It's Not Me, It's You: Why I am Breaking up With "The Biggest Loser"

I have been thinking about breaking up with The Biggest Loser since last season.  I have been blogging about the show since the beginning of my blog's life in 2009 and I thought it was a cornerstone of my blog.  The show drives a lot of traffic and I have made so many great friends and connections through the live tweeting every Tuesday night that I was having a hard time coming to this decision.

How did I choose to break up with something that has been such a big part of my week for the past 4 years?

The very first season of The Biggest Loser I didn't watch.  I watched it later in reruns, but I would not watch the show.  Why?  I was a former fat person and I thought that the show was going to trivialize the condition and make fun of the people participating.  I gave the show a chance in the second season, and I was hooked.  I found it inspiring and I dreamed of becoming a personal trainer like Bob or Jillian.  I longed to worked with people who wanted to make a change in their lives and I wanted to help them get there.

I watched every single season and was moved and excited to see the transformations.  Yes, the trivial game play also made the show more fun to watch, but overall the show produced people like Ali and Tara and Sam and Abby and Hannah- there are many others but you know I can't sit here and list names all day!- that made me excited to share the message of the show.

Then something changed.  The in show plugs got pluggier, the contestants got cattier, and the heart and soul of the show started to fade.  It turned into The Biggest Loser Inc., churning out season after season of people who have become faceless and nameless.  I think season 11 was the last season I enjoyed.  I have started to dread writing my weekly recaps, and although I love my Twitter friends, I have also started to dread watching the show.

I also don't like the products being hocked in the name of The Biggest Loser.  Weight loss pills and shakes, instant meals, body shapewear, and Subway sandwiches (Which are not a truly healthy option in my opinion. I mean, compared to other fast foods?  Maybe.) have become the main stars of the show.  The show is a money making machine, selling whey protein and scales and Jenni O Turkey to people who hope to get the same results as the people on the show.

Also, I think it is sad that so many contestants have reverted back to their old habits after the dust settles.  The real change didn't happen within.  It's sad to see that this express pass to happiness and wellness didn't really happen and now onto the next season two weeks later.

So, I have made a decision.  I will still live Tweet with my friends (for the rest of this season, anyway), but I am no longer going to write about the show.  It is filled with a negativity that I am trying to cleanse my life of and I no longer choose to participate in.  The show, in my opinion, has turned into what I feared in the beginning- a show that trivializes the obese and the journey it takes to get there.

Please read the recaps on @theblblog.  Jen spends a lot of time and energy writing about the show and she could use your love!  She has a great relationship with many former contestants and is fun to read.

So, The Biggest Loser.  It's not me, it's you.  Maybe we should start seeing other people?

Fideo Friday #6

Watch my video about hitting the wall and crying over spilled soup.

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Sunday Funday!

Who doesn't love a dancing dog?

Fideo Friday!

Today I talk about the satiLife Warrior Challenge and leading a Zumba class!!!

Tanya Beardsley from Zumba Fitness in Shape Interview

Tanya ws my instructor for my Zumba cert and she is ridiculously inspiring!  Watch her interview to learn what I am talking about. . .

The Biggest Loser- #BL13- week 5- "Haters make you thrive."

OH MY GOD.  Gail is gone and so is my joy.

This episode of The Biggest Loser was SO NEGATIVE I almost didn't want to write about it.  I am in the middle of practicing daily meditation to make myself a better more positive person through intenSati Warrior Training (www.satilife.com) and it is hard to watch and write about a show that has taken a nasty turn.  And not a fun game play kind of turn where people drink water and throw weigh ins like the good ol' days.  There is a level of cattiness this season that is unparalleled to any other season.  Red team's Conda is the Queen of Mean and her minions are surprisingly obedient.  I guess Kim is the muscle?

Here we go.

• Aqua team comes back to the ranch!  Sister Daphne pulls 26 pounds and Brother Adrian pulls 34 pounds!  They have earned their place as serious competitors on the show.  They also earn immunity for the week.
• Unfortunately, the only people that are excited are Bob and Dolvett.  The Red team is especially nasty.  Surprising!
• Red and Black teams all say that the Aqua team needs to prove their worth.  Adrian and Daphne kill it in every single challenge they are given.  Yes, Daphne "mysteriously" disappeared during homework workouts (which may just have been editing- what if she was just going to the bathroom?), but these people EARNED their right to be on the show by losing over 50 pounds per the rules.
• Kim didn't even think it was fair that they were given a second chance.  She was on the other team that ALMOST didn't make it on the ranch.  What if the shoe was on the other foot?  I'll bet she wouldn't be so snide if she was the one trying to get back on the ranch.
• Dialogue of the night:  Adrian: "It's not easy to get here."  Conda:  "It's not easy to stay here."  Unless you start crying and make everyone feel sorry for you.
• At the Challenge, Conda asks if it is "drowning our new teammates".
• Daphne looks like she might want to take down Conda.  Reminds me of when that other guy called Conda's brother Tank at the weigh in and Conda got all territorial.  Now that Conda is making fun of Daphne's brother, I guess we'll see how Conda likes it.
• Best story of the night was Adrian talking about how he got to the ranch after his pregnant wife lost their daughter at 6 months.  I am normally not a crier, but I did tear up at his story and determination to get his life back on track.
• The Red team wins the challenge and the ability to sit one member of their team and one member of the Black team out at the weigh in.  They choose Nancy from the Red team and Megan from the Black team.  How does it all weigh out?

Nancy:  From 200 to 196- 4 lbs lost

Megan:  From 238 to 229- 9 lbs lost

Daphne:  From 245 to 244- 1 lb lost

Chism:  From 320 to 318- 2 lbs lost

Emily:  From 235 to 230- 5 lbs lost

Chris:  From 215 to 211- 4 lbs lost

Cassandra:  From 206 to 200- 6 lbs lost

Jeremy:  From 347 to 338- 9 lbs lost  Total:  27 lbs lost, BW 1.72%

Adrian:  From 336 to 334- 2 lbs lost

Kim:  From 220 to 215- 5 lbs lost

Kimmy:  From 197 to 193- 4 lbs lost

Roy:  From 272 to 268- 4 lbs lost

Mark:  From 255 to 251- 4 lbs lost

Buddy:  From 353 to 345- 8 lbs lost

Conda:  From 265 to 263- 2 lbs lost  Total:  29 lbs lost, BW 1.53%

The Red team loses, but instead of sending home Conda, they send home Nancy.  And Mark accuses Adrian and is sister of throwing the weigh in even though his son Chism ALSO lost 2 pounds.  And Conda.  Blurgh.

Nancy is rapping at home about her huge family and is down to 178.  If she wins the at home prize she'll buy a motorcycle and travel across the country.  I smell a spin off, NBC!

Next episode:  More Adrian/Conda Drama fo' yo' mamma. 

Even Dogs Need to Work OUT!