re: Fit for TV, The Reality of the Biggest Loser…what I would do differently

I remember when the Biggest Loser first came out.  I had already been working as a personal trainer for a couple years by that point and had a blog where I had called out some of the unsafe/unethical/stupid practices they had done.  When that Netflix docu-series came out, I thought about hitching up to it, and calling out the original series again when all my suspicions were confirmed.

 

But I decided to go an alternate route and make it a positive/productive one instead.

 

 

When I watched it, I thought about writing a post about what I would do instead if I had the kind of budget they were working with.  But I don’t have that kind of budget so it wouldn’t be practical.  Instead what I have is a personal training studio conveniently located on Main Street in Boonton, where I work with real people facing real every day struggles and what I would do, if the contestants from the Biggest Loser chose Eric Moss Fitness for all their health and fitness needs instead.

I’d be thankful they chose Eric Moss Fitness for all their health and fitness needs 🙂

So first, lets look at the contestants and what their needs are.  I didn’t watch the original series because truth be told, I would get disgusted with the trainers and the way they treat the contestants so I don’t know all of their stories.  But there were a small handful of the former contestants that were part of the docu-series.

All of the contestants wanted to lose weight, knew they needed to lose weight but didn’t know how.   They thought the Biggest Loser represented the ticket to better health and thought that the show had their best interests in mind.  But Hollywood is Hollywood and the better approach doesn’t make for good tv.  Also just having a basic understanding of how reality shows really work is why when I was approached about having cameras in my studio, I said there would have to be very specific ground rules that eliminates things like misrepresentations about the truth.

So, lets look at the contestants, what their goals are etc.  Their goal is simple, gain health by losing weight and keeping it off.  Now if you look at the actual results of what the contestants did…they lost a lot of weight and in a very short period of time but most of them gained it all back.  The approach was crazy (people leaving in ambulances makes for great tv) they were screamed at and encouraged to fight amongst each other (because drama makes good tv) and made to do humiliating things (because once again, that sort of thing makes for good tv).  My personal training business isn’t dependent on television ratings, it’s built on real people with real struggles, getting real results and continuing to choose Eric Moss Fitness for all their health and fitness needs and telling their friends about it.

Phase 1: Establish better relationship with food, progress custom workouts that build muscle/cardiovascular fitness.  Body fat would come off, strength and biomarkers for health improve dramatically, confidence and life outlook improves drastically.

Phase 2: Maintain and build upon your results, continue to live the best life for years on end.

So my approach would be a multi phase approach.  The first phase for training would be centered around the basics to get them to build muscle and strength, improving their cardiovascular system and burning body fat right out of the gate while teaching eating skills that set them up for quick wins with longer term success.  The results for building muscle and strength will come fast.  Reason for this is because they spent so much of their life feeling like they weren’t enough and I’d want them to feel good about themselves for a change.  Nothing builds confidence like the way effective training can.  In addition to that, building muscle helps you burn fat and keep it off.

The workouts would be challenging, but never outside of what the person can safely do.  There is a sweet spot between too much and not enough, and keeping them in the sweet spot is the key to both fast progress and sustainable progress without the body ruining it’s metabolism along the way.

The nutrition would be something that simultaneously fuels the workouts, provides enough protein to build muscle while keeping them in a caloric deficit…but not enough of a deficit where they feel hungry all the time resulting in the body fighting back with the rebound effect (work with your body instead of against it).  Instead of overly strict dieting which wasn’t even effective in the first place, I would have them use their hand size to help with portion control while practicing the healthy skills and habits that will set them up for long term success.  According to Dr. John Berrardi and his staff at Precision Nutrition, using your hands as guides for your portions has approximately 95% the accuracy of weighing your food…and is much easier and more practical. If something is going to be effective, it needs to be consistent.   And if it’s going to be consistent, it should be convenient.

You can learn about it on his website  https://www.precisionnutrition.com/hand-portion-faq

For the way I coach them.  I wouldn’t BS them and I wouldn’t belittle them or yell at them either (unless they were doing something unsafe and I only would do that to get their attention).  What the contestants were looking for is a guide to help them.  I would be the caring guide that treats them like a friend/family member and help them strategize how to make the process fit their lifestyle.  The plan works and I’d get them laughing throughout the process to make it enjoyable for a change.

When phase 1 is done, I’d show them how far they’ve come, and I wouldn’t use the scale.  I don’t think the scale is that useful of a metric because it doesn’t take into account things like muscle growth.  For body composition I prefer progress pictures and possibly waist measurements.  And I wouldn’t use it as a public spectacle for embarrassment.  If I have people post their progress pics, it’s because it will make both them and me as their guide look good.

The next phase would involve a slower build of strength and muscle while maintaining the nutrition plan and building on the eating skills.  During this phase they would continue to get stronger year after year and as long as the nutrition is in place the unwanted body fat would continue to come off…and it would stay off because the contestants are now armed with the skills necessary to do so regardless of the situation and without being overly restrictive (can I have cake at my kids birthday?  Of course! Birthdays come once a year and are super important).  They would know how to balance their goals with real life struggles without fear of missing out on life and without feeling guilty about it.

I’m not about guilt and shame, I’m about building gains, because life is for living.

Now you may not be a contestant for the Biggest Loser, but if you need help and if you are in or near Boonton NJ and if what I say vibes with you, I offer a free trial so you can see if you think it’s for you.  Just send me a text at 973 476 5328 and introduce yourself to get started on the road to better health, strength and confidence, quickly but sustainably.

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Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strength performers more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and travels across the country doing presentations on goal achievement for conferences, corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Kinnelon, Pine Brook, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.