Friday, March 21, 2008

Biggest Loser Review

The time has come for me to have an official Biggest Loser chat. Some of you may know how inspirational I find this show to be. It played a major role in my weight loss motivation. I didn't just watch the Biggest Loser every week... but thanks to Tivo and The Style Network I was able to workout to past seasons several times a week. I love working out to The Biggest Loser. Whenever I felt my motivation waning I'd turn on an old BL and there was always something about that theme song that was like the call of the Sirens and in a matter of minutes I'd be on the treadmill. Well a year later it is still inspirational to me.

But enough about that what I really want to talk about is all the information that has come out this year on the show... things that had previously seemed somewhat cloaked in mystery... and of course just my general thoughts on the season.

They work out 6 hours a day.

They eat (at least the Black Team) 1500 calories a day.

The Last Chance Workout is the morning of the weigh-in.

They get a "Cheat Day" the day after weigh-in. (Now Bob said this but I'm unclear if he meant an entire day, a meal, or an item... since he was holding a giant plate of mozzarella sticks.)

This season I have found the plugs for daily vitamins and gum to be so over the top and cheesy that it takes away from the show for me.

Mark & Jay are the biggest cry babies of all time and that definitely distracts from the show for me!

I was hoping the Bernie & Brittany would fall in love... I'm still holding out for that one (yes I know he has a girlfriend!).

I'm surprised the producers let the teams get divided so unevenly once they switched to Blue vs Black.

And last but not least.... Bob is being portrayed in such a negative light this season that he kind of seems like a jerk to me now.


Any Biggest Loser thoughts?

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm with you about Mark and Jay---they seem to bawl about everything! I really don't want to see brothers win again either.

Dan is just plain weird. He reminds me of the kid from Family Guy. :)

I thought the episode this past week was one giant Macy's commercial. It was very annoying. (and boring)

I love the show too but I wish they would show less drama and more working out, although I know that is not what sells on TV.


just my two cents....

Robin said...

Finally! Someone is saying what's been on my mind. I have loved The Biggest Loser since season 1. This season just pisses me off.

1) The product whoring is ridiculous!

2) They have been crapping on Bob since the beginning. Everyone kept saying he wasn't tough enough, and now he looks like a jerk. I don't know if it is just his reaction to everyone saying he isn't tough, or if this is how he really is, but I don't like it. I loved him before...now, not so much.

3) I hate the blue team. They are such asses. "Pride on 3, pride on 3." Makes me want to puke.

4) The black team is a bunch of bitches, too. Quit whining!

I have no one to root for, and I really haven't been enjoying this season. I hope next season is better. If it isn't, I may have to stop watching. :(

Whooo, I feel better, getting that off my chest. Thanks for giving me a forum! ;)

justme said...

i LOVE love love the show. my thoughts....yes jay and mark are cry baby idiot massholes. seriously mark is a loser and i find it hard to watch him. did you notice how chubby his kid was ?

brittney annoyed the crap out of me as well, at first i thought she rocked, but now she is just a big baby - wha wha wha. when jillian cursed out allison sweeny - i was appalled and felt she should have been MADE to apologize on the show to allison. i mean allison is doing a job, it is TV - they are paying you to do a show, entertainment...suck it up.
yes the product placement is bothersome. also there whole thing about the water bottles, they use nalgene and i have heard nalgene is not safe and has BPA problems. oh and they talked about using ziplock bags to help portion and meal plan....not very GREEN if you ask me.
sorry, i guess i had a ton to say !!

Heather said...

