The Biggest Loser is a game show where fat people compete to see who can lose the largest percentage of their body weight. Most recently, the grand prize winner for season 15 was a young woman by the name of Rachel Frederickson. She started the show weighing 260 lbs.
Rachel Frederickson before having the fat shamed off of her.
Through medically questionable dietary and fitness tactics, she was able to drop down to 105 lbs. Severe caloric restriction and six hours of strenuous exercise per day alone is enough to cause huge stresses on all of your body systems, the most vital being the heart. Ms. Frederickson, just like all of the contestants of The Biggest Loser, literally risked dropping dead of a heart attack to “win” this competition.
Whoa.
So, what happens when I look for articles on Ms. Frederickson?
“Biggest Loser” winner Rachel Frederickson reacts to weight-loss backlash
Biggest Loser Winner Rachel Frederickson Admits She May Have Gone Too Far
Biggest Loser Winner Rachel Frederickson Admits She Lost Too Much Weight Too Fast
So, let me get this right…
At first she was too fat. So fat that she needed to resort to drastic, unhealthy measures to lose weight. Then she lost weight. A lot of weight. Now, apparently, she’s TOO THIN. Really? Seriously?! The problem isn’t Ms. Frederickson’s fatness, or thinness. Apparently, nobody’s bodies are acceptable. We must pass judgement on EVERY PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTE of anyone who dares to step into the spotlight. What must this be doing to the self-esteem of someone who already suffered humiliation and ridicule for being on the opposite end of the spectrum?
HEADDESK
I haven’t watched the biggest loser. What little I do know about the show is it focuses on fitness as a means of weight loss. That said eating only 1600 calories and working out for 6hrs a day would probably kill me. Guess you can only keep that up for a few months.
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1600 calories? Try more like ≤ 1200 calories, sometimes less.
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I remember reading the letter from the weight watchers lady that quit talking about putting people on diets of 1200. I could kind of see that working but you’ll be super hungry and not able to exert much energy. I targeted 1800 which is doable.
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1800 is a relatively average normal caloric intake. When a person reduces their calorie intake much more significantly, it actually has a negative impact on their metabolism. Combined with a grueling, excessive exercise plan, it’s a major health risk. Shows like TBL paint an unrealistic picture of “fitness”. Worse than that, it sends a message to people that “fitness” and a specific body type is something that needs to be competed for, and that despite one’s best efforts, they might lose said competition.
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