to the ends of the earth to report on global warming issues in Africa, Central America, and Australia.
While back at home, on the Biggest Loser set, they're concocting obsessive story lines that include putting the contestants in a room filled with donuts and sweets, which are likely to be pitched in the garbage once they've fulfilled their purpose as a prop.
Last night it was Thanksgiving dinner. An entire Thanksgiving dinner was cooked--and then not used--because it was unhealthy. What the…?!?!?!? You can't justify it by telling me it was later used to feed the crew, because then you're going to have to convince me that THAT double standard is ok?!?!?
A little plug for inCYST here: We focus on cleaner, greener living that turns around and helps you achieve a healthier weight. One participant in last month's class reported sleeping better within days of trying what she learned in class. Another wrote yesterday and shared within the 2 months since she's been coming…she's lost 10 pounds.
We haven't discussed calories once. In fact, we're not even focusing on food recommendations in class until this coming week.
It just really bothers me that all this wasteful living is being promoted as"healthy". But then we're also told that wasteful living makes the planet unhealthy.
So…what's the point of being healthy if it costs you the planet you live on?
I don't think it would be that hard to integrate the two concepts. In fact, I recently did some calculations for my newsletter to get YOU started on your own cleaner, greener program.
Did you know that walking one mile daily:
As one person Burns about 10 1/2 pounds of fat Saves 18 gallons of gasoline Keeps 360 pounds of carbon out of the atmosphere Keeps about $81 in your bank account
As a country Burns about 1,199,286 tons of fat Saves 4,140,000,000 gallons of gasoline (that’s 98,571,429 barrels of oil!) Keeps 41.4 million tons of carbon out of the atmosphere Gives Americans $18,630,000,000 to spend on something other than gasoline.
Note: I did these calculations with the following assumptions, and I did them when gas was about $4.25 per gallon. So they will fluctuate based on the car you drive and the price of gas. But the calculations about how much fat is burned…stay the same.
230,000,000 adult Americans 100 calories burned per mile walked 3,500 calories per pound 20 miles per gallon fuel efficiency 42 gallons of gas per barrel of oil 20 pounds of carbon per gallon of gasoline
I think it's time we send the writers of Biggest Loser their own challenge:
Let's see how much budgetary"fat" you can cut and how much"green" living education you can integrate into your program. You won't just succeed in making healthier contestants and viewers, but the entire planet might breathe more easily as well.
What really stood out for me in this episode was the positive attitude of both trainers. I know I was critical of Jillian a few weeks back, but she was different in this episode. She was still tough, and she still used strong language, but the language came from a perspective of empowerment, not abuse.
So many people are where they are when they have weight problems, because they either have low self-esteem, or because self-esteem plummeted as weight inched up. It simply isn't productive to inflict shaming language on someone who already feels poorly about himself/herself. It's not going to motivate them!
But if you use empowering language, inspiring language, words that help someone believe that they can, rather than why and how they're going to be punished when they don't…well, if you have a chance to watch the episode and watch how the players respond, you will see what I mean.
This whole thing we do as humans, shaming and blaming and hurting when things don't exactly go our way…it doesn't work in the world of weight loss, it doesn't work on the job, it doesn't work in any social situation I can think of.
I would love it if this show, as popular as it is, prescribed to that theory and used its two prominent members as examples of how to positively portray all emotions positively. Life will never be without frustration, anger, or hurt. But we can all, myself included, do a better job of expressing those feelings so they don't have to become another person's burden.
OK, they finally had a dietitian tonight! And she was fun to watch. Not some sterile woman counting out food portions. No finger shaking. No weird, nasally voice. No"I'm-recovering-from-my-own-eating-disorder-and-don't-even-look-healthy" appearance, or overly perky personality. Just a normal person who knows about food…and who wants other people to enjoy food, too.
I think my favorite thing she did was the food taste test. It's the first time, in all of the seasons of this entire show, that someone actually talked about ENJOYING food. Well, food that is healthy. It tends to be so much about what you should and shouldn't eat. But…if you don't like the food you're eating, then you aren't going to stick with the plan.
She also talked about alcohol, another first. That was a nice piece to add.
I wish they'd delve a little more into the things that can be hard to talk about, but which get you into a situation where you apply to compete on a show like this. Such as binges. Eating in private. Tricks people use to make it look like they're eating less than they really are. Painful topics, I know…but it's the kind of thing that every viewer on my side of the screen with an eating problem can relate to and would love to hear some dialogue about.
I'm even willing to bet, if the producers of this program included a little bit more of that…they would still get ratings without Jillian yelling or exercising contestants until they vomit.
