The Biggest Loser

I have managed to reduce my TV watching considerably and will go out of my way to watch very few programs: Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, The Daily Show, Lost, House. But I confess to a guilty pleasure at watching "The Biggest Loser", a show where teams of obese people compete to lose the most weight. Maybe this is because I struggle with weight myself and understand how hard it is to lose weight in the face of the steroids I have to use for my COPD and my twin vices of sloth and gluttony. But my wisp of a wife is also fascinated by the show. Here are folks that are radically changing their lives and outlooks and losing as much as 17 pounds in a single week. How, I ask myself, is this possible? If I exercise faithfully and eat sensibly, I can drop an average of 2 pounds a week. If I go on a crash diet, I can lose 2.5-3.0 pounds a week over several weeks.

I get the sense that the contestants are on a full time weight loss regimen and that they exercise several hours in a day and have rigidly controlled diets. I, on the other hand, work a sedentary full time job, have responsibilities at home and in the community and have to find time to exercise (luckily, a gym is less than 10 minutes away). And I love to eat, especially really fattening foods.

A few years ago, before we moved to New York, I exercised faithfully and dieted and lost 75 pounds over 6 months. I felt great. I was in grad school and controlled more of my time and had lots of conspecifics to exercise with me and lots of great places to run or work out. When we moved to New York, I had less time because I was in a PhD program and had to scrounge for money in ad hoc employment. I gradually gained back every last pound because I never developed any sustainable habits. Now, I am advised to get in shape to minimize my risk of heart disease, and I need to make permanent changes in my habits and lifestyle. I need to be reasonable and recognize that I will never have time to work out more than 45 minutes to an hour a day. I need to learn to eat better in a way that I can stick to forever.

I hope the disincentive of potential premature death will be effective.