Tag: crash diets

Biggest Loser Secrets: It’s Worse Than You Think

I was recently contacted by a former Biggest Loser contestant about helping him to write a book about his experiences with the show. The project didn’t move forward but while we were discussing things, he’d talk quite freely about what went on behind the scenes. There are plenty of Biggest Loser secrets alright. A lot …

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Jillian Michaels Shames Biggest Loser Winner for Extreme Weight Loss

The last Biggest Loser winner, Rachel Frederickson, stunned everyone at the live finale when she stepped out on the stage and weighed in at 105 lbs, a shocking 60% loss of her starting bodyweight. Her arms were twig thin and her face had that drawn anorexic look. But Biggest Loser trainer and self-appointed psychologist Jillian …

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Think Like a Thin Person: A Tale of Two Thin Women

My mother is a very thin person. She always has been. Except for two pregnancies, her weight has been stable her entire life. She credits that consistency, in part, for her exceptional health at 77 years old. She has a natural high energy level and is most comfortable when she keeps busy and moving. She …

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Do You Still Believe in Weight Loss Scams?

Last week here in Chicago, King of the scammers Kevin Trudeau was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 10 years in jail. Clad in an orange prison jumpsuit, Trudeau stood before the judge and insisted “If I ever write a book again, if I ever do another infomercial again, I promise no embellishment, no puffery, …

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Letting Go and Letting In Lifestyle Changes That Last

A lot of people I’ve talked to through the years will cite some particular experience or influence in their lives that they credit for “why” they finally got their weight under control after years of struggle and failure. But here’s what actually happens: We bring permanent lifestyle changes into our lives when we accept what …

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Looking Back Over Lifetime Phases of Being Fat

I’ve dealt with weight all my life. I’ve always said my awareness of being “the fat girl” goes back as far as my memories of school. I realize I’ve considered weight with different perspectives at different times. I never let being fat become part of my identity but it has been the undercurrent of my …

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Biggest Loser Winner Looks Anorexic. Should Anyone Be Shocked?

Rachel Frederickson Biggest Loser

Unless you’ve been under a rock, you probably know that the media was a-buzz this week when humiliation reality show Biggest Loser crowned its Season 15 grand prize winner, a 24-year old woman who lost a staggering 60% of her body weight. During the live broadcast, trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper were caught on camera …

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New Year’s Resolutions for Taking Control of Your Weight

It’s the first week of 2014 and New Year’s resolutions are in full swing! I saw a news report that going on a diet is not the top resolution that it used to be. Probably many people have realized how many years they started out with every intention and met with failure. Instead of resolutions, …

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Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals by Not Setting Them

Do you live your life constantly “on”  or “off” a diet? Are you always setting weight loss goals and then attempting to apply some kind of structure to your life to achieve them? Being able to let go of the dieting paradigm may be the biggest breakthrough some people make. I became a commodities broker …

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Biggest Loser is Oblivious to Its Failures

It’s simply naive to believe that NBC’s “Biggest Loser” is about “changing lives.” It’s got to be the most heavily merchandised television show in history. From $3000-per-week “resorts” and cruises to in-show commercials and a broad range of branded products, it’s a money machine that exploits the public’s fascination with watching presumably broken and messed …

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