Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Why The Biggest Loser is the Best Show on TV

As I write this, The Wife and I are sacked out in front of the boob tube.  Don't worry, we each did our own workouts earlier today.  What are we watching?  The Biggest Loser.  For those of you who aren't familiar, this is a reality show where 16-22 morbidly obese contestants are whisked away to a fitness ranch and compete to lose the highest percentage of weight.

It's the best show ever.  BEST.  EVER.

Here's why:

1.  The Inspiration Factor

The folks on this show start out big, and I mean BIG.  Most of them have additional health issues such as bad knees or adult-onset diabetes.  Shoot.  Some of them have problems walking up the stairs to step on the scale.  But, over the course of the show, almost all of the contestants experience a dramatic weight loss.  I know we hear it everywhere we go, but obesity is impacting more and more people every year.  This show proves that even folks with hundreds of pounds to lose can still get their acts together and turn their lives around.  If that inspires more of us to change things around and get healthy again, then good on 'em.

2.  The Lifestyle Factor

In the end, it's not about the cash prize that goes to the winner; it's about experiencing a lifestyle change.  On the show, there's a heavy emphasis on the grueling workouts, but they also take time to address diet issues.  Sure, I don't need much encouragement to hit the gym, but it does motivate The Wife and I to think a little harder about how we prepare our meals. Sometimes, even us 'healthy' Americans need a gentle reminder kick in the pants to resist the burgers and pizza to focus on vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains.

3.  The Car Crash Factor

I'll be honest.  As much as we watch the show to get inspired, like a car crash on the freeway, we have to slow down to witness the carnage.  People falling on the treadmill, passing out on the stair-stepper, barfing in the corner and having emotional breakdowns in the gym demand our undivided attention.  Later on in each season, group 'alliances' and game-play rear their ugly heads and add to the drama.  We love every minute of it.

We don't watch too many TV shows religiously, but we make it a priority to catch The Biggest Loser every week.  It's the Best Show on TV.

Tomorrow: Why the Biggest Loser is the Worst Show on TV.

2 comments:

  1. Once again, nice post. Did you watch last season? If you did, you know who Jesse is -- he is a friend of mine. We spent a year together in Guatemala and became fairly close (although not so close when he was in Law School). He said on the show that spinning is his favorite activity and I am going to try to get him to ride with us this summer.

    Anyway, can't wait for tomorrow's post.

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  2. Sweet. Jesse was one of our favorites from last season. He went through one of the more dramatic transformations, but still seemed to stay humble (at least from what we could tell from our living room). Although, if you want to get him riding with us, you had better not mention that my most recent post was titled 'Why The Biggest Loser is the Worst Show on TV'.

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