How Long Would You Wait Hoping to Become a Contestant on the Biggest Loser?

By , SparkPeople Blogger
This past weekend in Dallas auditions were being held for the 13th season of the Biggest Loser. One gentleman stated that this was not his first audition to get on the show, that he has spent several years trying to be one of the lucky few to get a chance. While not trying to sound judgmental, I thought to myself, why is this young man not trying to change his life now? Why does he feel the only ticket to living and leading a healthy life is this show? What happens if he never gets that chance?  To think that he believes this show is his only answer to losing weight and getting fit and healthy made me wonder how long any of us would wait, even if there is a small remote chance to be selected.

For me, becoming a contestant on the Biggest Loser was never an option. I began my own personal healthy living journey just months after the show made its premier in October 2004. Having never seen the show until the summer of 2005 when I was visiting Finland where it happened to be one of the few English speaking programs to air and which I could understand, I quickly became a fan.

Having spent a lifetime struggling to overcome a life-long battle with my weight, I was inspired. However, I did wonder if going to a ranch for months separated from the real world would have been easier than going it alone.  After all I had spent 30 plus years dieting, so being separated from my family for months on end seemed like a no brainer if that meant I would finally reach my goal weight. Even if I thought the Biggest Loser would have been an option, I soon discovered that I would not have been heavy enough to meet the guidelines to be on the show, which I understand one needs to be at least 85 pounds overweight in order be considered.

I will confess that I was a big fan of the show for a several years. But the more educated I became on the process on how one needs to go about losing weight, the less I watched. In fact I think the last season I watched was when Ali Vincent won. She was the first female contestant to finally earn the title of the Biggest Loser.

When I was doing research as to where the past contestants are today, I searched the internet high and low to see if I could find some information. According to a January 2009 tidbit on the Today Show's website, Season 1 winner Ryan Benson talks of his struggle with his re-gain after leaving the show. Season 3 contestant Amy Wolff speaks of how she gave up her job to move to the ranch, even forgoing Thanksgiving dinner with her family because of her fear of eating 'rich' food. Even Season 5 winner Ali Vincent was not immune from her own struggle to 'wean herself from going to the gym on daily basis.'

These are just a few of the many contestants who candidly spoke of their struggles which only reaffirms my notion that regardless of how you lose the weight, you must make this journey about healthy living and not a means to get to your goal weight only to go back to your old ways. But you also have to know that life is meant to be lived. Spending hours in the gym and watching every calorie can be just as detrimental as the other extreme. Life is about balance.

The fate of this young man has yet to be seen, but I hope he will come to understand that it isn't a show, a weight loss surgery or even a weight loss plan that will transform us, but the embracing of life-long healthy habits that allows us to become the healthy, fit individuals we are meant to be. This journey is about is about you changing you.

Have you ever tried out for the Biggest Loser? Would you ever consider trying out for the show?