Overall, this was one of the best episodes in all seasons combined. Of course I'm biased because I'm a dietitian. But then this show in large part is about food and to not have that food person be an integral part of the program is like having Law and Order without any attorneys.
I wish, when plateaus hit, that there would be a little more education. My counseling experience has taught me that plateaus, if not fully understood, can be demoralizing and demotivating. It can tempt a person pursuing weight loss to give up altogether.
Some of the things I wish you all had heard last night:
1. One of the training effects of exercise is that your body gets better at storing fuel to use during exercise. One of those fuels is glycogen. Every gram of glycogen is stored with 3 grams of water. Glycogen is not fat, it's a form of carbohydrate. If you're starting to store more glycogen at the same time you're losing fat, the weight gain can offset the weight loss.
2. The more obvious training effect is that you are also gaining muscle. Gaining muscle while losing fat can negate what the scale shows.
In other words, not all weight is fat. Not all weight loss is fat loss, and not all weight gain is fat gain.
One of the contestants, after seeing her weekly results, stated that she believed that her body was not accepting the exercise.
Au contraire, madame!
If you're gaining muscle and developing a capacity to store more fuel, which ultimately allows you to be more active, your body is alive and well and responding to your hard work in a very healthy way.
The goal of this show is to lose fat and gain muscle, is it not? Then why do they only focus on one when it comes to measuring?
I know drama makes for good television, but this thing trainer Jillian has going on with her team…started out as huh?!?!?…progressed to OMG!!!…became annoying…and last night settled in as disturbing.
She is verbally and emotionally abusive with her clients. The excuse is that they need sense knocked into them and she needs to get their attention.
I don't care what's going on, I don't care how unmotivated, I don't care what the situation. There is no excuse for the profanity and the threats.
Last night clearly showcased the different styles of each trainer. Bob is still tough, but he's affirming. He can become angry, but if something bothers him it's always expressed in a respectful fashion.
In many cases, part of the reason these contestants gained weight is as a way to stuff feelings. Part of getting better is about learning to appropriately express feelings so that they don't have to be eaten.
It's not ok to eat less, exercise more, and fling those stuffed words out into the world where they can hurt someone else.
During the show I was on the phone with a friend who was telling me about a dog trainer who, to his horror kicks dogs as part of his training. His rationale is that he can't hit them with his hand because they need to view the hand as their reward. It was ironic that I was, at the same time, watching these people submit to being verbally kicked and then, in their interviews, talk about the emotional reward for consenting to that. That is exactly how perpetrators keep their victims in the cycle of abuse.
I don't care what the situation, there is ALWAYS a way to motivate someone, light a fire under them, push them farther than they think they can go, be angry with them, etc., that does not involve verbally abusing them or publicly humiliating them. Is it just me…or isn't there already enough anger and conflict in this world?
Shouldn't this show be modeling healthy emotional health as well?
For anyone reading this post who is seeking the assistance of a physician, nutritionist, trainer, psychologist, whatever for help with your own weight. If any of them says or does anything verbally abusive to you and somehow frames it as"help"…it is your right to decide they are not for you. It is your right to walk away. It is your right to decide you deserve to be treated with respect. You don't have to put up with the Jillians of the world. Ever.
I make Tuesday nights my housecleaning nights so I can watch this show and keep up with what my clients are learning about weight, nutrition, and exercise. This is the 6th season…and it wasn't until recently, while reading a colleague's blog, that I learned that this show even had a dietitian.
Never once have I seen this dietitian interact with the contestants. Never once have I seen her be given credit for any of the meal plans the contestants follow. In fact, I've seen an ad on the program about supplementary nutrition material viewers can purchase that is credited to the show's physicians. And you know what? She's not only a dietitian…she's a professional chef!!! Why is Rocco getting more air time?
I think Bob and Jillian, the trainers, are great trainers. But every single time they start to talk about food…it's a product placement opportunity. Watch for that next time around. Tonight it was about jello and milk, which turned out to be program sponsors.
Has the dietitian been silenced because she'd talk about all foods and not just the ones financially supporting the show?
It just doesn't seem fair, as much as the show is about nutrition, that the nutrition expert has been relegated to be completely off camera and not be given credit for much of the work she apparently does.
I wish this person would get the credit she deserves. Maybe if she did, the food information would feel less like poor attempts at sneaking more advertising time into the show and more like information that has some scientific basis.
Cheryl, I hope some day you get to come in front of the cameras and be rightfully acknowledged for everything you clearly do.
I'll keep this short. Did you notice how the participants were chided for not exercising enough on their road trip? And how even though they relaxed and had fun and did not kill themselves exercising, they lost more weight than the week before when exercise was their full time job?
