I am sure you have all been hearing about the winner of the popular TV show the Biggest Loser. Many wrote blog posts about the winner and how much weight she lost, and how she looked underweight or anorexic. Headlines read, “Biggest Loser slammed for being too thin” and “Uproar as winner appears ‘too thin’ at 105 pounds.”
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Other tweeted things like “#BLFinale rachel went too far. horrible message being sent by her and the biggest loser show” and “I know it’s the biggest loser, but Rachel does NOT look healthy. She looked better @ the end of last episode.”
I wasn’t going to jump on the bandwagon and write a post bashing the show and judging the winner or even a post at all about it. My family and friends were making comments, saying how skinny she looked and how it was sad she lost so much weight. My own husband made a comment about how she looked skinny in one of the pictures.
I was curious about how she looked and her weight after reading through many other’s blog posts and comments on twitter. Looking at the pictures of Rachel (the winner) and watching the end of the show, I honestly couldn’t judge or make a statement for or against her drastic weight loss and change in appearance. She started at 260 pounds and weighed in last at 105 pounds.
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I believe we shouldn’t be quick to judge her and make comments about her being anorexic, because there may be no truth in this. Rather this is media’s and others opinions, based on no fact or truth. The poor woman loses weight and is no longer considered obese, and now she is being ridiculed because her weight of 105 pounds makes her underweight. Before she was ridiculed for being obese.
After the comment from my husband, I knew I had to defend Rachel. I turned to my husband and said. Well if she looks “anorexic” and “too skinny” then what do I look like? I informed him that I am her same height and weigh less than her. He replied, well maybe’s it’s what she was wearing and the way you carry yourself maybe it was the one photo. After that my friends and family couldn’t say much.
This is why I can’t judge her and make comments about her being too skinny. I have always been underweight and struggled to gain weight through grade school, junior high and high school. No matter now hard I tried I simply couldn’t gain weight.
I was called anorexic or bulimic, and to be honest even though I knew they weren’t true and I knew I wasn’t, the comments still hurt. I was ridiculed and judged, and watched every time I went into the restroom. I have never struggled with my weight (as far as being overweight anyways), and was blessed with great genes and a fast metabolism.
I know it’s not the exact same circumstances, but I have no room to make comments nor any right. I find it sad we are bashing her image, while we don’t think twice about commenting on Olympic marathoners or distance runners or even fellow bloggers.
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Shalane Flanagan is 5’5″ and sources say anywhere from 105 – 112 pounds, which would be considered underweight, and far less body fat than Rachel (BL Winner). Kara Goucher weighs in at 119 pounds at 5’7″, Dessie Devala 98 pounds and 5’2″, and finally Deena Kastor 104 pounds and 5’4″. And the list goes on. Again we are not “slamming” them for their weight. Most of their weight is muscle weight too, which weighs more than fat. They have way more muscle than Rachel and far less fat.
I am not arguing 105 pounds is perfect weight and should be everyone’s goal. I am simply saying that we can’t judge one person without first evaluating our own weight & lifestyle and the weight other healthy individuals (i.e. distance runners), and without truly knowing if she was making unhealthy choices.
I am not even arguing that it’s healthy to be 105 pounds at 5’4″ tall, but one size does not fit all. A healthy size for one person, may not be the same for another. I find it sad that we can’t be happy she lost some much needed weight, even it was too much. She worked hard. One important note to consider as well, is Rachel gained all her previous weight after a breakup and being depressed. It’s obvious she’s an emotional eater, so to ridicule and bash her now is only creating a risk for unhealthy eating behaviors to occur (whether its binge eating or extreme dieting).
I will say it was a shocking difference, but all contestants had shocking differences in their weight.
So I can’t judge Rachel, but I can applaud her for her win and hope she continues to live a wholesome life, eating healthy and keeping a healthy self image.
I would love your thoughts and opinions…..penny for your thoughts?
I have to admit when I first saw her picture, I thought, “wow, she is skin and bones” but after people went crazy on her, I felt the same way as you–“first they attack her for being fat, now too skinny–leave this poor girl alone” I think everyone should aspire to be healthy. I am not a fan of The Biggest Looser, never have been–I don’t like the title and I don’t like the show–find it mildly offensive. I don’t like when a see a recipe that says, “skinny latte”, “skinny cookbook” or anything that starts with the word. I find that a bit offensive as well. Although I’ve never struggled to gain weight, I have many friends that do and I have as much empathy for you as I do someone who struggles to get weight off. I’m sorry if all of this bashing is indirectly hurting you– I can see how that would make you and many others feel awful. I think you’re beautiful, perfect and strongest person I know (faith and body) Thank you for this thought provoking article. xoxo
I always love your insight Lisa. I couldn’t agree more about the name of the show…I have never liked it. I get sick of hearing skinny this and skinny that. It’s everywhere and I never thought of how it would offend those who aren’t considered skinny. Great point
I think this is incredibly well said. I’m the exact opposite – I weigh a LOT more than most people think that I do because of my muscle. To each their own… The world is far too judgmental – who are we to decide anything about/for anyone else!
