We have developed an insatiable appetite to bear witness to heavy folks battling their food addictions during prime time. It must make us feel better about ourselves. Whatever the reason, we are clearly entertained enough to lend our eyes to at least 4 programs that I know of regarding the subject.
Fat Camp, Celebrity Fit Club, The Biggest Loser, and my personal favorite Fat March.
I will now make some very sweeping and unfair generalizations about these these shows and the people that have the misfortune to appear on them.
1) Not all heavy people have pretty faces
2) They seem to cry a lot, more than their thinner counterparts
3) They seem to cry a lot harder when they talk about their weight
4) They seem to be tempted by food in a way that I don't understand
5) They seem to lose a shitload of weight when they control their food intake and exercise
I have never watched Fat Camp so I don't know what goes on there.
I had no idea that so many fallen rock stars and TV celebs went on to pack the pounds after their careers where over. Celebrity Fit Club has little to do with weight loss and more to do with drama and the hopes of sparking dead careers.
I absolutely despise "The Biggest Loser" show as much as my wife loves it. I can't stand the whole "gaming" angle of the show. Lose weight/gain money. One dude drinks 2 gallons of water before the big Weigh In in order to show a GAIN of 17 pounds in some sort of strategic move that escapes me. I'm sickened when they appear to crave or are tempted by food and even more so when they cry about their appearance, and more than anything when they appear to complain about having to exercise.
This is unfair of me. I wouldn't think twice about thin people behaving in the same manner.
My favorite of the bunch is Fat March. I saw only one episode and although I think they had a "weigh in" and game aspect, I was damn near giddy about watching people merely walk and lose a ton of weight. It worked big time but I guess it was not as sexy as having masculine trainers barking at the contestants in the gym like the other shows. These folks just seemed to walk their asses off. I don't know how highly rated the show was or if we'll ever see a new group of people walk themselves into a life of fitness on TV.
Weight has been a tricky subject in our home and in my coaching endeavors. Raising 2 daughters made us acutely aware of how fragile that bubble of self image and self confidence is for young girls. We encouraged proper diet but let them eat some junk too. We encouraged exercise but didn't make a big deal of it. We did not allow them to say "fat" or "skinny" and somehow got them through their teens without weird ideas about food or weight.
I tightened up the rules even more around the girls I coach. I wouldn't allow any talk whatsoever about weight or appearance. . . and this took some doing. It took several awkward encounters until we all got on the same page about it. You would not believe how forward this is in the mind of teen aged girls. "I'm fat". "Your skinny". "She's fat". "Do I look fat?". My response to any of that type of talk was to say. "I don't allow any cussing (sounds kind of backwoodsy, don't it?) and we don't talk about weight or appearance here".
I can't begin to tell you how easily the comments fly out of some of their parents mouths though. It makes me cringe and as I am not there to preach or advise them on the raising of their daughters (God knows I've made my mistakes as a parent), I simply change the subject or walk away. I wonder what is said in their home and how much of an impact it will have in their kids life down the road.
I have a close friend who's average looking 15 year old daughter has battled an eating disorder for over 3 years. She has been pulled out of school and sent all over the country for help. She came back last summer and, as she is attending the school where I coach, I suggested that she might give our team a try as a healthy means of bringing a positive environment of fitness into her life. The very night she was supposed to begin practice with us, one of the newer girls hopped out of her car, ran over to us, and blurted out "see how fat I look in these shorts?". Thank God my friends' daughter was not there and, in fact never joined us.
I've watched kids transform themselves season after season by the mere addition of running in their daily diet. The best part of it all is that neither coach or athlete ever mentions it to one another.
I hope some good comes to someone who watches any of these shows. I hope they fall out of favor soon. I hope they are not replaced with something even worse.
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