Here are my thoughts:

1. Product whoring = ridiculous. Strangely though, I think of Jillian's straight talk about the benefits of organic fruits and vegetables every time I go to the store. I'm not big on the hard sell.
2. Mark and Jay = annoying. STOP CRYING.
3. Dan = something endearing about him. He's got his mom's competitive streak for sure.
4. Kelly = I find her SO freaking irritating. Whine whine whine about the challenges, and then she's always the first to quit/fall down, etc. Dude!
5. Bernie and Brittany were my favorites. I'm sad they're gone.
6. Ali continuing to wear the pink -- I dunno, this seems kinda wishy-washy to me. Pick a team. The black team could certainly use someone to lead them. Step up girl.
7. Roger. So fucking cocky, I can't stand it.
8. I have to admit, I really love Jillian more now. She's tough as nails, but she's got heart and empowers women to stop being afraid and to go after what they want. I like Bob, I just don't like his team.
9. Apparently next season will also be couples. Egads.

Anonymous said...

LOVE that show!!!

I also agree that those two brothers are crying A.L.L T.H.E. T.I.M.E.!!! Come on already, suck it up! Be a man! I so hope they get kicked off (though it doesn't seem probable).

Also secretely wished that Brittney and Berney would fall in love...they were my favorite team of all!

Dan DOES remind me of the family guy kid!! I couldn't place it until you said that! I think he's gotten really arrogant about being "the best". I do enjoy his comments though.

And dh and I laugh about all of the product placement. Its so staged and corny..even the people doing them seem uncomfortable.

Bob does seem like a bigger jerk this year. I think that they are trying to make him more of a "man's man". I think it "worked out" that he ended up training all the boys so that he would seem more "manly" and heavy on the testosterone rather than the regular "yoga"-type Bob. Gotta say, like the old Bob better. Though overall I don't care that much because I am a tried-and-true Jillian fan!!

I would love to see a sample of what their workouts consist of on a daily basis. I've always been curious exactly what kind of things they are doing for 6 hours..

OK, next!

Mrs Furious said...

Oh thank God!! I was worried that no one actually had anything to say on the topic!

Workout Mommy,
" Dan is just plain weird. He reminds me of the kid from Family Guy. :) "
LOL. I also can't really get into Dan... he has a strange mealy factor to me.


Robin,
You might be happy to know that when the Blue team weighs in I have Kid watch with me and BOO them while they get their weight. I HATE Roger what a goddamn asshole. And Dan blew it last week when he kept Jay (even though lets face it Jay is a pussy) but Dan needed to bust up the brothers when he had a chance! I'm so sick of Mark & Jay blubbering away any time they think they might be separated like they were the only "couple" competing!! Pisses me off. Mark is a big controlling co-dependent freak. And I found it fascinating that Jay did better when Mark was gone.

Never thought of the whole "give Bob the guys so he seems more masculine" bit... could be true. I had thought he was definitely gay in the past and now I've not been so sure. Anyone know on that front?

Feener,
yes the nalgene water bottles drives me crazy every time!

Oh yeah and Mark's chubby kid... yep I noted that and that shit pisses me off. Although it does seem that he will make lifestyle changes for his family and they might be able to turn it around.

I thought it was more than a bit uncomfortable when Jillian ripped into Allison... and thought it was interesting the two different versions they showed of it (shorter & longer).


Heather,
Ali wearing the pink totally pisses me off. Guess what Ali the blue team is going to vote you off the first chance they get...They don't need you now that they've kept their numbers! I've never seen such idiotic voting.


Marie,
agreed I'd also love to know exactly what they do for 6 hours!

Slacker Mama said...

I usually lurk, but I feel compelled to comment because The Biggest Loser is my current obsession! I love how this season there seems to be a bit more of them working out and the whole underlying process.

While Mark and Jay totally annoy me, I was *thrilled* that Mark came back, only because my husband and I get to talk to the TV in our worst Masshole accents whenever they speak. For example, "You look *wicked awesome*, Maaaahk" when he walked the catwalk.

The product placement is so so so bad. I mean, the Bob and Dan vitamin discussion was about as awkward as my mom's first attempt at the birds and the bee's talk when I was 13.

I actually love Roger, just because he's a big, southern, sports-loving baffoon...and I'm married to one of those.

Ali as the host annoys me. I think it's because I used to watch her on Days in college and she annoyed me then, too.

