As I get ready to watch the latest episode of The Biggest Loser, I can’t help but think that after this season…I’m done!  When the show first started, we were all amazed at how much weight the contestants lost and were inspired that we could do it to.  Well, we’re now on Season 9, and instead of being inspired and motivated, I’m scared.

Losing 25 pounds a week is not healthy.  Working out a minimum of four hours a day is not healthy.  And working out that much while eating only a reported 1,200 calories a day…not healthy.  So instead of feeling happy for the contestants and excited to get on my treadmill, I find myself getting upset that NBC is treating this like a business, and putting the lives of people in danger.

Of course there are huge (pardon the pun) success stories, and some of the contestants go on to keep the weight off, get book deals, paid appearances, and diet products with their faces on them.  My problem is with the behind-the-scenes stories we aren’t hearing….until now.  Star magazine (not always the most reliable source) interviewed past contestant Kai who spilled the beans about the show and the 118 pounds she lost.  She says that three weeks after the cameras stopped rolling, she was shaking on her bathroom floor, her immune system was shot, she was covered in bruises and losing her hair.  She also says that she gained back 31 pounds, just by drinking water!  She said, “They want the dramatic results. They want America to be amazed,” Kai, 31, tells Star. “We are all looking for that help, that magic, and The Biggest Loser looks like magic when people are losing 20 lbs. in a week. Why would they change that? They won’t until someone gets really sick.”

I’m sure Kai’s story is just one of the negative ones that gets told.  I’m convinced there are more that we may never hear about.  I’ve also heard tales of dehydration and the use of diuretics as well.

Besides the unhealthy practices on the show, the other thing that’s been pissing me off, is the trainers.  Bob has always been looked at as “the nice one,”  and Jillian is “the bitch.”  I get that some people need to be pushed more than others, but this season, I can’t help but feel like this is borderline abuse.  There was one episode this season where I found myself cheering for one of the women to hit Jillian!  All this screaming in people’s faces in the name of motivation got the best of me and yes, for a brief moment, I was advocating violence!  Of course by the finale, everyone will have kissed and made up.  In addition to all the screaming, I can’t deal with all of Jillian’s psycho-analyzing.  I understand she’s working on a psychology degree.  Maybe this is her internship!

For all these reasons and many more, I think I’ll be looking for a Tuesday night 8pm TV substitute.  I don’t want to be watching when someone on the show dies.  For me, the negative has finally outweighed (pun intended) the positive.

What do YOU think?  Have you finally had enough, or will you continue to watch?  Leave me a comment!

Just my humble opinion…Pebbles