The Biggest Loser

In the health and wellness industry, The Biggest Loser is very controversial. Does it really serve as a good example of how to lose weight in a healthy and safe manner?

Personally, I love The Biggest Loser because I find it inspirational. Not only are people losing weight and getting fit, but they find a strength within themselves that they never knew existed. Props to all the contestants, especially Tara (my favorite)!

Now, just because I find it to be motivational doesn't mean I think it should be used as a model for fitness and nutrition education.

Here are a few of The Biggest Loser mistakes:

Overtraining
The show glorifies the 5-8hr workouts contestants perform on a daily basis. Exercise novices may think, "8 hours is great! The longer I'm in the gym, the more weight I'll lose!" Wrong. Overtraining can result in injury, reduce your body's resistance to illness and can be mentally taxing if your performance is decreasing while your effort is increasing (a common symptom of overtraining). To put 8 hours of stress on the body of someone who hasn't worked out in years is dangerous. This season The Biggest Loser had several injuries surface including a stress fracture, a hip injury and the reaggravation of several old knee injuries.

And, please don't even get me started on the marathon challenge where contestants were asked to run a marathon on 3-4 weeks notice! It takes MONTHS to safely train for a marathon. I actually fell victim to overtraining last year by ramping up my running routine too quickly. As a result, I suffered a high stress fracture in my tibia. I was required to be off the leg completely for 3 months and wasn't able to run for several months after. It was a lesson I'll never forget -- pushing too hard can actually set you back in accomplishing your goals.

Drastic weekly weight loss
To lose 10 to 25 pounds within a week is not safe. This figure is definitely much different from the 2-pound a week loss recommended by many health and fitness professionals. Occasionally, adults with significantly high BMI's can safely lose a little more than that, but typically its not the norm for safe weight loss. Contestants were asked to give up their favorite foods and restrict their diets to approximately 1300 calories. Obviously, this is not a sustainable diet. The focus should be on making healthy lifestyle changes, opposed to extreme dieting. These drastic weight losses can also lead to people setting unrealistic expectations for themselves. Most doctors recommend losing weight slowly and steadily.

Overemphasis on the scale
The Biggest Loser focuses solely on weight. The problem with that is weight is not necessarily an indicator of how healthy a person is. Instead people should be measuring body fat, strength, aerobic capacity and flexibility.

When someone says that they want to "lose weight", they often mean that they want to lose fat. Anyone can lose weight, but it takes a well planned program to lose fat. When you just look at the numbers on the scale, and "weight loss", you also risk the loss of lean body mass, which is essentially muscle that drives your metabolic rate down. A successful fat-loss program centers on the reduction of body fat levels and an increase in lean muscle mass. Honestly I could go on and on about this topic, but what you need to remember is that weight is only a portion of a much bigger picture. Focus on increasing lean muscle. The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest!

Though The Biggest Loser is a bit unrealistic in terms of safe fitness programming its basic principles ring true: Focus on portion control and eating healthy foods, surround yourself with supportive and motivating people, and exercise regularly. Consistency is key!

The Biggest Loser shows us it's never too late to have the life you want. Why not start now?