The Biggest Losers Lose More Than Weight

The Biggest Loser TV show has captured the support, attention, and fascination of Americans.  Folks are cheering for the contestants during their arduous and public journey of weight loss.  There are tears, laughter, confessions, angry outbursts, hugs, full body collapses, sweating, hope and hopelessness; all the stuff of soap opera drama.  

Each viewer can see a little bit of themselves in the contestants.  We can all relate at some level to their personal struggles as they work to rebuild their self-esteem and their lives, and become the whole person that they have dreamed of.  We cheer their successes and mourn their losses as some make it and some don’t.  But, what about their lives before they became “The Biggest Loser” celebrities, and what drove them to the quest for “fat fame”?

The truth is, being fat is miserable for everyone.  Nobody is truly happy fat.  Sure, there are happy people who suffer from obesity and remain happy in spite of their weight struggle.  But, nobody is happy about the fact of being fat.  Being fat makes every day harder than not being fat.  It is harder to move or get around; to find clothing that fits;  harder on the joints, heart and blood pressure;  harder to feel confident; harder to make friends and feel accepted.  And all of this makes it harder to enjoy life every day.

Before contestants on “The Biggest Loser” get to the show, they’ve already lost a lot in their lives.  Because they haven’t lost weight, they’ve lost opportunities and the freedom to live life to the fullest.  And when the days of loss add up to years lost, the regret and sadness is real.  For this reason, we applaud the efforts and successes of “The Biggest Losers”.

The simple remedy for obesity has always been calories consumed versus calories expended.   In other words, diet and exercise.  Despite all of the faddish solutions over decades, the simple truth is still the same.  The contestants on “The Biggest Loser” work hard to burn more calories than they consume, and it pays off.  It is a difficult journey and a enormous lifestyle change, but it does pay off.  The message for all of us and our families is that weight loss is achievable if we are willing to do the work.  Even better, we need to create healthy lifestyles in our children so they never have to endure the pain of the contestants on “The Biggest Loser”.

The next time you watch “The Biggest Loser”, ask yourself what the contestants might have GAINED by eating less and being physically active year after year.  The answer is huge.  As a friend once said to me, “nothing tastes as good as being thin feels”.  And you know what?  She was right.  I think the “Biggest Losers” would agree.