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The Biggest Loser: do you respond to being shouted at?

Written by
January 27, 2012
Be Healthy
42 Comments

I have sat watching the new season of  The Biggest Loser this week with tears flowing down my cheeks.

I wasn’t crying for the contestants’ weight. I was crying for the way that the producers of this show portray the contestants as being somehow less than human for being the size that they are.

That these people could not possibly be happy unless they entered the “house” to be subjected to shouting, taunting and humiliation.

THAT made me cry.

I know, I know. Why am I even watching? (As it turns out … fewer of us are watching this year.)

I really don’t know why I watch.

Whatever the reason, I’m watching no longer.

The producers seemed to have forgotten that these contestants are people. Real people. With real lives and real feelings.

To have the trainers shout at each of them as they start hard core training is just abuse and certainly not a way to engender any long-term positive lifestyle change.

I just don’t understand it. Why, if these contestants have done little or no exercise before entering the show, should they be subjected from day one to the kind of training program that normally would be reserved for an experienced athlete?

Why should there be challenges where they are made to feel tempted to eat the very foods they’re told not to eat?

And why should they be shouted at like naughty children?

I’ll tell you why.

The producers WANT the contestants to vomit in a bucket, collapse on the gravel ground and throw a steel bar over the head of a trainer … because it makes GOOD television.

Please! If this is GOOD television, give me the bad stuff any day.

Really, are we still judging people’s self worth on the way that they look? Really?

Exercise physiologist Liz Nelson summed it up beautifully on her blog this week:

Promoting weight loss as a path to finding the love of others is just nonsensical and doesn’t really address the real issue as to why or how people find themselves overweight.   Or get to the heart of self love and self acceptance.

For example, I believe you’re in a much better place to lose weight (if that is your choice) when you can say to yourself, “I like and accept myself for who I am today.  I am overweight and not thrilled by it, but I don’t have to lose weight to be a better person or to be worthwhile. I can choose to lose weight because it will likely help me to feel better, have more energy, look better and be generally healthier”.

As opposed to,  “I’m fat, worthless and unloveable – how could anyone like me because I’m so big? Because I don’t have a partner, I’m hopeless and worthless!”

Liz, what we need is more of you. More reasoned, empathetic and helpful trainers.

People who will help others lose weight – should they want to – without making them feel like less of a person in doing so.

It’s the same when I work with personal styling clients. No matter what size, shape, age or stage, I want each and every one of the women I work with to feel the best they can about themselves. Right. Now.

We DO deserve to feel this way. Without any shouty, shouty behaviour or public weigh-ins.

What do you think? Do you respond to being shouted at? Do you think another person’s self worth should be based on the way they look? Do you even watch The Biggest Loser?

  • Maryanne

    Well said, exactly the reasons why I refuse to watch the show. Has TV in Australia sunk to a new low?

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      I think it has, Maryanne.

  • http://www.facebook.com/louisa.gormley louisagormley

    I watched my first and last episode of the season this week. Its not cool, not cool at all. We do we teach our children that this behaviour is wrong, and there it is on national television beaming into our homes each night. Really disappointed, it is a program that families should be watching together; yet we are switching off.

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      I know, I struggle with that too. We have to switch it off now.

  • sc_4ef58187eef42c2b407861f9ed74df0f

    My exercise physiologist hates these shows because the trainers’ techniques are very rarely based on science. He also hates the yelling and it is not part of his practice and if it was I would leave.
    I also hate how the trainers think they are psychologists, making people jump off flying foxes to leave their lives behind. WTF?

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      There should be a more reasoned, real life approach. And I would leave a trainer who treated me this way too.

  • Dana

    So well said. I’m not watching this year. Not after Tiffany’s comment about they wouldn’t have been happy at that weight. It makes me sad the crap they put people through.

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      It makes me sad too and Tiffany – or any of them – should not be making judgement about whether or not someone is happy based on their weight.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=732380361 gabyricketts

    I personally would give my right arm to be on Biggest Loser. I am not hugely overweight, but could drop a stone in the measurements… why? Because I am lazy and don’t have the motivation to do it myself. I am also a single mother, who works full-time and studies part time.

