I’m watching The Biggest Loser. I have to say I love this show. Always have. Props to Cheryl Forbery, RD the show’s dietitian. I wish she got more screen time.
I was surprised (and not at the same time) with the contestants being clueless to the calories in the “super bowl foods”. The guesses between them for 7-layer-dip varied from 800 to 4,500 calories!
I though the celeb chef segment was excellent. He focused on flavoring healthy foods — without fat! He took 900 calorie chicken wings and converted them to a 200 calorie dish. He spent a day with one contestant, took him to the grocery store and cooked with him.
These small changes give big reactions! The contestants realize that the fatty foods aren’t worth the calories and hard exercise especially when there are alternatives that “taste better” in there opinion.
So I have to wonder… it is great that this show can reach the public… but is it scalable for public health?
Can’t we figure out how to get this type of personal attention (trainers, dietitians, and chefs) to families ready for a change? Sure… for the “right price”…
I would think that for one visit with a trainer, RD and chef it would run around $500-600. Multiply that times several hours a day of focused attention.
How do you take something that obviously works and scale it to the masses? Any ideas????
One criticism of the show is all the product placement. I don’t mind the “healthy” ads – loved the ziploc steamer bags (veggies, herbs, micro… done and done). But when “trainer” – not RD – Bob tells people to put away their oatmeal – a 1 cup portion… and replace it with “fiber one” cereal – a 1/2 cup portion, I just want to put a dunce cap on him. Hello???? A. Don’t treat oatmeal like a poor breakfast choice B. who in the world only sticks to 1/2 cup? Nobody. Now, don’t get me wrong… I love my fiber one cereals and bars. But be realistic with what you show…. Bob is mis-educating people. Show the world a real breakfast that includes the product placement (e.g. 1 cup cereal with milk and fresh fruit). Don’t make them think to eat a healthy breakfast they need to deal with 100 calories of cereal and 90 calories of milk.
To end on a high note, they did air that contestants skip breakfast… a big health no-no.
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | breakfast, the biggest loser
I’m a huge fan of TBL as well, but haven’t seen much of this season…must catch up. I’ve often wondered the same question since there are SO many people who audition for the show and so few that are chosen. I believe that America’s employers need to step up their committment to providing the tools and access to make healthy lifestyle change. So many companies have “workplace wellness” programs, but these offer little more than a HRA and phone calls from “trained coaches”. Oy!
Absolutely! I especially like the fact that they employ qualified professionals like dietitians. Having a show like this has shed light on the fact that American’s are grossly overweight and when it comes into your home each week….it’s personal. I’d much rather see a scalable program such as this in cities and towns all over the country employ qualified people to enable personal success. It could be a win-win for participants and leaders. Creating jobs and healthy citizens is what I’m thinking.
I’ve seen the show only a couple of times but I agree that it would be nice to see more of the dietitian! Wouldn’t it be nice if we could figure out how to bring the support services of this show to the the general population…
Half a cup of cereal sounds stupid. I mean thats like a mouthfull, lol. I’m not overweight either.
Not many people stick to those small portions. Truthfully, you should not be afraid to eat a big breakfast. Everyone is different but 500-600 calories can be reasonable for active people. That’s 1800 for your meals and another few hundred for snacks.
That’s like having:
- 1 cup 150 cal cereal (like Kashi, cheerios, etc)
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- piece of fruit
- 2 slices of turkey bacon or soy sausage
- toast with a tsp of butter or jelly
Good question Rebecca. It’s actually something I spend a fair amount of time thinking about. Some people need such intensive food re-training, but this is expensive. However surely there must be a mass-market, larger scale way of conveying this message? At the moment I work one-on-one with clients, occasionally two-to-one, when dealing with couples. But that’s it. However I have at the back of my head thoughts and ideas about finding a way to meaningfully work with more people. But I still haven’t come up with the formula of exactly how to do this. How to individualise, while also generalise. Hmm, much to ponder.
There’s lots of “biggest loser” inspired workplace wellness programs. I have thought about doing something in the community… and may continue to pursue that.
I don’t know if it is the appeal of t.v. and fame that motivates people in addition to the idea of losing weight for good.
I know one of the contestants who was the “second biggest loser” and he is a gem! In his case, it was partly the allure of being on the show, but then eventually became about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for health.
People of limited means can’t get the support like at the BL camp. Maybe there needs to be many “mini camps” in communities. Test the model with a small grant, show that it works, then take it big time.
One solution to “mini-camps” could be to keep the BL model of partners working together but in this case, have them compete against each other.
Here’s the idea: I just found this board game called “The Fitness Challenge” and it is AWESOME! Simply put, you pick a partner, place a wager, and play the game (for 8 weeks or as long as you like!)
Once you’ve chosen your partner (someone who’s desire to get fit is just as high as yours), you place a wager (anything from “you have to shovel my snow or “we go to lunch, you pick up the tab”) the game comes complete with wager coupons (you can even write your own wager!) And then you play the game! (which means get moving!!)
You get 1 point each time you do an activity and then 3 points on the third day (the goal is to get folks moving at least 3 days/week). The person who accumulates the most points wins for that week. And what they win is determined by their wager! It’s so much fun and it will surely get you motivated!! I found it on amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/The-Fitness-Challenge-Board-Game/dp/B000A38I60/sr=8-1/qid=1167883844/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3913859-4493730?ie=UTF8&s=hpc
or http://www.thefitnesschallenge.com
have fun! hope this helps some!!
I totally agree! It’s funny, just wrote about breakfast cereals in my blog. I wrote how the label can tell you a certain calorie amount, and then says it’s for half a cup. Who eats half a cup of cereal? I always go for the cereals that allow me to have one cup and still fall under 150 calories. If I do that, I can add some almonds or strawberries, or blueberries! I’ve noticed that Fiber One tends to be higher in caloric value. Don’t get me wrong, all their products taste delicious, just higher in calorie.
Hi, Really interesting information.Your blog sounds good. Keep posting more tips for health.
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[...] Biggest Loser Couples Reflections Posted on May 13, 2009 by rebeccascritchfield So I’ve been thinking about The Biggest Loser and its impact on American culture for some time. I can’t help but notice all the efforts in government and healthcare to inspire change and how little really gets done. Cross that with The Biggest Loser and you have to ask – is The Biggest Loser scalable to the population? [...]
Great article. I definitely think now is the time to do something about obesity around the world.
The biggest looser is my fav show also.
Your blog sounds good. Keep posting more tips for health.
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Sadly, I think the public is too ignorant to apply this to their own lives..
I can’t help but notice all the efforts in government and healthcare to inspire change and how little really gets done.
I am agree with your views. Biggest Loser is really great show.
It helps many people.
I think this kind of show made again and again for helping general peole.
This is just another one of those reality shows. Unfortunately, most of the contestants end up gaining back all the weight they lost. Just another show for ratings………….
I have to agree. I talk to people frequently about diets (they suck). They have to be willing to change their life style. It only starts with what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and goes so much deeper. What do they do during the day.
Chris Martin
Life is a marathon not a 100 yard sprint, enjoy it.