The recent public spat between former Biggest Loser host Ajay Rochester and inaugural Australian winner of the show, Adro Sarnelli, reveals just how dirty things get behind the scenes in the fitness and weight loss worlds.
Accusations of drug use, potential court cases, and contestants starving and dehydrating themselves to claim the prize, as well as the revelation that many former Biggest Loser contestants have gone to an “obesity rehabilitation facility” (commonly called “fat camp”) to re-lose their regained weight, show just how flawed this extreme weight loss system is.
“Debilitating exercise regimes, and unrealistic and unhealthy approaches to weight loss do nothing more than contribute to Australia’s obesity crisis,” said Sally Symonds, BA (Hons), MA, ASDA, LSDA, Cert III, Cert IV, NLP P, and founder of Sally Symonds Healthy Life Mentor. “In fact, 42 percent of people who start exercising quit within 30 days, and 90 percent quit within three months. Shows, such as Biggest Loser, that show extreme weight loss are not helping to improve these statistics.”
Additionally, according to a new study to be published in the January 2013 issue of the American Journal of Health Behaviour, Biggest Loser has been shown to discourage people from starting an exercise program, For non-exercisers, shows such as Biggest Loser suggest that these type of debilitating exercise regimes are what exercise is all about. These results contradict the widely held belief that shows like The Biggest Loser help motivate people to lose weight.
“The irony is that the fitness industry turns people off from fitness,” furthered Symonds. “By making exercise look abnormally painful and mundane, people are not willing to exercise. Who wants to undergo something that looks like torture?”
Symonds was once overweight herself. Disgusted with weight loss programs and fad diets, Symonds designed her own weight loss system that doesn’t focus on pain and deprivation. As a result, she lost half of her body weight and has kept it off for more than a decade.
“If you follow the rules set forth by the fitness industry, you are going to fail in your weight loss journey. Weight loss doesn’t have to involve extreme dieting and exercise. My advice: View shows such as Biggest Loser as a source of entertainment and not representations of realistic weight loss. You’ll do yourself a favor in the end,” said Symonds.
About Sally Symonds
After completing a BA (Hons), MA, ASDA & LSDA, Sally pursued a career as a speech and drama teacher. Sally was morbidly obese and her life revolved around her work. After the loss of a family friend and being overlooked for a promotion at work, Sally had the wakeup call she needed to start losing weight.
One of the primary reasons why Sally is so successful in helping overweight people today is because she’s been there. Not many weight loss ‘experts’ have actual experience in what it’s like to be morbidly obese. Sally is also living proof that it is possible to not only lose 50% body weight, but to also keep it off long-term.
In the words of one of Sally’s clients, ‘What I love about Sally’s system is that it is based on her own real-life weight loss.’
Sally is now the owner of Sally Symonds Healthy Life Mentor. She has enjoyed great success, including presenting many motivational and inspirational talks, and the sale of her three very popular books: 50 Steps to Lose 50 kg … And Keep It Off; 50+ Recipes to Lose 50+ kg … And Keep It Off; and 50 Ways to Weight-Loss Motivation. Sally has also been featured on a range of TV shows, including Today Tonight, A Current Affair, Sunrise, Mornings with Kerri-Anne and the Discovery Channel, as well as in print media, including Women’s Health, Vogue, Women’s Weekly and Women’s Day.