Hope you feel better!

Mrs Furious said...

Hey Slacker Mama,
Thanks for de-lurking!

" "You look *wicked awesome*, Maaaahk" "
Oh that is some funny stuff!

I thought I was going to hate Ali as the host because I used to watch Days back in the day and hated her on it. Plus I actually liked what a wacko Caroline was (and who the hell dressed her by the way!?!) But Ali has one me over... she seems genuinely attached to the players and I do appreciate that. I did feel a little back stabbed when she joined in on the "pride on 3" after the zip line though ;)

Oh God the Dan & Bob vitamin discussion... terrible...

katieo said...

I haven't watched BL this season and after reading these comments I'm thinking that's not such a bad thing.

I've just been sick of the product shoving, drama, crying, whining. Up until this point, it has always been worth it because there are some moments in the show that have more than made up for it. I mean, out of the whole last season though, I think there were maybe three episodes that were truly inspiring.

I'll always love Bob.

katieo said...

Uh.
That, and it was on at the same time as American Idol.

Mrs Furious said...

Katieo,
You are lucky you haven't watched or you would have lost some Bob love... trust me. ;)

There have been some good moments but they have definitely stepped up the product placement and scripted "sit-downs".

Mrs Furious said...

I almost didn't watch because I assumed the "couples" version was going to be different and more like those weird mini two episode versions they've done in the past but it was the real deal. And I guess they're sticking with couples next time too.

Amy said...

I really wish they would do a BL with all women. I think men have an unfair advantage vs. women when it comes to weight loss contests. It would suck to have PMS bloat weight on the WI day!!

I don't think they've had a woman winner yet...have they?

josey said...

this is only my second season of watching TBL. i look forward to watching it every week! like you said, mrs f, its soooo motivating and i never thought reality tv could actually inspire me.

i'm with all of you guys on most everything, especially the totally cheesey product ads and the strange editing on bob (cause i always loved bob and they've made him look like a cocky, un-compassionate jerk!). they should understand that this isnt a show like say, survivor, where viewers salivate over all the drama. people who watch TBL typically want to be inspired--and the focus on the jr high drama is only ANNOYING! i wish they'd focus more on the workouts, food, and dealing with emotional issues. (with a little bit of drama of course, just because that's part of it.)

but of course, its all about money for the network...*doesnt go there...*

mark and jay annoy me off and on. i myself cry almost every episode because i can relate to so many of the issues these people have. but COME ON...they could try to suck it up a little bit. hehe. even tho i get mad at nearly every contestant at some point, i have to keep reminding myself that the editors want us to see certain things and that those people may not be (or they MAY BE!) what we're seeing. i just try to look past all the crap...

and dang i just cant decide who to route for! i suppose out of everyone left, i'd route for dan or ali. they are the least annoying to me!

great post!! always fun to rant about tv shows. lol.

Mrs Furious said...

Amy,
YES the PMS bloating!!! Can you freaking imagine?!? And no a woman hasn't won it yet. Ali is still dropping really big numbers and if she was up against Mark she might have a chance but Roger and Dan still have weight they could lose...


Josey,
I went to your site... I'll have more time after the weekend to comment :)

and I agree I do get a strong "Survivor" editing vibe this time around. I suppose the couples aspect may have lent to more drama than usual as well... but more than any other season I feel each contestant has been type cast.

As for routing I could get behind Ali since I think it would be great for a woman to win or I'd love to see Jay win it and take it away from his brother ;)

Anonymous said...

Hmm...not sure who I want to win. Up to this point it was Brittney (loved the Bernie and Brittney team, so was hanging with her). NOT the brothers, NOT Kelli (she seems to be the biggest whiner..always complaining about nobody loves her, its too hard, always first out..she just seems to give up too easily), not sure about Ali..would like a girl to win, but something about her irks me (not to sound totally mean, but I also just can't look at her too long. its like her eyes are going to bug out of her head), or maybe Dan (*ducking*)..just think it would be funny to see what he has to say in his arrogant just-21 "I rule the world now" way. Plus, I think it would REALLY piss the brothers off if he won!!

