I do not like The Biggest Loser. I have written about it numerous times. My view has not changed since I started this journey in weight loss. I have opened my eyes to so many other things with weight loss. I do not find the show inspiring. I do not find the trainers to be inspirational. I think it is a show where people get yelled at, products are being sold, and at the end of the day, people want a six figure paycheck. The Biggest Loser is a game show. Just like Double Dare. Just like Deal Or No Deal. Each year, the people on the show weigh more. When I wanted to try out for the show in 2006 (I almost made it to the audition, but that story is for another time) I was over 400 pounds... not even close to the 300-pounders on there then. They seem to get heavier and heavier each year. They are running on treadmills, getting yelled at, and play the scale each week. They are doing it for money, the chance for a quarter of a million dollars. Maybe you are fooled into believing that it is for their health. That is the problem. Everyone made it out to be inspirational. With the music and tears, you probably love watching the show. And hey, there is nothing wrong with that. I always say if anything gets you motivated to reach your goals, then that is a good thing. The problem is, it is way too close to home for me. I can only see it from a viewpoint that this felt like the only way I could lose weight. See, I was the person. The one who would say, "If only I lived on the ranch," or "If only I could afford a trainer." I believed that if life would just slow down for one second, I could change mine. I thought that the show would be the only thing that could save my life. Disability could help me for a short time. Anything to get me on track. Life did not stop for me. It does not stop for anyone. My job involved food. I am a restaurant manager. I was a chef for seven years. I was a managing partner. I have always had food in front of me, anytime I wanted it. I still do to this day. I thought about leaving the industry a few years back. I thought that if I did, I would lose the weight. It would not. I would still find a way to eat. I lost the weight while working in restaurants. When I hear about a piece of cake that tempts you in your fridge, I have had 30 cakes in front of me to sample for a new menu item. I got written up at work for not tasting a new cake. I gladly signed it. When I hear about a rough day, I think of the day when I put a 14-ounce NY strip in batter and deep fried it. That was a snack. That was my reality. I did lose the weight for my family and myself. Life stayed the same. I had to have a different mentality. I did not do it to become rich. I did it for the chance to one day live to see my son and daughter turn 18. A chance to be the person I wanted to be. I will always fight to keep the weight off. Not for any other reason than to hear my kids say, "How are you?" The Biggest Loser does not show people that. I do not care if they lose the weight at home. I do not care what they say is their motive. I do not believe it is a last resort for most. The Biggest Loser is a moneymaker that truly diminishes what most of us do. But maybe I see why so many people love it... So many people think that might be their only option to lose weight. It is not. The reality is most people in this world think that weight loss is The Biggest Loser. They do think Hydroxycut will help reach goals. That Alli will work and that every system works. The Biggest Loser is entertainment. It is not weight loss. I also know that the same desire to keep off the 200 pounds is the same desire I had when I got to 420 pounds. My wife often has told me that she felt guilty bringing "bad" food in our house. I told her, if she did not, I would get it somewhere else. If they closed every McDonald's, I would stuff my face with something else. It was I who gained it and who lost it. Sometimes I have to remember the reality of losing weight. It is not on TV. It is in the mirror... every single day.