    Here’s the thing – if I was to go on Biggest Loser it would be in the knowledge that I would be yelled at, screamed at and pushed to my levels of endurance. I would know this because I have watched practically every season and every season follows the same pattern. They go in overweight and come out the other side completely different people. They know what they are in for because they, like me, have watched every season themselves and they know what they are in for.

    Sure, not everyone responds to being yelled or screamed at, but those that do are happy enough to go on shows like biggest loser. This is what works for them.

    As for your comment about the Producers creating situations that are good for television – well that’s life in the digital age! Everything we do is done with the aim of making it look good for consumption of some sort. The thing is, there are plenty of people out there that will continue to watch this show and some life yourself that will choose to turn it off. That’s ok.

    The harsh reality is that people who are overweight do not feel good about themselves, no matter what they say or do. And yes we live in a world where what we look like is judged accordingly. Thats the hard reality….. the people on biggest loser at the moment are the fattest group they have ever had worldwide – that is a harsh indictment of Australia.

    We are a fat nation. It’s time to get real…!

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      I”m not someone who would respond to being shouted at. I would shut down. I want care, compassion and understanding. That’s what would work in this situation for me.

      • Beth Cregan

        It’s true, the contestants are ‘transformed’ during The Biggest Loser but I am not sure that makes them completely different people. I imagine the judement process goes on inside their heads long after the show is over. They may look more socially acceptable but the damage is done.

        • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

          I’m not a professional in that area but I would agree with you – it’s such a quick time that they are there and then – bam – back in the real world.

  • fashionadjacent

    The problem is that even when people criticize this hateful show, that just adds to the “buzz” and the producers sit back and pat themselves on the back for creating a show that “creates controversy”. I think it’s a horrible show.

    The fact of the matter is, is that, just like EVERY other “weight loss solution” out there, the techniques demonstrated on this show just don’t work over the long term. There is NO diet/operation/etc that has a better than 98% failure rate over five years. If shame worked, there’d be a lot less of us fat people walking around. The sad thing is that nothing works, in the long term, for the majority of people.. so a focus on the impossible goal of weight loss is just pure cruelty.

    What we can influence and change are people’s general health, and taking a HAES (Health At Every Size) approach works much better for everyone, fat, thin and everywhere in between.

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      This is why I ummed and ahhed about broaching the subject in the first place. This series has taken a new low in my books though by implying you can’t find love if you’re overweight. That gets me cranky.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=732380361 gabyricketts

        Well in my opinion you can’t…. I’m a single woman, aged 49, don’t look too shabby for someone at my vintage… however compared to all the other pretty young things out there, men don’t even look twice. They have all been married to women who have let themselves go (as they themselves have as well) and they are looking to ‘trade-up’, get something better like a size 8/10 hot blonde …

        Hell if you don’t believe me, just spend a couple of hours perusing RSVP or e-harmony and you will know exactly what I am talking about… In my undergrad years I was ‘lucky’ enough to do an assignment on social media and I chose dating sites.. OMG what a horror story…. every single one of those men are looking for someone who is slim / petite….

        • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

          I’ve seen that in action too Gaby. It’s sad and disappointing and this show is supporting the notion you have to be slim/petite to find love.

  • http://www.lauragreaves.com Laura Greaves

    What bugs me most about this season of Biggest Loser is that all the contestants are single and, at least according to the ads, looking for love. So the message is that you have to be thin in order to be loveable – ergo fat people aren’t worthy of love. What the hell kind of message is that to send?!

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      It’s AN awful message to send Laura … to everyone, from the kids watching the show through to young adults. So hurtful and degrading.

