Losing weight on TV

It seems like the two most popular types of reality shows on TV these days are cooking shows and weight loss shows. People want to eat, people want to get thin. Seems like maybe one is leading to the other….

I remember when they started talking about Excess Baggage. To me it seemed like it was going to be an awesome show. So many people have complained that celebs get special treatment, and if they were given trainers and chefs like the stars, they’d look just as fabulous. So, here they made a show where they paired up a celebrity with a civilian. They got to travel all over Australia. So not only was this a weight loss show, but it was also part travel series. It wasn’t just about losing weight, it was going to be about getting mentally right, since that’s what’s behind most peoples weight issues. We would get to see some of Australia’s most beautiful locations. I told Stephen, my publicist to see what he could do to get me on there. I couldn’t imagine anything better. Getting the opportunity to get in shape, both physically and mentally, while getting to spend some time in Australia, seeing my beautiful homeland.

Well, it didn’t happen. Apparently, I wasn’t fat enough. Then, after only two episodes, the show got yanked off Channel nine and was banished to some sub station. I saw the first couple episodes online, but haven’t been able to watch the rest. I didn’t get why it was moved so quickly though. I think they could have given it more of a chance. Was it the viewers didn’t like it, or was it simply a network decision? People seem to love the Biggest Loser and the other weight loss shows….

But then I got to thinking, how come all these weight loss shows are about people who are grossly obese trying to lose weight? People are always looking to actors and models for inspiration on what they want to look like. These weight loss shows do a great job of getting someone from 350lb down to 290lbs. But they never show people who get into super shape.

I think it would be awesome to have a weight loss show where they show someone who is maybe 20-30 lbs overweight, and they have to go through a typical Hollywood eating and workout regime to get into shape for a movie. Show just how hard those celebrities work to get into shape for a film. People like Jessica Biel worked out for hours a day before some of her films. Think of the workouts Hugh Jackman or Russell Crowe go through before being a Wolverine or Gladiator. Any girl who makes a movie where she has to be in a bikini is going to be training like crazy to good look on camera.Think of the actresses who are getting back into bikinis or haute couture dresses for the red carpet a couple months after having a baby.

All these makeover shows show people who are going through dramatic weight loss. But what about people who are just pudgy? What about when you’re just chunky enough to not feel good in a bikini, but not really considered fat? It’s always said that that last 10-20 lbs is the hardest to shed. Maybe it’s just so much more dramatic to see someone lose 100 lbs, than see someone who goes from slightly chunky to super ripped in 8 weeks.

I’m still in the healthy weight range. But I think the BMI is bullshit. When I first moved to the US and did my physical for my life insurance, I was smoking hot. I looked great. I was toned, I was thin but still had boobs and an arse. I was penalized for being underweight according to the BMI. Then, a few years later, I got into the so called “healthy weight range” but when I put on a bikini, I look pudgy. When I went on ACA, everyone commented on how fat I looked. Being a shortass at 4’11” can mean that a burrito is the difference between looking good and looking pregnant. Most people fluctuate 3-5lbs during the week. I do too. But on me its very noticeable. 2lbs can mean the difference between a size 2 and size 6 pant…..

Anyway, I propose someone make a show where you get some people who are just mildly tubby, and you subject them to the kind of grueling regimes that celebs go through to look awesome. You could even do like Kyle and Jackie O did for their weight loss challenge, and if people don’t get down to the proper weight or dress size, you stick their pics up on a billboard of them in their undies, looking so not great. Then people could really understand what it’s like to be a celebrity. If you’re not flawless, everyone will point it out!

We could get some of the big trainers to the stars, some celebrity dieticians. We could have the paparazzi follow us around for motivation. We could get some big name celebs who are between films and let themselves go a little. Match them up with some regular people like me who just want to get back into shape. To make it more interesting, you could make it like the Kardashians and follow everyone around all the time, instead of just being about the training…. Or you could just get a Kardashian on there. You could show them trying to fit in all that working out and eating right while still attending auditions and parties and functions. Trying to balance out the whole thing. While the average person is complaining they don’t have time to exercise and eat right, how do they think people like Miranda Kerr can do it while constantly flying from country to country? Have a quick thought of your last airline meal….

It’s be interesting to see whether it really is just good genes, as people always claim, or if it’s just that these people have way more drive and discipline.

Whose with me?