Month: February 2014

Previously I provided some feedback from a Biggest Loser contestant along with my personal comments on what they told me.  At the end I opined that, like most in this industry I find the show infuriating and appalling doing far more harm than good, especially for it’s target population.   So today I want to present a 6-part series on training the obese beginner for both trainers and trainees.

2020 Addendum: A Note on Terminology

I originally wrote this piece many years ago and, well, the world has changed.  In modern times it’s becoming more accepted to refer to individuals with obesity or individuals with excess weight rather than as being obese or overweight.  This seems like a semantic nitpick and, to me, it kind of is.  Ok, boomer.

But the purpose of the change is primarily to shift focus from obesity defining who the individual is to it being something that the individual is I guess “dealing” with would be the right way to describe it. … Keep Reading

Although this article is old, it’s as relevant now as it was then.  The TV show The Biggest Loser is on and it’s still a travesty.  The trainers are both morons, it does enormous harm to people’s attitudes towards weight and fat loss, the things it teaches are appalling and I’m waiting for them to kill somebody.   Well years and years ago, one of the former contestants emailed me with some inside details on the show.  And it all just makes it that much worse.

Feedback on The Biggest Loser

What I’m going to do below is first quote the feedback I got from the contestant along with giving my comments or thoughts on it.  As an initial comment, I will say that what he sent me is interesting for at least two reasons.

1. What can be accomplished in a short period when you put your mind to it.
2. How unrealistic some of the changes on the show actually are relative to normal people.

… Keep Reading