On a totally other topic, since someone brought up PMS, what do the girls on Survivor do when they get their period? I mean, they are ALWAYS half naked. Do they provide *feminine hygeine* products?? They are ALWAYS half-naked, so they would have to wear tampons (i would think)...hmmm....

Off to wonder how absorbant pine needles are....

Mrs Furious said...

Marie,
I have often wondered about different Survivor issues... tampons, bikini line issues, etc. Even if they use tampons what do they do with them? There isn't a "trash". I'm thinking if I were going on Survivor I'd go get a good bikini and underarms wax... that would last about a month and if you're still on after that I don't know what you'd do. As for the periods if you are allowed to take the pill I'd do that and skip the placebo so I didn't get one. Hmmm... I wonder if they have an official policy on this?

Kelly Olexa said...

How does one work out for 6 hours a day?? that is mad!!!

Mrs Furious said...

Kelly O
Remember when Demi Moore was crazy fit.. in the era of all those Vanity Fair covers and GI Jane & the stripper movie (can't remember what it was called) anyway... she worked out for 8 freaking hours a day!!! When I read that it was burned into my memory ;)

emmyjw said...

Wow,your whole review seemed like the exact conversation Nolan and I had the other night about this season (minus Bernie and Britt, but I thought of that too ;) ) Nolan was yelling at Mark through the TV when he started crying about his wife being at the fashion show, "You just went home what are you crying for!!!" Also, the vitamin and gum thing is very lame, especially the LONG episode about vitamins with Bob and Dan. Anyways...thanks for bringing up the topic.

justme said...

Oh how i have wondered about the bikini line on survivor. i am talking nights up about this question. i shave and the same day i have hair on my bikini line. how the hell are they wearing those skimpy suits and prancing around with no bikini line worries ???

i think elizabeth hassleback did say she wore the boy shorts suit for that reason.

i know you are getting the hair removal - i really need to considerate it b/c i could shave in the am and still not feel comfy in a suit on the beach that day.

Mrs Furious said...

Emmy,
""You just went home what are you crying for!!!""
LOL... you can tell Nolan I was thinking the exact same thing!



Feener,
Oh you should do it. I had had a very painful experience 2 sessions ago but I told the tech and this time it was perfectly manageable. I does take awhile I'm just at the one year/6 sessions mark and I am nearly hair free. Let's just say I posted my bathing suit pics with no worries and I hadn't shaved or anything.

eurydice said...

1) the product placement amuses me because it's so blatantly obvious.

2) mark and jay are big sissies. they cry too much. but so does kelly. and so did brittany.

3) i thought that paul looked like he was ready to pop at all times. you just had to push a pin into him haha.

4) i thought jillian calling out allison was uncalled for - she is the host and is supposed to ask questions like that for good tv.

5) in response to another commenter - dan also reminds me of the son from the family guy hahaha.

6) tim gunn telling kelly her dress was dowdy hahahaha - hilarious.

7) brittany and bernie... she is gorgeous but needs to stop the bitching and moaning.

8) dan is obviously the biggest meathead idiot jackass stupidface ever for not splitting up jay and mark. do you think they are going to ever vote for each other? no way!

9) something about alli's face bothers me. and her pink shirt. she is too smug. and i didn't like her mom either.

10) why do they have that gorgeous pool on campus but NEVER use it!!! mark used it once when he hurt his leg but COME ON!

11) thank god they did something with kelly's 80s hairdo.

12) i think it's a cheat meal, and even so, portion controlled. a cheat day would get out of hand!

13) i think i like bob better now... not sure if he's gay or not but i'd lean towards yes because he got VERY excited about dan's new hair and wardrobe.

