Pisaries Creator

The Biggest Loser

The Biggest Loser was created by David Broome and JD Roth where contestants were matched with trainers. There were three major trainers. Bob Harper appeared in all seasons. Jillian Michaels was in 15 seasons. Dolvett Quince was in six seasons. The lesser-known trainers included Kim Lyons in seasons 3 and 4, Brett Hoebel and Cara Castronuova in season 11, Anna Kournikova in season 12, Jessie Pavelka in season 16, Jennifer Widerstrom in season 17, Steve Cook in season 18, and Erica Lugo in season 18. This three-part docuseries discusses how contestants were chosen, the controversies of the ridiculousness of some of the food challenges, and the positive and negative end results. The hosts included Caroline Rhea for the first three seasons and Allison Sweeney for the remaining seasons except season 18, which was done by Bob Harper.

I’m guilty of watching The Biggest Loser when it was on TV. I have Jillian Michaels DVDs, Bob Harper’s yoga DVD, and The Biggest Loser DVD. The only part I still use is the Bob Harper core workout on the yoga DVD. My eyes gobbled up the Netflix docuseries Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser when it was released. The reality show aired from 2004 to 2016 and for one season in 2020 before permanently ending. There were 18 total seasons with the winner earning $250,000 for being the contestant to lose the most weight. It’s sort of the opposite of American Ninja Warrior that finds the most well-rounded athletes needing strength, agility, speed, and endurance to have any hope of winning $1,000,000.

What this show also did was ignite Jillian Michaels’ and Bob Harper’s career. Michaels’ is worth 18 million and Harper and Dolvett are worth around $4 million each. This show definitely put obesity discussion on the map and made households think about what they eat and how much they exercised. It jumpstarted some viewers to lose weight, but for others they saw through the façade where it ultimately poked fun of overweight people. It was basically disguised as helping others get in shape while in the same vein ridiculing them for being fat. I would say the biggest controversaries were the usage of caffeine pills, the master cleanse, physically grueling workouts, and verbal attacks as pointed out in the three episodes.

List of The Biggest Loser Winners

Ryan Benson (Season 1) lost 120 pounds.

Matt Hoover (Season 2) lost 150 pounds.

Erik Chopin (Season 3) lost 214 pounds.

Bill Germanakos (Season 4) lost 164 pounds.

Ali Vincent (Season 5) lost 112 pounds.

Michelle Aguilar (Season 6) lost 110 pounds.

Helen Philipps (Season 7) lost 140 pounds.

Danny Cahill (Season 8) lost 240 pounds.

Michael Ventrella (Season 9) lost 264 pounds.

Patrick House (Season 10) lost 181 pounds.

Olivia Ward (Season 11) lost 129 pounds.

John Rhode (Season 12) lost 230 pounds.

Jeremy Britt (Season 13) lost 199 pounds.

Danni Allen (Season 14) lost 121 pounds.

Rachel Frederickson (Season 15) lost 155 pounds.

Toma Dobrosavljevic (Season 16) lost 171 pounds.

Roberto Hernandez (Season 17) lost 160 pounds.

Jim DiBattista (Season 18) lost 144 pounds.

Watch the Trailer

Ending Comments of Fit for TV

Say what you will about Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels and the contestants especially the winners that lost and regained their weight. Being overweight and obese has many factors and it knocks at everyone’s door. I’m no exception where I was overweight but finally enough weight was lost to be deemed relatively healthy again. I sort of did my own version of The Biggest Loser but instead of losing 100s of pounds, I lost 40 pounds with a better diet and increased exercise. Granted, I have gained some pounds back since later 2024. It’s a matter of how much I want to lose again and yes; I want to lose my ultimate goal of getting to my high school weight.

I agree with Bob Harper that the easiest part is losing the weight. The hardest part is maintaining the weight. I can attest to this because I have no issue with stress eating and overeating. I have no issue getting back on track and jogging three to five miles a day and weightlifting every other day if I put my mind and energy and body in sync. Unfortunately, right now I’m on the lazy side of eating right and exercising. I’m soon getting back into it and like Bob Harper says, it’s like a monkey on your back. The bottom line is not every body shape is the same. Therefore, not every way to lose weight will be the same. What your BMI is doesn’t completely dictate your physical health. There is a mental component to weight loss that some contestants mentioned was not available to them. If anorexia and bulimia are mental disorders, then The Biggest Loser erred when the contestants lost massive amounts of weight.

There is no debate that obesity is a major problem today and especially childhood obesity. It goes beyond eating better and exercising more. You need to factor in the financial means of the parents and the living quarters of the family. Upper and middle-class children are going to have more nutritious meals than children living in poverty. How impactful was The Biggest Loser? I think it impacted many viewers in a positive way. Could it have done more to help the winners and the other contestants? Yes. Did it damage other contestants that didn’t like the methods of the show? Yes. Different strokes for different folks. The thing about The Biggest Loser is it emphasized going to the gym compared to taking a magic pill to lose weight as many overweight people are doing now. Is there an easy way to lose weight? On paper, yes. In reality, hell no. It’s a matter of how much you want it and what weight means to you. This is what I had to do in order to lose my weight and my future weight loss. Being consistent is something I will deal with forever until I die.

I rate Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser FOUR FINGERS at 90%.