The Biggest Loser Secrets and Scary Dark Truths
The Biggest Loser Secrets aren’t that hard to hide. As time goes on, more and more of the former contestants are coming out and exposing the truth. While the reality TV show claims to have helped hundreds of people lose weight and get healthy, quite the opposite is happening. But first, let’s understand what this reality show is all about.
NBC’s The Biggest Loser debuted in 2004 and lasted until 2016. It moved to a new network in 2020. But, we are over it, and unimpressed with The Biggest Loser at this point. The reality show spotlights obese contestants competing for a cash prize for 30 weeks. They choose the winner by the person who loses the highest percentage of weight in regards to their starting weight.
The Rebound Effect
When one sets out to lose weight, he or she wants to keep it off, forever! That’s not the long-term result when someone competes on The Biggest Loser. Actually, the end result is rebounding, which is gaining all that weight, plus more, back. That’s not a success.
The Biggest Loser contestants lose roughly 10 pounds a week their first week. Some lose even more, up to 20-30+ pounds in a week’s time. This is a far cry from the medical guidelines of safe weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week. The reason the contestants appear more in shape and even muscular as the weeks pass is because the fat around the muscles is lost, and therefore, muscles become more visible. The muscles were always there, just covered by fat.
Rachel Frederickson, a former contestant, lost 155 pounds. She actually WON season 15! Sounds great, right? No so much. In the time she spent on the program she went from 260 pounds to 105 pounds! In less than a month of going back home she gained 20 pounds back. The show makes viewers believe an inaccurate picture of what healthy weight loss should look like.
Why They Gain Weight Back
There are several reasons why competitors gain their weight back so easily and quickly. One reason is because they are on extremely restrictive diets. Eating much less than you are used to can stress your body and increase hunger. In addition, the more one exercises, the hungrier her or she gets. Then, when they return home, they get back to their habits. Even if they try to stick to the harsh dieting restrictions, they are not too successful because it is hard. To lose weight, you have to train your body to receive less calories and to exercise more, over time, not jammed in 30 weeks.
The fact is, it’s hard once a contestant goes back to his or her normal routine. It’s nearly impossible to dedicate as many hours to working out and restrictive dieting when you have to go back to work, chores, family, etc., and were not properly taught balance between them all. Stephanie Pappas at LiveScience.com states, “risks aside, weight-loss experts say that the biggest problem with The Biggest Loser is that extreme methods of dropping pounds are less likely to work in the long run. Several former Biggest Loser contestants have regained some or all of the weight.”
Overtraining Contestants
Overtraining is not a mythical word. It’s a real thing and many people fall victim to it, newbies as well as seasoned lifters. Former contestants state that buckets were kept close by because they were constantly throwing up. This is because contestants were doing workouts that were 10 times the recommended amount for overweight and obese individuals. While it is important to workout hard and sweat, there’s no reason you should be throwing up or need medical attention.
Contestant Kai Hibbard reported that she had to work out for 5-8 hours straight. She also claimed that there was no easing into these intense workouts. She states that her feet were bleeding through her shoes within 3 weeks of filming. The Biggest Loser – Second Chances involved a one-mile race on foot the first week. The event hospitalized two of the contestants!
But The Biggest Loser provides medical exams for the contestants. However, it seems that many of the consultations are completely ignored. For example, Kai’s first workout on the program was 4 hours long. It consisted of bodyweight work, rowing, kettle bells, interval training, Stairmaster, treadmill, and tire flipping outside. That’s completely over-the-top for someone overweight and new to fitness. What were those trainers thinking?
Extreme, Unsupervised and Dangerous Conditions
The winner of the first season admitted that he dropped some weight by fasting and dehydrating himself until he was urinating blood. Nonetheless, Ryan regained all his weight back. Kai said that she and other contestants would drink as little water as possible in the 24 hours before a weigh-in and would workout in as much clothing as possible when the cameras were off. In just 14 days after the show ended, she regained over 30 pounds! She now admits that she struggles with an eating disorder, being afraid to eat.
The fact is, the “trainers”, and I use that term very loosely, on The Biggest Loser are killing the contestants metabolisms. When you damage your metabolism, your body is not burning calories at the rate it should. Even the New York Times reported: “As the years went by and the numbers on the scale climbed, the contestant’s metabolisms did not recover… It was as if their bodies were intensifying their effort to pull the contestants back to their original weight.”
Final Thoughts on The Biggest Loser Secrets
The Biggest Loser Secrets are dangerous. The weight loss process used on the program boils down to extreme calorie restriction in combination with up to 6 hours of
strenuous exercise a day. So, basically, it’s crash dieting and overtraining. Such extremes sets one up for risks such as irregular heartbeat, weakening of the heart muscle, and plummeting potassium and electrolytes. Let’s not forget about the long-term metabolic downgrade which can lead to depression and a whole host of illnesses.
Now, if you were inspired from the contestants and would like to lose weight the right way, the healthy way, then look below for my free guide…
