Losers…
OK, I admit it…. I watch the Biggest Loser. It is the only reality TV show that I’ve ever really watched and certainly the only the one I’ve been hooked on. And yeah… I’ve been there since the beginning. In all fairness, we cancelled our cable last year- so I had to give up my food network addiction (Alton Brown, I miss you!) and my love for HGTV. I love making fun of the mainstream advice that the trainers give, not to mention the mini-commercials that riddle the episodes.
Like Bob really eats Quaker’s Weight Control Oatmeal EVERY day for breakfast. At least in this week’s pop quiz, all the remaining contestants knew the calorie equivalent of a pound (3500 Kcal). Before this show, I’m sure most of them stayed as far away from that knowledge as possible.
The way the producers have stretched this show into a two-hour infomercial is almost inspirational. And yeah, the writer’s strike probably had something to do with it, but it is definitely the most brilliant marketing move ever made by 24-hour fitness.
The irony of Ian and I watching this is certainly not lost on me… he is pretty scrawny and I am not exactly huge….we’re both underweight according to our BMIs. We joke about him going on a show for Biggest Gainers, where they take skinny guys and see who can gain the most muscle.
But seriously, there is something very inspirational about the positive underlying message. These people are taking their life in their hands. They are doing something, they are motivated, they are making changes. I also can’t believe how hard these obese contestants can push themselves (you know the casting crew must do some serious testing on these people to make sure they can handle that type of physical activity). And I do love the before & afters.
I am addicted to the Biggest Loser the same way I love shows about remodelling and flipping houses. (I would watch Extreme Home Makeover, but Ian won’t have it). In the end there are worse things than being left with a compulsion to do core exercises and scrub the bathtub.
