What all those annoying weight loss TV shows teach us.

Yes, I tend to watch these things, kind of like watching a train wreck. Sometimes I watch while eating a big piece of chocolate cake, sometimes while riding my exercise bike. I usually get annoyed at a lot of stuff, and change the channel for spurts to keep some of my sanity points.

What have I learned, or at least had re-enforced in my way of thinking?

1. Getting fit while still fat is possible.
The first thing these shows do is start the people on an exercise regimen. They start to get fit. Then the get really fit. This is all while they are still fat. Often times when they are really fat. They are running, lifting weights, working out for hours, all while fat. They get fit before they get slim, if they even get slim at all.

2. They are very strong when they get there.
There was an episode of Biggest Loser when they were trying to shame the contestants about how fat they had been when the show started. One of them was paired up with a trainer and they made the trainer put on as weight in weight vests and the like until he was the weight the contestant started the show at. The trainer could barely stand up, he could not do much at all. And the contestant had come to the show weighing that much and started working out immediately. There is often a trial when the show starts, biking for 20 miles, running/walking on a treadmill for 5k of the like (split between two people, but still a lot,) if the super fit trainer had to sit after a less then minute or so, and the contestant had been running/biking and such, what does that say about the relative levels of strength of the two people?

3. It is not calories in-calories out.
At first, most contestants start dropping weight quickly, but then it tapers off. They are working hard the whole time, and on a controlled diet. They even wear body-bugs to keep track of the calories out. If it was pure calories in-calories out, they would know every week exactly how much they lost. Instead they are usually surprised, often by how little they lose, even when they 'work hard and watch what they eat.' They also tend to lose weight on weeks when they get a sugary treat. hmmm.

4. The desire to lose weight is really about appearance, not health.
The contestants/participants tend to increase their health measures, like level of fitness, blood sugar, circulation issues, way before they get slim, but that is not often talked about. Most of the language is around the number on the scale, the number on the measuring tape, the number on the label of their jeans. And about how they feel, how they feel "normal" now when they go out into the world. This is also reflected in the family and friends when the big reveal happens. Often even more then the contestants themselves. They start to cry tears of joy when the see the person, before the person even talks. They all say how much better the person looks. Occasionally they talk about an increase in energy or vitality, but the majority of the discourse is about appearance.

There are, of course many other things these shows teach us. The shows themselves don't go into how unhealthy it is to lose the weight this fast, of how many of the contestants put the weight (plus more) right back on again, often having more health issues then when they started.

I somehow don't think that I got the teaching they thought I was, so, what have these shows taught you?