By Stacey Nolan Young
A new season has begun and it seems I cannot login to Facebook without at least a dozen status updates talking about this popular show. People love it. They love it for the entertainment value. While this “reality” show is great for that I worry about the other reasons people may be watching.
Do they find this show inspiring? Do they look up to the contestants and think that their way is THE WAY to lose weight? Do they believe that all trainers are created equal and we’re all like Jilian and Bob? Do they think that you have to train 4-6 hours per day to lose weight? Do they think that the contestants will actually keep the weight off when thrown back into the real world?
These things worry me. And I am not alone. It seems like some prominent people in the fitness industry have taken issue with this mega-ratings show and what it attempts to promote. In fact I came across a letter written to Jilian Michaels by Dr.Chris Mohr and Dr.Kara Mohr of Mohr Results. I couldn’t have said it better myself so I will post below this very letter.
Dear Jilian Michaels,
Congratulations on the success The Biggest Loser has had … 8 seasons and counting.
There is nothing more gratifying than helping people work towards and achieve their goals. There is nothing better than helping people transform their lives. And you get to witness people doing this in BIG, meaningful ways.
Lose 100+ pounds?
Reverse, even ELIMINATE disease?
Compete to win hundreds of thousands of dollars?
Yep, those are life changers.
But the contestants on the show represent only a small fraction of the people who need to lose weight. And so while you have your work cut out for you with several 400+ lb individuals on the show this season, all of us in the fitness industry have a huge responsibility.
And this is where we don’t think you’re helping.
One of the things we’ve learned from working in obesity research and our work with all shapes and sizes of women, is that people who believe in themselves accomplish HUGE things. Push clients, for sure…
…make them work as hard as they possibly can…
but above all empower them.
With that said, we were appalled at how you represented the fitness profession.
Screaming the f’ word repeatedly in someone’s face doesn’t empower them.
Yelling at a nearly 500 pound woman and telling her she is essentially worthless and full of useless excuses doesn’t empower women (or men for that matter).
Demeaning people and belittling them is not an effective training strategy.
And while we’re sure this wasn’t solely your decision, asking people who are 400+ pounds to race 1 mile for a prize to ’start’ the show, with 2 of them ending up in the hospital, surely doesn’t encourage people to get off the couch and start moving.
We get it – it’s TV. And it is reality TV at that –where hype and over the top sells. But we take issue with the “reality” term here. Nothing is real-life about it. Extreme dietary practices? Exercising 4-6 hours a day? Being isolated from family, friends and work? It’s exploitive TV. Hmmm, let’s take a few individuals who are struggling to lose weight and create a million dollar business around them. A few (hopefully) MIGHT be successful long-term. More will be successful short-term. And others will sacrifice whatever is left of their self-esteem because they were voted off and “failed” to become “The Biggest Loser.” It’s a title we don’t buy into anyway.
And can we talk about the training sessions? It doesn’t take an expert to know that people shouldn’t vomit when working out. That’s NOT a sign of a good workout – but of one that is poorly designed and innapropriate. Can it happen when working out? Sure…but it’s surely not something we’d encourage. You can take them out of their comfort zone without lunch ending up on the floor. And as far as motivating the masses? You’ve probably lost them on that one.
Who would want to go to a gym if they expected to throw up and get degraded? It isn’t necessary for results. Is it necessary for ratings? It must be.
What it really takes to be permanently successfully is a major mindset shift. But this mindset shift has to come from within the person. Not an external source, and surely not an external source who comes in the form of degrading comments and expletives. Teach people they are worth investing in themselves rather than beating them down.
Research shows people who are overweight or obese already have a lower self esteem; repeatedly suggesting they are “f’n lazy and worthless” isn’t supporting anything.
We hope the show can do what it’s intended to do. Help people in a positive way.
We have a major worldwide epidemic. 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese. This is also a major epidemic in other countries around the world.
We’re not suggesting tip toeing through the tulips and pussyfooting around the issue. It’s a serious issue. And people need to take responsibility for THEMSELVES!
Excuses won’t get you anywhere.
Blaming personal health issues on others won’t help anything.
But supportive environments encourage permanent success. Positive reinforcement helps create habits.
So Jillian, please continue to push people to be their best. Please continue to join the good fight and help people transform their lives. But remember, you are supposed to be a qualified trainer. Not an actor. While reality TV sells, it doesn’t mean you have to sell out. Don’t give qualified health professionals a bad rap for the sake of making a reality TV show. I do of course understand we only see the edited parts of the show … and I also understand that anyone who doesn’t want to watch it can turn it off. I did. I just don’t want people who struggle with their weight to get the wrong idea of what it takes to be successful.