Thanks Kayla. There is too much judgement on body weight in our society, and it’s half the problem
I feel the same way as you. I feel terrible that she has had her own personal success and the world can’t be happy for it. I hate the double standard of it all.. How would it look if we posted pictures of people declaring them TOO FAT YOU ARE GOING TO DIE OF A HEART ATTACK or other nasty comments. Why are we so quick to judge someone who is deemed as “too skinny” but we are not allowed to say anything about someone who is “too fat”?
Thank you for this comment Jen. It is important to have a healthy lifestyle and self image. I liked your comment about how we can’t say a thing about a persons weight if they are fat.
I understand where you’re coming from, and I think people are judging her unfairly. You can’t please everyone, and your weight shouldn’t be about pleasing anyone–it should be about being HEALTHY, whatever that ends up looking like and whatever number ends up being on the scale. I weigh a lot more than people think I do because I’m pretty muscular, but people have told me to go eat a hamburger. My response is usually, “You think I can train and run all the races that I do if I were starving?” Olympic athletes have low body fat and low weight but also are fueling their body with way more calories than the average person and are finely tuned machines that can do amazing things. I don’t know what Rachel can or cannot do, and she doesn’t mention that. I am very concerned with how she describes her workout regimen–walking or standing all day, then doing 3-4 workout classes, but only eating 1600 calories a day. So I am concerned about her mentality about working out and eating food and fueling her body. I hope that she can safely go into weight maintenance. It’s hard to go from the mindset of losing weight and burning a lot of calories and eating less to maintaining. Just wanted to add that info, not trying to stir things up, but I wanted to add another perspective and a bit more information.
Thank you for this Marilyn!! I am hoping she continues a HEALTHY lifestyle. I don’t know much about her diet and workout routines, and I feared it was to strict. I hope she continues with a healthy image and remain confident in her image. Thanks again for your comments.
I just want to offer a different side here. I think that part of the problem is not so much what her final weight is but how quickly she got to that weight. Rachel lost the last 45 lbs in the two-three months post the final ranch episode (where she weighed in at 150 lbs…you can do the math). Such rapid weight loss can be hard on the body and the heart. I think another part of the problem is that, after all, the Biggest Loser is a show, and a game, and the contestants do go (literally) the extra mile to try to win. She won and now the question is whether she can find a happy medium.
Thank you RunGurlie for your insight and comments. I love hearing both sides. You brought up some very valid points.
Thanks for posting about this! I agree with you… I’m starting to feel bad for Rachel too… and I love your thoughts about weight/height and female elite runners… The whole situation has been bugging me! Similar to yourself, I have been thin my whole life.. people made fun of me in school claiming I had an eating disorder.. when I just was naturally thin and have a fast metabolism. I feel like no matter what (big or small) people are going to be critical (especially women)… it’s just the sad world we live in.. this is what causes eating disorders and body image issues – the over-criticism in the media. I’m not sure we even know what ‘normal’ is anymore.
Thank you Kristin for your thoughts!! We are half the problem, our society!!
Here’s my 2 cents as a guy. I think a fit woman looks great, and I think its great if a woman can be fit while keeping her womanly curves.
As for Rachel, this is a competition and she played to win. I was having this discussion with my friends during our training run Saturday and a great point was made that she was probably very dehydrated for the weigh in, and would likely gain another 5 – 10 pounds easy by just rehydrating and eating. I expect that now that the show is over, she’ll go back to a more reasonable weight, unless she is content on working out like crazy like she did on the show.
I cannot judge anyone because I constantly get the too skinny comments from others about me, despite being at a very healthy BMI and Body Fat % people judge with their eyes and preconceptions. People assume that I am frail and fragile, and also that I will faint during a run because I’m thin. All of that is so far from the truth! I have incredible endurance and feel very strong after my runs.
I guess my point is, weight alone doesn’t determine healthy! This “scandal” is taking away from the womans accomplishment of going from obese to fit. She may have got caught up in the competition aspect of the show, but who can blame her when money is involved!?!
Eddie, thanks for giving a guys perspective. Love your insight.
Just for reference to my above comment, I am 5’9 and 140 lbs. I am naturally thin and I’ve been getting the comments all of my life regardless what my weight has been, its just how I carry it. I feel much stronger and faster training and racing at this weight.
I will be the first to admit I was incredibly taken back after seeing the photo – that was until I read your post. Wow! Your outlook is incredible and has since opened my eyes to a different view. I credit you big time for taking the time to share your opinion with all of us… as I know it’ll help others see this weight loss differently. You’re awesome!
Thank you Jessie!! The change was definitely a surprise and one no one expected, that’s why we were all shocked. Thank you!!