That says something important. Exercise, regular exercise, promotes weight loss. But if you're taking a break and eating well, once in awhile, you can still lose weight.
The numbers will almost never exactly correlate.
I thought it was great that the contestants took some time to learn how to relax. And I was disappointed that none of the processing the trainers did about the trip discussed the positives of the trip. What was learned, what new habits were continued. They did make a good point, that you can exercise wherever you are, and the fact that there isn't a gym is no excuse to not be active.
But it seemed to me that not adopting a proactive approach, showing the participants how to do that, was a lost educational opportunity.
Normally I wouldn't promote a show like this on a blog like this, but a recent client shared that last season a woman was diagnosed with PCOS after competing. She happens to be someone who really struggled with weight loss during the competition. My client shared with me, that she remembered thinking when hearing about the PCOS diagnosis,"Wow, if a show of experts can't even help someone like me, I don't have much hope."
Until that conversation, I'd kept my thoughts about this show primarily to myself, but realizing it may be important to provide hope to a segment of the population for whom this show may not be entirely productive…I've decided to make it a regular blog entry throughout this season of Biggest Loser.
And, I have a team of experts to help! The contributors to this blog will be taking turns sharing their thoughts, expertise, and insights. We'll be so much better at this with all of these viewpoints than if it was just me. I hope you enjoy our little series.
Now, about Episode One.
I'm going to use my turn to talk about something that has bothered me since the show's inception--how"progress" is described. Weight loss is the only measurement used in this competition. And it is never mentioned, anywhere, anytime, that weight consists of several things: fat, muscle, water, glycogen (how carbohydrate is stored) and bone, primarily.
At one point in the show, Jillian was showing how the Body Bugg works. She stated that the calories burned in a typical day are about 3,000. One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. So if we use her statement and calculate out a week, the average Biggest Loser contestant burns 21,000 calories in one week. That works out to about 6 pounds. Any loss over that is coming primarily from water and possibly even muscle.
In my exercise physiology program, we learned that different fuels are burned at different intensities. The more intense the exercise, the more likely it is that fat is not being burned. At high exercise intensities, the body switches to burning carbohydrate, which it gets from breaking down glycogen. Each gram of glycogen is stored with 3 grams of water. So at the intensities I saw in this episode (which involved working so hard that some people literally fell off of treadmills while others retreated to corners to vomit), my guess is that fat is not what was burned.
Remember, this is a commercial television show that depends on ratings. Higher weight losses draw in bigger audiences and more advertising dollars, so what are you going to do to get there if time only permits a"measly" 6 pounds a week of weight loss? You're going to do what it takes to purge as much water and glycogen out of the body as you possibly can. I realize purging is a bad pun given the fact that people were throwing up, but it leaves me wondering if the trainers are truly aiming for health, or if they are focused on goals outside of the welfare of the contestants.
It seems to me, especially since two contestants this season aren't even cleared to fully exercise because of medical risk, that there would be some sort of attention paid to calculating target heart rates and staying in the AEROBIC range in order to maximize loss of body FAT. But then my goal would be the long term health of the person I'm working with, not my professional reputation in a televised weight loss competition.
When working with women with PCOS, I always have to keep in mind that they hit the top of their aerobic range at lower levels of exercise intensity than other women. They tend to be those clients who exercise harder and longer than anyone else…only to gain weight. It is one of the hardest things I do in this kind of work, to convince my clients to trust that if they drop the intensity, it will help to facilitate the right kind of weight loss. Especially when competitions like this one push for the exact opposite mentality.
But the wall these contestants always hit a few weeks into the season? It's about having completely run out of glycogen to purge, muscle weight gain that is occurring at the same time fat is lost, and more rapidly if target exercise heart rates are not respected.
If the measurements used to calculate progress were a combination of weight AND a body fat measurement from which total muscle gained and total fat lost were factored in, you'd see very different results. You'd probably also see a lot higher self-esteem in the contestants and fewer contestants trying to throw the weigh-ins with water loading when they start to panic about whether or not their hard work will show up on the scale.
If you're one of those people who tends to lose weight slowly or even gain weight when you feel like you've really worked hard, try this.
1. Calculate your target heart rate as follows. -Subtract your current age from 220. This is your maximum heart rate. -Multiply your maximum heart rate by.6, and then by.8. -The numbers you get when you do that are the lower and upper heart rates you need to be in, in order to be most efficiently burning fat.
2. The next time you exercise, stop a few times and take your pulse. If your heart rate is exceeding the upper limit of your target heart range, you need to drop your exercise intensity.
Many women I've challenged to do this are very surprised at how less intensely they need to exercise. And how much more pleasant exercising can be when it doesn't have to entail losing your lunch in front of a crowd of people.
