It just occurred to me that Ruben is also the name of a sandwich :(
It just occurred to me that Ruben is also the name of a sandwich :(
He did terribly. Prediction: By the finale he's lost no more than 70 pounds.
He did not appear to be terribly invested in his performance, I agree.
I think that Olympic chick my pull it out of her ass and win.
Her or Hap.
very apt description Nicky, torture porn is a great term for it
i can't watch torture movies and i can't watch this
I can't watch torture crap, but I love watching people get fit! It almost half makes me want to do it! But then I eat ice cream while I watch it.
He was recently, officially, eliminated last week, so he won't be the Biggest Loser. He was previously "eliminated" in a voided elimination because Jillian gave her team supplements.
He did a trout job. Absolute trout. He'll still be ginormous at the finale.
'The Biggest Loser' Finale: Winner Loses Nearly 60 Percent Body Weight
The winner of this season was Rachel Frederickson, who lost a record-breaking 59.62% of her body weight, going from 260 pounds to 105 pounds, effectively making her underweight.
As for Ruben Studdard, he lost 119 pounds, or 25.76% of his body weight, going from 462 pounds to 343 pounds. Not bad in terms of raw numbers, but in percentages, he could have done better.
While this show is good in that teaching people to exercise and eat healthy is a good thing, I can't help but think that it rewards overweight people by giving them fame and fortune for doing something most of us do naturally (as in, not be fat). Is there any evidence of people purposefully gaining weight in order to go on this show or are the contestants vetted thoroughly enough so that it doesn't occur?
This show doesn't teach people to exercise and be healthy, it teaches people to overexercise unsustainably and unrealistically, eat processed foods, and that "losing the highest percentage of weight loss" takes priority over all other aspects of health. This isn't a benevolent lecture on wellness and acceptance, it's a marketing ploy to sell exercise equipment, and merchandising and advertising tie-ins. The trainers shame contestants for being fat, being tired, sustaining injuries, exercising so much that they vomit (which isn't enough) - and encourage behaviours like exercising even more and fasting to the point of dehydration when anticipating weigh-ins.
"Most of us" are not fat - but "most of us" here are lucky enough to have access to fresh ingredients, the time to prepare them, the physical ability and time available to exercise. If you're rushing from one job to another or scheduling your day around public transit, maybe a smoke and a candy bar or a Big Mac Combo is the best you can do. Not everyone on food stamps can rush out and stock up on Subway sandwiches and Jimmy Dean's turkey breasts. Obesity compounds physical ailments, yes - but that just makes it more difficult to summon the energy to change them. If you seriously think that there are people out there gaining weight specifically so that they can be chosen for a TV show that further removes their ability to work and earn money in the short term then I don't even know what to say.
The show doesn't give "overweight people" "fame and fortune", either. I would wager the majority of them don't get public speaking or fitness guru engagements - and even if they do, that's hardly millions of dollars. How much money do you think the winner actually gets to keep? Someone with that many health problems is pretty likely to have some hefty medical bills to take care of, as well as things like wages they missed out on for the duration of the show, and other life expenses.
I watched the finale (having not watched since the beginning of the season) and it was atrocious, it was like watching an overzealous cult meeting. Like a sideshow or a circus, the garishly lit close-ups of the obese contestants (who in their photos aren't allowed to smile or even wear a t-shirt) contrasted with the heavily made up and slimmed down contestants who almost all, shockingly, managed to look disappointed with their final mammoth efforts on the scale. I hope that they are happy, but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't, despite the carefully prepared soundbites. I'm surprised that the winner didn't have a heart attack, but I'm sure whenever that happens it will make for good ratings.
I get the criticism for the show, but it's hard to be cynical about it when you see a guy go from struggling to get into bed with his sleep apnea mask to participating in a rodeo. These people go from being sick to being athletes. Yes, it's on a game show, so aspects of it are smurfed up, but I'm not sure of another setting that affords the kind of opportunity to just power through the transformation from obese to fit while showing other people that changing your life like that is possible.
You said yourself you didn't watch the show, Nicky, so you didn't see them with medical professionals and how they adjust work-outs for injuries. Yeah, they dehydrate before weigh-ins; it's a competition, after all.
There is shame in being that big. Being morbidly obese means you are sick. Many of the contestants still aren't "slim" at the finale, but they still get cheers and praise and told how wonderful and healthy they look because they are much healthier. The show does a lot of charity and has developed a lot of programs to promote fitness. Yeah, it's a money-making machine, but that doesn't make the fitness they promote less valuable.
Tumi was my favorite this year and I didn't expect her to win, but she did (the at-home prize) and looked amazing. Like a gazelle. It was great watching Rachel blossom, and she probably went a little far in getting down to 105, but she had big guys to compete with so I can't really blame her. I really didn't expect Bobby or David to look quite that good at the finale; I wasn't sure who was going to win once I saw all of them.
Ruben is still obese, but he did better than I thought. Tumi's still my favorite though.
If your country had less smurfed up tax laws and a cost of living that isn't insane in a lot of places, the winner would do a lot better I'd guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by Calliope
I said I didn't watch the show, Amanda, but having watched other seasons I know they periodically sit down with the doctor and evaluate their progress. That doesn't change that it's unhealthy and unrealistic to so rapidly embrace such a regimen.
There is shame in being that big, but unfortunately it seems there is shame in being as small as Rachel Frederickson, too. It's a pity that there are people demanding she be stripped of her prize, or otherwise generally shaming her for deciding to do exactly what the show promotes and win the competition. I guess I'm not surprised, but it's tiring that even when they win, the contestants are still the subject of such outrage and criticism.