The Biggest Loser

Did you watch it?  Last night was the most fun, cuddled up with my husband while watching The Biggest Loser finale.  The results are always so fun!  I mean people usually lose half of themselves!  Eric and I cheered and roared all the way until Rachel came out on stage.

And, then our jaws dropped.  And, apparently, it was all Jillian could do to keep hers from dropping.  But, the look she gave Bob gave herself away.

In that one glance, we knew what the trainers knew.

Rachel had gone too far.

I love the show and what it represents.  I love that it gets to the root of the matter...there is usually a spiritual heart issue that needs resolved before the weight can come off.  I love that inward healing often brings outward healing.

But, The Biggest Loser may be in a bit of trouble after last night?

What are they to do when a contestant goes from one extreme of obesity to the other extreme of being too thin.  (I won't call it anorexia because I refuse to label her that way if that is not her issue. But, there is an issue that must be dealt with.)

So, what is the issue?  I think there are at least three.

First, body image.  How thin is too thin?  What mentally is going through Rachel's head to think that she must be that thin?  She went from 260 pounds to 105 pounds.  She lost over 60% of her body weight. What number for her will ever be thin enough? Will she stop here?  Will she feel freedom to put back on some weight now that she has won?

Which brings me to the second issue:  money.  The contestants are in it for money.  I am telling you first hand that losing weight is a hard journey.  I totally agree that you might need some incentive to keep going.  But, when that much money is at stake, will people starve themselves in order to set themselves up for a better financial life?

The third issue is how The Biggest Loser runs the show.  It never has seemed fair to me that they make men compete against women.  In general the men always have a better advantage because they start off larger, and are usually able to take more off percentage wise.  What if Rachel ran some numbers, and realized that in order to beat the other two male finalists, she would simply have to get down to 100-ish pounds.  I had a 100 pound friend in high school.  They wouldn't even let her give blood when the blood drive came around.

So, did you watch the show?  What were your thoughts?  Did she go too far?  Is she healthy?  Are there things that The Biggest Loser can modify in the future in order to set everyone up for long term success?