  • stinkb0mb

    i wish people would stop commenting on the love angle aspect of this years show. they aren’t there to find love – yes this is the angle the show is promoting but do you want to know why they are there? to lose weight because they have tried to do it themselves and they can’t. look at Alex – would he love to find love of course he would but honestly he is there because he KNOWS that his weight has spiraled out of control and he need to do something about it but he can’t do it himself. they are there because they need help, some of them have drastically reduced life spans because of their weight, they need help.

    does that help come in the form of diet overhaul, intensive exercise and yes being yelled at. why yes it does. is this particularly good? well no but you know what? the fact that they applied to be on the show, means that they haven’t been able to lose the weight themselves, they needed drastic help and yes drastic help comes in the shape of hard realities being slapped up with side of your face. i could understand if these people had NO idea what they were getting themselves in for when they signed up but come on they knew. sure a personal trainer could get them to exercise with a gentle gentle voice but honestly i don’t think it would work, you just have to see how some of them are so resistant and so QUICK to give up from last weeks first training session for god sake – oh no it’s all too hard, well of course it’s too hard, you’re [for example] 240kg exercising ain’t going to be easy but you NEED to do it otherwise you’re going to be dead. they didn’t put on all that weight over night so it’s going to take time and effort to take it off and yup it’s going to be bloody hard in the process.

    taking the softly softly approach, i don’t believe, will work with people who aren’t motivated enough themselves to lose the weight themselves, they KNOW they are big, KNOW they have to lose weight before coming into the house, before signing up for BL and yet they couldn’t garner the motivation to do it themselves – i’m not saying they are lazy, i’m saying that it’s bloody hard work and they don’t have the drive to push themselves as hard as they need to in order to lose the weight.

    i may get flamed for this comment but honestly i don’t care and i feel justified and more than qualified to comment – i have 50.6kg to lose this year to get down to being even near a healthy weight and even once i lose that 50.6 kg i will still have another 15kg to lose to be classified as healthy but i’m DETERMINED to do it for my own health, i know it’s going to be hard but i’m lucky enough to be able to push myself through with my own determination, these contestants on the BL aren’t, so they need help.

    i will agree with those that have said that it’s wrong to push the idea that you need to be slim to find love – you don’t, i’m fat and have been married for 11 years. however i do think you need to love yourself before anyone else can truly love you and that’s the point i think BL is trying to make but is failing miserably. NONE of these contestants loves themselves, they all talk of hatred for their own bodies, how could anyone love them – i KNOW that feeling, i felt it for so long and still do to a certain extent and it’s a horrible feeling to truly hate yourself because of what you do [or don't] look like.

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      You won’t get “flamed” at all. I really think you’ve made some valid points – and yes, the contestants would know the style of the show – and yes, they would have been crying out for help. It doesn’t mean we have to like the way that they run the show. There are plenty of trainers out there who get great results from their clients without the shouty, shouty stuff.

  • http://www.facebook.com/belladonna1969 donnabridges

    It is like being fat is the new ism, and everyone thinks it is ok.I am fat could I be healthier yes but being thin doesn’t mean that I will be .Thin people have heart attacks, get cancer ,high blood pressure,diabeties and high cholesterol too . “It will make you happier” quote some really how nothing in my life will change but my size . We are who we are if we were all the same how boring would the world be. How about if we saw the person huh how bout that ? Not the colour, size, race, sex or age that then would be a perfect world. Fat people have feelings and folks you better know this we are not deaf we can hear you comment.

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      I know it, Donna. I know it. Good health cannot be presumed.

  • Angela

    I am not watching this season of the biggest looser. The ads completely put me off. It comes across as taking advantage of people’s loneliness, vulnerabilities and insecurities for the sake of drama and t.v. ratings. Let’s not forget that the producers have not created this show as a public health service – it’s a t.v. show designed to be entertaining and profitable. It’s certainly not my cup of tea. I only hope the contestants come to understand that their value as a person is not determined by the number on the scales.

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      No, it’s definitely not a public health service and our value should not be determined by a number on the scales!

  • Schmiet

    I left the same comment on Liz’s blog. As someone who’s quite overweight (and long has been) I blame my weight for my single status…. “No one loves me because I’m fat.” Now I logically know that there’s more to it than that (ie. I don’t love myself, so how could anyone else love me, etc etc) but it’s easier to blame my weight in a society where being overweight is perceived so negatively.

