“Only lost a pound”

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The Bachelor, Keeping up With the Kardashians, The Real Housewives, etc: I’m not really a fan of reality television.   However the one show which I do love *surprise surprise* is The Biggest Loser.  For those unfamiliar with it, the show is a weight-loss reality drama in which two celebrity fitness trainers join with top health experts to help overweight contestants transform their bodies, health and ultimately, their lives.  I love watching the contestants trying to make a positive difference to their life by losing weight.  It’s inspiring to watch them tackle the mountain despite how huge it seems.

The only thing that irks me about the show is that they paint an unrealistic picture of what weight loss should be.  Because the contestants are losing over 5 lbs a week, the mass public watching assume they can lose that much too.  When the contestants on the show are dissapointed that they “only lost 2 pounds” on a particular week, all that I can think is “Are you for real?”

For a safe, effective and healthy weight loss, individuals should be aiming to 1-2 lbs max weekly.  With the exception of the first few weigh-ins, anything above that amount is either water weight or likely to come back on.  Many weeks when I was losing weight, it would even be a measly half a pound off.  Sure it was slightly upsetting that it wasn’t even a pound but as long as the weight was coming off,  I knew I was heading in the right direction.    On one occasion where I asked my Weight Watchers leader for advice on how to lose more than “only one pound”, she gave me this excerpt which I still have saved:

Hello do you know me?


If you don’t, you should. I’m a pound of fat.

And I’m the happiest pound of fat that you would ever want to meet.


Want to know why?

It’s because no one ever wants to lose me;

I’m ONLY ONE POUND, just a pound!


Everyone wants to lose 3 pounds, 5 pounds or 15 pounds, but never only one.

So, I just stick around and happily keep you fat.

 

Then I add to myself, ever so slyly, so that you never seem to notice it.

That is, until I’ve grown to ten, twenty, thirty or even more pounds in weight.

Yes, it’s fun being ONLY ONE POUND OF FAT, left to do as I please.

 

So, when you weigh in, keep right on saying, “Oh, I only lost one pound.”

For you see, if you do this, you’ll encourage others to keep me around because they’ll think I’m not worth losing.

 

And, I love being around you – your arms, your legs, your chin, your hips and every part of you. Happy days!!!!


After all, I’m ONLY ONE POUND OF FAT!!!!

So next time you are trying to lose weight and it’s “only a pound”,  keep this excerpt in mind and remember that losing a WHOLE pound in just 7 days is an amazing achievement!  And also bear in mind that you’ve lost the equivalent of 4 sticks of butter…not too shabby, eh?

Can you relate to this?  What are your thoughts on shows like The Biggest Loser?

29 thoughts on ““Only lost a pound””

  1. Parita @ myinnershakti

    Thank you for addressing this! I think a lot of people, regardless of how much weight they have to lose, get really obessed with that weekly (sometimes even daily) weight loss amount. And my belief is that the mindset needs to change to “healthy living” where it’s more of a lifestyle change versus extremes, as seen in the Biggest Loser. That’s my only gripe with that show – extreme week over week weight loss that is unrealistic for the average person.

    And I love the analogy with the butter – I’ve never thought of it that way!

    Reply
  2. Alexandra

    This is soooo true! I’m glad you’re addressing this as well, people need to realize the show portrays some extremes that shouldn’t be followed in everyday life. I love the transformations and life lessons on that show though, it’s so inspirational what people can do with determination! 😀

    Reply
  3. jojo

    I love the show too, it’s motivational but you have a great point!
    That’s the thing about reality shows, you expect your life to work the same way. More drama, more of looking perfect like a movie star, more of losing the pounds…..
    I love the analogy of 1 lb as 4 butter stick 😀

    Reply
  4. Katelyn

    I totally feel your pain! I love The Biggest Loser because I find it inspiring to see people change their lives and also like that TBL addresses the issues of what led individuals to gain weight in the first place. However, people do need to go into weight loss with a realistic approach to what it should be like. I have worked incredibly hard and had amazing success over the past year with Weight Watchers (so far have lost 53 lbs this year.) Just this morning I got a text message from a friend who just started the program saying that she was disappointed because she has “only” lost 4.8 lbs in the past 2 weeks. I told her to change her mindset and be proud because that is above average and great results. What I’ve said over and over this past year is, “This is a marathon, not a sprint.”

    Reply
  5. Tessa @ Amazing Asset

    I really like the Biggest Loser but you definitely made a great point here! It’s supposed to be inspirational, compelling and all of that… and it is! But it’s the extreme and unrealistic for the rest of the population. Losing 20 pounds in a 6-10 day period is far from normal, in fact it’s dangerous if anything

    Reply
  6. Shelly

    I really like Biggest Loser! I do think it’s pretty unrealistic for someone living in the “real” world. The people on the show have made it their entire life during the duration of taping to exercise and lose weight. They don’t have any other distractions in the way like the rest of us. I don’t think a lot of people think about that when comparing their results to those on the show.
    Something else I have noticed with BL – many of the contestants gain back at least a little bit of weight. Some have even gained it all back. I really think this is at least partly because they have quite a hard time adjusting back to the “real” world. Plus of course maintenance is a whole new ballgame! Just my two cents. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Khushboo Thadani

      “Plus of course maintenance is a whole new ballgame”–> so glad you brought that up! Losing weight, funnily enough, is the easy part of the process..keeping it off is where the trouble comes in! Sure they are working out for 4+ hours daily at the ranch but what about when it’s all over?

      Reply
  7. forgottenbeast

    TBL definitely portrays an unhealthy amount to lose each week (for the average person)–but it also shows what losing so much so fast does–every single contestant on the grand finale was quite obviously wearing a girdle to hold in loose skin. Losing a healthy amount means your whole body stays balanced and healthy!

    Reply
      1. forgottenbeast

        Yep, if you look closely you can definitely see it under all their t-shirts in the finale–there’s no way you can lose so much and actually be “toned” that fast! There’s definitely muscle, but there’s going to be a lot of extra skin over it for a while.

        Reply
  8. Meg (A Dash of Meg)

    We would be such good friends my dear 🙂 I HATE all reality shows except the Biggest Loser. It’s amazing to see the transformations. Not just in their appearance, but these people gain so much confidence too

    Reply
  10. Gayatri

    This is a great post. I know people who complain that they ONLY lost one. I used to be the exact opposite. I lost one in a week and then fell off the wagon. It’s horrible!

    Reply
  12. Alyse

    Ugh. Thank you for dispensing with the hype around how much weight loss is realistic and healthy. As fun as it is to get sucked into those shows, it can be hard to not get sucked into their warped versions of reality, too. Love the picture of the butter, too 🙂

    Reply
  13. Palan

    I’m addicted to this show! but I totally concur that it presents an unrealistic picture of achievable weightloss goals at times.
    But Bob is super cute and both him & Jillian have great workout suggestions – I don’t see me switching off any time soon!

    Reply

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