Being a Bigger Loser

Last week, I watched the premiere episode of the new Biggest Loser season.  This time, they have hooked up families to work together.  One team is made of married couples, and one is made of a parent and an adult child.  I like this format because even though everyone is competing, the family “teams” have at least each other to support and encourage.

If you have ever seen the show, you know that some things they do could be improved.  I know Melody always complains about the harm the trainers do when they work the people to throwing up or when they get in their faces and scream — she says that ignorant personal trainers could watch that show and think it presents the best way to train people.  She makes a good point.  However, there’s a lot to like here.  These people know that they have spent their lives ruining their bodies and minds.  Large reward or not, they have decided to do something about it even though they must go through a lot of initial pain and suffering to do so.  When you watch the episodes, you see people shouting encouragement to each other and seeming truly sad to see someone leave the show each week, someone alongside whom they have struggled and fought.  Their reasons for making the changes always touch on deep issues of love for others, too.  They say things like, “I want to be there when my four-year-old graduates college” or “I want my dad to be around to walk me down the aisle.”  And they always talk about how tired they are of being so ridiculously overweight and so miserable all their lives.

I know the shows are edited to be dramatic and intended to touch the heart.  But I don’t care because the manipulations are for good reasons.  Think about this segment:  One young woman’s father was limited in exercise intensity by the show’s doctor — that’s the first time I have ever seem them do that.  In his case, they had determined that his 51-yr old body was internally closer to 80 years old.  So in the first challenge, she had to compete by herself while he stayed behind.  Their challenge was to cross about a mile up into some hills, a real struggle for all of them.  At the top of the biggest hill was a series of flags that would award them various prizes, such as a phone call home or some cash.  The best prize was Immunity from being kicked off the show that week regardless of the final weight-loss score.  The girl felt she just had to get that Immunity flag so her father and she could stay a little longer, for the sake of his health (and hers).

She made it.  As the other teams reached the top, they all talked about how her example had been so inspiring to them, encouraging them to push themselves just a little bit harder to get to the top.  And as she cried and cried (and so did I a bit), I knew that they would be the team that I hoped would win.

Whatta show.  And if the spiritual encouragement wasn’t enough, I felt like a slob for just watching the show there on my couch.  So during the commercials, I would knock out some calisthenics.  I did pushups, squats, inchworms, jumping jacks, etc.  And that made me feel good about me.

PS — One of the mother/daughter teams lives in Dallas and apparently goes to Fellowship Church.  During the opening segments of the show, they were on stage with Ed Young, who was encouraging them and getting the full auditorium to cheer and so forth since they were apparently in the final groups for the show.  And then in walked Jillian Michaels to tell them they made it onto The Biggest Loser, and the whole place went nuts.  That was cool.