Sincerely,
The Team at Mohr Results
September 30th, 2009
TOP 3 REASONS TO VOTE FOR US By Mark and Stacey Young
Hey All,
We are so excited because our company, Nutrex Solutions, has been nominated for the Hamilton Spectator Readers’ Choice award for best weight control service. If you wouldn’t mind taking the time to go and vote for us we’d really, really appreciate it. However, the process takes a few minutes (note that you don’t have to check off every box) so we’ve got three great reasons to take the time to vote.
1. You’d be giving us (the small independent business) a chance to beat out some of the corporate weight loss giants. Yeah…stick it the man!
2. You would ensure that the people who win this award actually care about their clients and don’t see them just as dollars and cents.
3. And if you don’t care about all that…if we win this award I’ll (Mark) shave my head, record the whole process on video, and post it on here for your amusement!
So PLEASE go vote for Nutrex Solutions. We’d really appreciate it. You have until September 25th, 2009 to get your votes in!
To go vote click HERE
September 23rd, 2009
By Mark Young
Let me recount a story.
This is a story of a woman who has two young children. She gets up each morning at the crack of dawn because her husband is heading off to work and she knows that attempts at grabbing 5 more minutes of sleep is futile because the alarm is going to go off in 4. She gets up and wakes her children and gets the oldest fed and ready to go to school and puts the youngest in the stroller. She walks the eldest to school and returns home only to have a busy day filled with more of the same chaos and by nightfall she’s physically and emotionally exhausted.
This is the story of her husband. He wakes up early in the morning wishing for a few minutes more sleep, more time with his wife and children, and that he didn’t have to slave all day in a job he hates. Instead, he stubles out the door, grabs a coffee and donut at the closest Tim Hortons, and heads to work. By the time he comes home he’s beat, but he uses what remaining energy he has left to spend a few valuable minutes with the kids before he collapses on the couch beside his exhausted wife.
Both partners wish they had more time with each other and that they could share the intimacy that they once had. They wish they had more money, more time, or more energy, but none of that feels remotely possible in the situation they’re in. Neither is happy with their body, but they certainly don’t talk about it with each other.
She used to love shopping for clothes, but now she gradually buys larger clothes to cover herself up so hopefully nobody will notice as she slips into the background. She doesn’t look in mirrors as she passes, she avoids intimacy with her husband because she fears his silent judgement, and she feels depressed. She’s devasted that she doesn’t look or feel the way she should and that the compliments she used to get haven’t been heard in years. She’s even gone to great lengths to try convince herself that this is just how things are supposed to be because she’s a mom.
At a glance you might even believe her husband is comfortable with being overweight and in the worst shape of his life. He pats his tummy and jokingly refers to it as “a keg” instead of a six pack and he’ll flex it to demonstrate how hard it is saying “it’s all muscle”. Among people that are more fit than him he’ll compensate for his insecurity by talking about days gone by when he “used to bench 300″ or how he “weighed 180 with a 28 inch waist”. He wants everyone to think he’s comfortable in his own skin, but that’s the last thing from the truth.
As a couple, they’ve even made pacts in the past to start “eating better” or to “get more exercise”, but these attempts have rarely lasted more than a couple days. Each failed attempt makes them feel increasingly less confident that it will ever happen and finally they just stop trying.
Neither is happy with how they look. Both lack energy. Independently they consider themselves a good couple, but imagine that things could be different if only they got in shape. They secretly want it so bad they can each taste it, but it seems so far out of reach for so many reasons.
—
If you haven’t guessed by now, this isn’t a story about a specific couple, but a story about so many people I’ve met over the years and probably tens of thousands that I’ll never even know. It may even be a story about you.
Over the last while I’ve had the outstanding revelation that how people get overweight is no mystery. The story above pretty much tells the tale. Simply telling someone what to do and when to do it obviously doesn’t work and is the reason so many people fail.
Instead, I believe that the reason WHY people are overweight is the most important question. More importantly, I believe that only once we know the answers to this question will we be able to identify the causes for previous failures and the path to success. Only then will all the exercise and nutrition information that surrounds us be truly usable.
In the coming months I hope to help people identify some of their very own reasons WHY. In the meantime, I invite you to start thinking about the reasons why you aren’t where you want to be. This is the first step in getting there.
September 16th, 2009
By Stacey Nolan Young
This article needs few words. Here are a selection of photos of common food choices for the masses and their sugar content is represented by sugar cubes in front of each item. Were you aware of how much sugar you could be consuming on a daily basis? Did you think that glass of orange juice was innocent enough so as not to harm your physique? What about your special treat from Starbucks or your daily pop habit?
Mind you, I have added a few pictures of some healthier items at the bottom like fruit and vegetables that yes, do contain sugar of the natural variety but these selections also are not what we call “empty calories” as in the most of the items I’ve selected. Your fruits and veggies also contain much needed vitamins and nutrients that will benefit your health and physique.
Enjoy your education!
September 9th, 2009
