Reality tv as motivation?

The Biggest Loser's back! First ep of the new season was on tonight. This season features family members - four families of four members each. They don't necessarily have to be mom/dad/son/daughter, there were sisters and cousins, nieces and nephews. Think there was one family of mom/dad/son/son's gf.

While I'm not one to get my kicks from reality tv, this is actually great timing for what I am trying to do about getting fit. As bad as reality tv can get - especially with TBL where you watch these overweight contestants try to do two sit ups with great difficulty, or falling over, or passing out, or throwing up - it can sometimes act as motivation for the viewer. I mean, while watching it tonight I actually got the urge to get off the couch and do push-ups during the ad breaks! (or maybe it's just me and I'm weird that way).

Anyhoo, tonight's ep was a bit different. All four trainers, who probably have never eaten badly in their lives, had to spend a week with their families and eat what they eat. BAD IDEA, but it's so funny to see these four extremely fit, well-toned athletes eat mountains of pasta, potatoes, white bread, cream, ice-cream, chocolate, McDonalds and all the rest of it; and kinda horrifying to see them feel absolutely shit because of it.

And these contestants really know how to eat badly. So badly, in fact, that I wonder if half of it was staged. I mean, who really eats the following for lunch: pasta bake, potato bake, lasagna, ham, roasted pumpkin and gravy - and that's only what I saw on one plate! One contestant put a whole wheel of brie on a slice of bread and ate THAT (a small one, but still, who eats a whole wheel of brie on bread?!). This other woman eats this deadly concoction for breakfast (or lunch, seeing as she got up at 3pm on tonight's ep): pasta covered in carbonara sauce, sour cream, cream and two types of cheese. With a white bread roll. I felt quite sick just watching it on tv.

On Wednesday the families have to do their first weigh-in in front of close family and friends, which surely has to be one of the most confronting things they would ever have to do on the show. I hate weighing myself, and I'm nowhere as big as any of these people. And the trainers themselves have to weigh in to see what a week of bad eating does to their physique.

So far, this season has shaken things up enough to make it look interesting. Let's see how it goes.