    Having said all of that, I haven’t been watching TBL because I find it demoralising that the contestants lose so much weight so quickly, making me feel even crappier about my own efforts. I do know though (having been to a fat camp run by an ex-participant) that much of the show is shaped for TV audiences and not as reality-based as we think (akin to The Hills etc).

    The sane part of me thinks that anything which makes us feel ‘bad’ about ourselves (whether we’re comparing our weight loss to others; or being yelled at and shamed) is not a good thing!

    Deb

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      So, so true Schmiet. We should not be made to feel bad about ourselves. I would just switch off if someone shouted at me in a training session. I like to be motivated in a positive way. x

  • Liz@LastChanceTraining

    Thanks for the mention, Nikki!

    Stinkbomb, I wish you all the very best in your endeavours. Over the years I’ve worked with clients who have had a lot of weight to lose and personally found the “teach the man to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime” theme works well in motivated clients. Getting someone motivated is difficult as any decision to change is really initiated by the client.

    What strikes me is how much good we can do in supporting each other to better health and fitness, no matter what size, shape or level of fitness you possess!

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      Liz, I think YOU should be on TV. I would definitely watch your show!

  • Mel

    As someone who is overweight and is trying to loose weight in a healthy way I find these shows so difficult to watch. I feel so self conscious watching them. My weight doesn’t define how I feel about but when I watch these shows I feel so depressed and helpless after this.

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      I can totally relate to this – which is why I don’t find them empowering or positive in any way.

  • Kelly

    Seriously if someone yelled at me like that I would be a drivelling slobbering snuffling crying mess on the floor. I just wouldl not respond well to that kind of treatment. What ever happend to compassion, motivation and support to help those in need.

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      Me too … compassion and support = motivation.

    • Cate

      Exactly the same for me, too many years of being made fun of during PE put me off exercise even today.

      • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

        Urgghh….I hate that Cate. I was always self conscious playing sport because I was very aware that I wasn’t good at it!

  • sociallysorted

    Absolutely awesome article Nikki. Well said. I have watched the show on and off over the years and yes there have been some nice moments in the end, but I agree with what you are saying..totally..and the thing that bothers me the most is that they use food challenges to tease the contestants where they can actually advance in the game or get immunity if they eat “bad” foods to win. It undermines the “exercise” and anything that they do with the nutritionists (not that they show a lot of the food “education” that they get, as it is just not good tv). Pick another type of challenge people!!!! At the end of the day, healthy weight loss does not make for “good” TV I am sure (for the producers), so they have to humiliate them and play games with them to get the footage. Not good.

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      Yes, it’s hardly education to get them to be tempted to eat bad food to enable them to stay training for an extra week! Crazy.

  • sociallysorted

    Sorry I couldn’t seem to get my Gravatar….thanks Nikki! Donna

  • Cath @mybeardedpigeon

    I find the whole show appalling! I pretty much agree with everything you have said- I have seen enough with the ads. I feel like watching these people is sold to us as a modern day circus side show. We all sit in our lounges in judgement and watch these people suffer. It is wrong.

    On a side note I see a personal trainer and she has never once even raised her voice, I work hard because she is encouraging and she motivates me.

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      I’ve worked with two different personal trainers over the past few years and they both pushed me and motivated me … without shouting!

  • Lisa R

    Have been luke warm about this show for a few years now, but the final nail was the ads of the Trainers posing naked. WTF??!!

    • http://www.stylingyou.com.au Nikki Parkinson

      I know … inspiring, right?! NOT!

  • Kasey Michelle

    Well I personally love the show. It helps me calm. I am a judged member of the community. I am a minority. But what people need to understand that the contestants did choose to apply for the show, I didn’t choose to be the person I am, but I cope. They need a kick otherwise they will die and I dont know about you, but I personally don;t like to think of people dying, do you? I like to watch it because I like the mental transformations that they go through. I have heard that it is for children but I am an adult and I like it so please tell me what you find wrong with that?