But I do watch NBC's The Biggest Loser. WHAT?!?! But I'm a trainer! HOW! WHYYYY! Think of the children!!
Anyway.. I have heard waaaaayyy too many people rag on this show lately for what it portrays trainers and weight loss to be. Yes, it is incredibly dangerous to do things the way they do, and yes, Jillian yells and screams at the morbidly obese contestants. But they have doctors on site, and sorry, but some of those people NEED to be yelled at. It might not be motivating for the people watching, but these contestants are pushing themselves to the limit and the yelling has actually been proven to increase the mitochondrial release in the cells and may push their intensity farther than they could just by themselves.
I also want to address the fact that other trainers HATE this show because it shows people that they can lose weight at the rate of 24 pounds/week. Listen, if I had ANYONE come into the Studio expecting those results, I would show them the door. The fact is that EVERYONE knows that weight loss can not happen this way unless it is under the most EXTREME circumstances.
I have also read some blog entries from the contestants talking about dehydrating themselves to the point where they are peeing blood, or going on the most intense diets a few days before the big finale, just to lose the extra few pounds they need. . .now, I in NO WAY agree with this and I watch everyone else shake their fingers at the producers saying, "Look at what you are making them do?!" But honestly, look at competitive bodybuilders and the extreme lengths they go to in order to win their competitions.. And they don't get anywhere near a million dollar prize.
You can hate the show all you want, but don't deny what it has done for hundreds of thousands of people around the world. For every pound lost by American citizens, they donate a pound of food to a local charity. And they are now up to almost 3.9 million pounds lost. Now, I don't care who you are, that's damn impressive.
Now, everyone just calm down about the show, it's more relevant then "So you think you can Dance" or "Big Brother" and helps quite a few more people.
But man, the contestants really do cry waaaay too much for my liking this year.. Val, any thoughts? :)

And those are my two cents. And if I am the only one with this opinion, send me your thoughts, but not on Tuesdays between 8 and 10pm. Because I'll be watching my stories.