14) yes they work out 6 hours a day but they don't really do anything else. it's not like they have jobs and kids to take care of. i could do it too i think.

the end. :)

Anonymous said...

Re Survivor: I've read most either skip their periods via the pill or they just have it as usual. They are provided items for just that time by the medical staff.

I like the BL, but I'm unimpressed with the whole "let someone come back" thing. I don't think it should have happened. Ali looks great, but totally should have voted for Jay. That was a HUGE mistake on all sides! Just like last time, one of those brothers is going to win. At least last time, I could handle it. This time, BLECH!!!!

Elizabeth said...

OMG, where to start?

OK, yes the teams are unbelieveably uneven. It's ridiculous. You do NOT have to be a rocket scientist to realize that men, even men not as large as those men, who just naturally tend to have more muscle mass will burn more calories and therefore lose more weight. So DUH, yeah, the teams are way lopsided and frankly I think that is why, a few weeks back, Jillian lost her shit on the host chick. She knows it's bullshit and that her girls are gonna get picked off one by one.

And yeah, the brothers. If they cry once more, I am going to write to each of their wives and tell them to kick each of their men in the nads and tell them to man the hell up. Seriously. OK, be sensitive. That's great. Now shut the hell up and quit blubbering.

The product pimping - so over the top. BEYOND over the top. And yes, it detracts from the show.

Last but not least, the boy I love to hate. WTF is his name? Fuckwad - the blonde dude. OMG, I loathe that kid with the power of a thousand suns. It's so obvious to me that he was a total dork for the sum total of his life and he NOW found his version of a "frat." And that is JUST what they act like. A fat boy frat club who wants to regain their athletic status on the campus of life. Trust me, Fuckwad - those guys will forget your name the MOMENT you fall below that yellow line, TRUST ME.

OK, I got all that out. I feel waaaaay better. :)

Heather said...

SFG's Fuckwad name is so freaking hilarious. I love this discussion.

I forgot to write about Kelly's hideously dowdy dress that she picked. Thank GOD Tim Gunn intervened.

Mrs Furious said...

Oh God guys thanks for the laughs! :)


SFG,
LMAO... at everything. That was fucking hilarious!


Eurydice,
"he got VERY excited about dan's new hair and wardrobe. "
True... but he could just be very metrosexual. I'm really on the fence about it.

Deb said...

I haven't watched it for a couple seasons, because (GOSH, this is sappy) it's too heart-wrenching for me. It sounds like I'm not missing much this season.

I wonder if Bob being gay and sweet and comforting rubbed large groups of the viewing audience the wrong way and he was told to "cowboy up". I always loved him and his relationships with his teams, so that would make me sad if he was pretending to be the bad guy now. (Jilian rocks, too.)

Caroline is gone? Oh, why didn't someone say so!! CRAP!! I may tune in next season after all now. I couldn't STAND her!!

SFG's comment about "fuckwad -- the blonde dude" wins comedic moment of the day. That is brilliant.

After reading everyone's comments, I feel like I've been watching. Thanks, everyone!

lucinda said...

All I want to know is why did Dan have two unopened boxes of women's vitamins on his dresser?
Also, I like whiney Kelly. I want her to win.

Dona said...

My husband has insisted that Bob is gay from the very beginning. I don't really know. But, as someone pointed out, why did he get so thrilled over Dan's new look? Why did he not want Dan to cut that ugly mop of hair off? It was a little over the top for a straight guy.

Kelly - Gets on my last nerve. If I could reach into the TV I'd bitch slap her from here to Sunday. Same with the bawling brothers from hell ....

Ali - Don't like her, definitely not a team player (of either team). Smug and cocky, she might need a bitch slap but she looks like the kind of girl that could hurt me real bad so I doubt if I'd do it to her.

And yes, the product placements are getting beyond ridiculous. Enough already. If I hear any more dialog about the value of Extra sugar free gum, Macy's or Subway I may run screaming into the streets.

Thanks for bring this topic up Mrs. Furious! Love it!

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