Weight loss is a concern to many people. “The Biggest Loser” is another TV show and those who are entertained by it will watch it and those who are not going to be entertained by it are not going to watch it. To some people, watching a heavy person loose quite a bit of weight and seeing the figures change can be very motivating.
I think that the way they set up the program is interesting because it’s very much an incubator and sterile environment. The trainer is there and the participants are working harder than they would ever work naturally. The participants are grunting, upset, crying, and emotional. If the participants were at home they wouldn’t have this environment.
The show is a snapshot designed to put the participants through the most extreme weight loss program possible to lose a lot of weight in eight weeks. When the show is complete, the participants are told to please continue the same lifestyle. A few will probably continue something less strenuous.
The show can motivate people to exercise along with the participants. People get motivated to exercise on the day that “The Biggest Loser” is on, have dinner and then watch the show. I’m all for it if it helps people come together. If you can get on the show, it is a way to lose weight.
I don’t’ think this process would work in the real world because people don’t have trainers readily available, 24 hour watches, or cupboards constantly stocked with the necessary food. The show does not teach grocery shopping skills or how to cook foods you like in an easier fashion and more helpful way. It is a boot camp and that’s fabulous for what it is.
Quick weight loss becomes difficult on the body and the body resists losing too much weight too quickly. When quick weight loss occurs in a short amount of time, the body goes into a stage of emergency. It stores everything it can, including water and food because it doesn’t understand if the stress is due to running away from a bear or if there is no more food. The body is used to being fed quite a bit, not exercising, and the change is seen as very stressful on the body. The body doesn’t know any different no matter what your mind or your eyes see the body is its own little entity. It will kick out hormones if it feels stress and the people on “The Biggest Loser” experience tremendous stress.
The exercise is stressful, the eating is stressful, the games are stressful, even sleeping is stressful because the participants know they have to get up at 4:00 am to exercise again. This stress can sometimes cause the body to kick out an amount of Cortisol that keeps the body from losing anymore weight. On the show the participants repeatedly push through this level. When the participants start to eat normal again and work out in a normal way, sometimes the weight can come back.
The psychology of weight loss is very important. If a person does not see themselves as a small person it’s possible to lose a lot of weight but gain it right back because of the mental equivalent. The combination of mind and body together defines a person’s size and when weight is lost quickly, there is no time to adjust the mind and body.
My approach is much much slower. Instead of losing 100 pounds in eight weeks, you lose 100 pounds over five years. There is little to moderate exercise, food changes are easily dealt with, that don’t impact your quality of life. If you’re a coffee drinker, I’m not taking away your coffee. If you like waffles we leave them in your diet and we pull something that’s not as important to you.
My process is changing without changing. I help the person identify with who they want to be when they have a new body, which helps prepare the body both physically and mentally so that it’s not stressfully losing weight. We explore the question “What of yourself did you lose?” We work with this question throughout the process to make sure that the people are becoming more and more of themselves and losing what they are not, what they don’t identify themselves as. Working with the mind and body over longer periods of time ensures that weight loss is gradual and permanent.
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