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Pensacola Discussion Forum » General Discussion » The biggest loser premise of helping overweight people actually hurt them

The biggest loser premise of helping overweight people actually hurt them

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2seaoat



An eight year study of 14 contestants found that all but one gained all their weight back and that all of them suffered from slowed metabolisms. The premise was that hard work was all that was needed with diet to overcome obesity. The problems with obesity are more complex and the guilt and harm caused by yo yo diets is really a breach of the show's fiduciary duty to protect these contestants medically. A huge fail as it seems the rapid weight loss permanently slowed their metabolism and harmed the contestants. Obesity must be seen as a chronic disease with more complex methodologies than guilt and yelling. I must admit I was impressed with the courage of the contestants, but the damage to these people who probably signed liability waivers allowed the producers to profit on folks health failing.....after they sold them a losing premise.

RealLindaL



This post and the referenced study are right on the money.  This is a subject very close to my heart (or stomach, I guess more accurately), as I've had weight problems all my life, and have lost and regained at least as much as I weigh in total now.  I rue the day my mom put me on the first low cal diet when I was in junior high -- giving me, a hungry and active pre-teen, a can of Metrecal (remember that, old folks?) and an apple for lunch every day.   That was the beginning of the metabolism slowdown (if it wasn't already naturally slower than most, and I think it was, based on what I could eat vs. my slim friends, whether or not they were as active).

Over the ensuing years I gained and lost, gained and lost, an endless cycle, and a very discouraging one.

The biggest loss, and the biggest disappointment, was a 60 lb. drop I managed back in 1990, getting down to size 8-10, using Slimfast bars for two meals a day and eating a small third meal at supper.  I was basically starving, but it still took me six months.  I was in management at the time and bought myself a whole new business wardrobe - $$$$.  But you see, I had successfully quit smoking just before embarking on this diet and was falsely buoyed by my own confidence in my will power.  Problem is, one doesn't have to smoke to live, but one does have to eat, and after I went back to 'regular' food post-diet, even though I stuck to salads, veggies, and other healthy choices (and I never in my life have been a binge eater), I  gained all the weight back within just a few years, and am today about 10 pounds heavier still than when I started that diet.  

And all those beautiful clothes went to tag sales before we moved to FL.  Very sad.  

I have done just about every diet in the book, and don't buy any of them any more.  I still exercise regularly, and I know perfectly well how to lose weight,  but no longer believe it's possible for me to keep it off.  So -- partly because of my slim husband's heart disease - I continue to eat a healthy diet, though obviously it will always be too much for my tiny metabolism now, and so have resigned myself to my XL sizing for the duration, only hoping my obesity doesn't lead to health problems -- though it could well have been a factor in my breast cancer in 2007.  

I feel sorry for all those TV contestants, but it doesn't surprise me one bit.  Look at all the celebs over the years who have pitched diet plans and packaged foods-- most have fallen prey to the same syndrome.  I read one time that 98% of those who lose large amounts of weight gain it all back and then some.  It's a losing battle, and one I no longer care to fight.  I feel I'm doing well just to stay stable at my same weight, heavy though I be.

Some day after we're all gone there will  be a magic pill, I have little doubt. But in the meantime, please, people, when you look at an overweight person, have some compassion and do not automatically assume he or she is a lazy pig.  I guarantee you I'm not.

Thanks to those who waded through this, and thanks to sea for the post.



Last edited by RealLindaL on 5/4/2016, 1:19 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Added one comma for clarity.)

ZVUGKTUBM

ZVUGKTUBM

RealLindaL wrote:But in the meantime, please, people, when you look at an overweight person, have some compassion and do not automatically assume he or she is a lazy pig.  I guarantee you I'm not.

My sister suffers from the same, Linda. She got her weight under control when she was 14, and for the last 41 years has maintained, but likely to the detriment of her health. She basically starves herself to keep her weight down.

My mother was hard on her about her weight when she was a young child, and three older brothers (including myself) were not very kind quite a bit--Here is where I wish I could get into a time machine and go back and change a few things. 1969 would have been a really good year to run an intervention on my 17 year old soul. A one day counseling session, calling out certain attitudes and habits, with the threat to come back and tell our mother all of the hidden stuff if self-reform could not be accomplished--would do the trick. This would have changed both of our lives (my older and younger self). One of the things I would stress to my younger self would be to be kinder to my siblings, and especially toward my younger sister.

http://www.best-electric-barbecue-grills.com

2seaoat



The show was judgmental and harmful. It made folks with chronic obesity guilty that if they only ate better and exercised they could cure that chronic disease.....a false premise from the git go. I have watched a fire chief I shared office space with for years fight his heredity weight issues where he is over 330 pounds. He is a good man, but the diets, the exercise, and the judgmental folks saying incredibly cruel things to him forced him to retire as the volunteer fire chief of a community because he was attacked because of his weight.....life can be so unfair to some who no more have control over their genes and traits that they can control the weather, yet this show actually hurt people and caused a tacit guilt in Americans who are fighting that battle.

Guest


Guest

ZVUGKTUBM wrote:
RealLindaL wrote:But in the meantime, please, people, when you look at an overweight person, have some compassion and do not automatically assume he or she is a lazy pig.  I guarantee you I'm not.

