'It's A Miracle No One Has Died Yet': The Biggest Loser Returns, Despite Critics' Warns
The NBC show, which begins its 17 th season on Monday, has been accused of putting amusement before health with its focus on competitive weight loss
The Biggest Loser is back. After more than a 30% drop in ratings last season, some were questioning if the competitive weight loss reality show would be canceled altogether. But after considerable delay, its 17 th season will premiere on Monday on NBC. The topic is, with so much criticism suggesting the show does more damage than good, whether it should return at all?
It was the biggest misstep of my life, Kai Hibbard, the win of season three told the Guardian. As part of the application process Hibbard had to sign a non-disclosure agreement proscribing her from publicly speaking about the show without first get approval from a public relations representative from NBC. But her experience has inspired her to be an outspoken critic irrespective of a possible lawsuit, though she has received several cease and desist letters from the network.
In an interview with the Guardian, Hibbard described incessant fat shaming by trainers, ridiculous exercise regimens that were done solely for amusement purposes, dehydration for weigh-ins, and manipulation by producers to pick wins and make villains.
Kai Hibbards before and after photo from The Biggest Loser, season three. Photo: NBC via Getty Images In my season there was a woman named Heather who was made to look like a combative, lazy bitch, Hibbard said. But in actuality, she had a torn calf muscle and had developed bursitis in both knees. When she refused to run, they edited it to construct her looking lazy.
According to Hibbard, the presents producers try to lead viewers to believe contestants have lost weight faster than they have. Nobody on the show lost 20 pounds in a week, she said. Once, a week was actually three weeks because of the shooting schedule.
Hibbard also said contestants shall include participation in dehydration tactics prior to weigh-ins to make it appear as though they had lost more pounds. We would put on a ton of clothes, shut all the doors and windows and work up for two to three hours to sweat out as much weight as we could.
There is no good reason to pick up a piece of driftwood and sprint down the beach when you weigh 265 pounds, except that it looks good for the camera, Hibbard said. The contestants are pushed to do daily workouts that are approximately 10 times the amount that is recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine. The fact that puking buckets are always nearby, and regularly use, is telling.
According to one former contestant, the extreme weight loss tactics used on the show lead to a high relapse rate. Suzanne Mendonca, from season two, explained to the New York Post last year that the reason why The Biggest Loser is reluctant to do a show reunion is because were all fat again.
Eric Ravussin, a prof of human physiology at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, published a study on The Biggest Loser in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology& Metabolism. His findings help explain why Biggest Loser contestants put back on the weight they lost so quickly.
The Biggest Loser season 17. Photo: NBC/ Getty Images Ravussin and his team compared 12 people from The Biggest Loser with 12 people who lost similar quantities of weight via gastric bypass surgery. Because of the formers extreme exercise regimens, the presents contestants lost less muscle and more fat than the surgery group, but their drop in resting metabolic rate was doubled that of the gastric bypass group.
In other terms, despite all the exercise, the metabolisms of the biggest losers crashed hard much harder than the individuals who lose weight at a gentler pace.
Its hence not surprising to consider contestants on the show regains the weight, especially when you consider the phenomenon called post-starvation hyperphagia, which, he explained, is scientist-speak for pigging out. A 1997 examine published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that after a period of starvation, a hormonal reply causes people to overeat, often gaining more than what they lost in the first place.
And construct no mistake; the contestants on the show are starving. By the end I was working out six to eight hours a day and eating hundreds of thousands of calories a day or less, Hibbard said.
Harley Pasternak, a Los Angeles-based trainer and New York Times bestselling writer, was hired as the first trainer on the show in 2004. In an interview with the Guardian, Pasternak said that during the course of its presents development phase he formed reservations and pulled out before filming began for the 2004 series premiere in October. The more I learned about it, the less it seemed like it would be a good idea for me, he said.
Pasternak, who has a masters degree in exercise science, said the dramatization of the weight-loss process, with screaming and yell and weeping worried him. He also expressed concern over potential traumata due to over-exercising. Pasternak is not the only trainer to turn down a role on the show for ethical reasons.
These entertaining scenarios make for great television, said Pasternak, but its not for someone who is concerned with constructing people healthy.
For Pasternak, the final straw came when producers cast Los Angeles-based personal trainer Jillian Michaels alongside him. The last straw was when they cast an actress opposite me, he said of Michaels. Though Michaels does have some personal train certifications, Pasternak did not consider her as a professional. I was going up against a Tv trainer , not a real one.
Michaels went on to be the presents trainer for a dozen seasons in total, permitting her to build a multimillion-dollar fitness empire. She left The Biggest Loser in 2014 and this month will premiere her new reality show focused on her personal life called Just Jillian.
For 12 years, Jillian Michaelss tactics wreaked havoc on show contestants. To motivate her team she often hurled insults, and verbally threatened contestants as they attempted to meet their weight loss targets. Here is a selection of her quotes from previous seasons 😛 TAGEND Trainer Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser, season five. Photo: NBC via Getty Images
'It's A Miracle No One Has Died Yet': The Biggest Loser Returns, Despite Critics' Warns
'It's A Miracle No One Has Died Yet': The Biggest Loser Returns, Despite Critics' Warns
'It's A Miracle No One Has Died Yet': The Biggest Loser Returns, Despite Critics' Warns
'It's A Miracle No One Has Died Yet': The Biggest Loser Returns, Despite Critics' Warns
'It's A Miracle No One Has Died Yet': The Biggest Loser Returns, Despite Critics' Warns