Imagine watching someone lose 20 pounds in 1 week, with a team cheering him on in the background and a crowd erupting in applause. It was a Tuesday evening and I decided to flip on the TV to find something mindless to wind down my day. I came across the premier of the newest reality show entitled “The Biggest Loser” and I watched in absolute horror. I wanted to turn the station but I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The show pits 2 teams against one another to see who can lose the most weight each week. The teams are made up of men and women ranging from 200 to over 400 pounds. Each team is assigned a trainer who puts them through insane workouts and a ridiculous eating plan in an attempt to help their team shed the most weight. This show is disturbing to me on many levels. First of all the concept of losing the most weight each week is not only pointless, it is down right dangerous. It’s pointless because weight loss is not necessarily good when it drops off so quickly. We know that drastic drops in calorie intake trigger the body into thinking you are starving (in fact many of them are!) In starvation mode, the body begins to protect fat and burn muscle. Essentially the body is preparing for a famine. Muscle burns calories, fat does not. When your body is put in a situation where calories are scarce, it starts to get rid of the “calorie-expensive” muscle and preserves the “calorie rich” fat. Conveniently muscle also stores lots of water. Therefore when you lose muscle you also lose weight from water. Add into that equation the fact they are all on low-carbohydrate, dehydrating diets and voila…instant dramatic (albeit temporary) weight loss. At the end of the premier show, after 1 grueling week of completely inappropriate workouts and eating mainly salad and protein, each contestant had to remove their shirt and step up onto a scale with their weight projected in huge numbers above their head while being watched by their team-mates and a judgmental audience. I can’t think of anything more opposite to my philosophy of helping people lose weight. I’ve been running fitness and nutrition programs for almost 10 years helping people to stop weighing themselves, to focus on clothes fitting better rather than frustrating numbers on the scale, to adopt fitness programs they will enjoy for life, to set realistic goals with small achievable steps and to adopt an eating style that promotes health without deprivation. I’m proud to say my weight loss programs are overwhelmingly successful and would never produce the material for a reality show.

I couldn’t help but watch the second week of the show to see what would happen. The average weight loss in the first week was about 15 pounds. In the second week the true “reality” hit. Despite even harder workouts and no cheating or treats many of the contestants did not lose a single pound and in fact the young man who lost 20 pounds the week prior, gained 3 pounds the second week. He actually cried on the scale and I’m sure millions of people felt his pain. Perhaps that is what “reality tv” is all about. Identifying with others. I sincerely hope people will look beyond the crazy weight loss tactics and take a positive message from this show – fad diets and extreme exercise are not sustainable. The best way to achieve a healthy weight is to take it slow and get on a realistic plan that includes sound advice, motivation and support.