My sister suffers from the same, Linda. She got her weight under control when she was 14, and for the last 41 years has maintained, but likely to the detriment of her health. She basically starves herself to keep her weight down.

My mother was hard on her about her weight when she was a young child, and three older brothers (including myself) were not very kind quite a bit--Here is where I wish I could get into a time machine and go back and change a few things. 1969 would have been a really good year to run an intervention on my 17 year old soul. A one day counseling session, calling out certain attitudes and habits, with the threat to come back and tell our mother all of the hidden stuff if self-reform could not be accomplished--would do the trick. This would have changed both of our lives (my older and younger self). One of the things I would stress to my younger self would be to be kinder to my siblings, and especially toward my younger sister.

What makes you think the young you would listen to an old fart like you? Lol... I'm sure we all have regrets.

Hallmarkgard



2seaoat wrote:The show was judgmental and harmful.  It made folks with chronic obesity guilty that if they only ate better and exercised they could cure that chronic disease.....a false premise from the git go.  I have watched a fire chief I shared office space with for years fight his heredity weight issues where he is over 330 pounds.  He is a good man, but the diets, the exercise, and the judgmental folks saying incredibly cruel things to him forced him to retire as the volunteer fire chief of a community because he was attacked because of his weight.....life can be so unfair to some who no more have control over their genes and traits that they can control the weather, yet this show actually hurt people and caused a tacit guilt in Americans who are fighting that battle.
[b]
life can be so unfair to some who no more have control over their genes and traits that they can control the weather[/b]

You are correct.  My wife Donna was big lady.  She was also one of the best people who has ever graced this earth.  She died trying to be "Thin"  and escape the cruel comments of others.  Time has passed and I have been forced to move on, but there are not many days I dont think of her...

ZVUGKTUBM

ZVUGKTUBM

PkrBum wrote:
ZVUGKTUBM wrote:
RealLindaL wrote:But in the meantime, please, people, when you look at an overweight person, have some compassion and do not automatically assume he or she is a lazy pig.  I guarantee you I'm not.

My sister suffers from the same, Linda. She got her weight under control when she was 14, and for the last 41 years has maintained, but likely to the detriment of her health. She basically starves herself to keep her weight down.

My mother was hard on her about her weight when she was a young child, and three older brothers (including myself) were not very kind quite a bit--Here is where I wish I could get into a time machine and go back and change a few things. 1969 would have been a really good year to run an intervention on my 17 year old soul. A one day counseling session, calling out certain attitudes and habits, with the threat to come back and tell our mother all of the hidden stuff if self-reform could not be accomplished--would do the trick. This would have changed both of our lives (my older and younger self). One of the things I would stress to my younger self would be to be kinder to my siblings, and especially toward my younger sister.

What makes you think the young you would listen to an old fart like you? Lol... I'm sure we all have regrets.

I am sure we all do. I basically needed someone close to beat the snot out of me and call everything out. Carrot and stick. A few secrets about the future--but not too much so me would get lazy and not work hard. And eradication of some stupid stuff in one or two key areas. It would be bloody and painful, but worth it.

http://www.best-electric-barbecue-grills.com

RealLindaL



Thanks to all of you guys for your sensitive and insightful posts, which are somehow comforting.  Sea, you sure can get things very right sometimes.  And Z-man, my brother teased me unmercifully about my weight when I was young.  Called me "Blimp," and threatened to throw me in the maple tree (whatever that was about).  We have never been close and I've always felt him to be judgmental about my weight, though I know that's only a part of the reason for our virtual estrangement.  I would be grateful if he ever owned up to his cruelty back then, but I doubt that will ever happen, as he is just a cold person.  Obviously you are not.

Hallmark, your post is the saddest.   I'm so sorry that all happened.

ZVUGKTUBM

ZVUGKTUBM

My sister told me two years ago that if she was ever diagnosed with a terminal illness, her first step would be to make a trip to Baskin Robbins. I have heard she has had Bulemia over the years and she is constantly in the gym, even at age 55. She tried to calorie-count for her daughter, now grown and still living at home now with a 1-year old daughter of her own. My sister adores her granddaughter, but I have heard that mommy has to guard grandma for trying yo calorie-count with the grandbaby. I wish my sister could be released from that prison.

I spent several years in the Marine Corps, which has one of the most onerous weight-control programs around. I saw careers ended because the squadron Commanding Officer decided to enforce the Marine Corps Order published for the weight-control program to the letter. I remember a young officer who worked under me telling me that he was reduced to eating only pears so he could meet the required weight standard for his very large frame--our CO had been all over him about it. This man was also a squadron pilot, and how can you expect someone to fly safely in a half-starved condition? I knew another officer who was reduced to eating Jenny Craig meals in advanced of weigh-ins, so he could pass muster. All of this because The Marine Corps wanted a certain 'visual image' for the typical Marine.

http://www.best-electric-barbecue-grills.com

Joanimaroni

Joanimaroni

It is all about metabolism. There are so many medications that cause weight gain and underlying medical conditions that people are unaware of that cause weight gain...other than thyroid.

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