Have you seen the reality show "Extreme Weight Loss" on ABC?

So long as it is under medical supervision, I don’t see the problem. Especially if their prior weight was causing health issues.
A specific target is not a bad thing. People fail their goals more often if they are undecided.

I’ve seen several episodes of this show. I see nothing wrong, unhealthy or dangerous about the approach the participants and trainer take.

While the program is edited down to just an hour or so – each time I’ve seen the program it’s been at least a year long program/ time-period that they’ve followed the participant.

Given a year, it’s not unhealthy to lose 80, 100 even 150 pounds, especially if you start out at over 300lbs.
“Safe, slow” weight loss is considered to be between 2 and 5 lbs per week for most people..and 5 lbs a week for 52 weeks = 260lbs.

Every weight loss program I’ve ever tried (all of them monitored by trained medical professionals) provided a weight loss goal (target weight) based on either achieving a more ideal weight/BMI…so I don’t think it’s unusual that on the show they have a “goal” weight, either.

I take issue with the show.

My biggest contention is the safety of their exercise. This one woman weighed over 300 and they told her to run off the bat. I myself am near 300 lb. I am due for surgery in the fall and am trying to at least maintain (I have a hormonal issue that makes it very hard to lose weight and very easy to gain). My doctors have always told me to never run at my current weight. It’s bad for me, simply because of weight. Mind you, I have no heart issues and can do strenuous exercise in the pool.

Well anyway, this woman is running. She ends up tearing her meniscus while running. She is still very heavy. Gee, I wonder why that happened.

She claims the doctor said she should keep running. I just don’t know buy it! What horrible advice.

She then has to go run in some stupid race and had horrific knee pain from her injury and her trainer tells her to “push” through the pain and that it’s nothing.

I stopped watching after that.

This show is crap. I don’t know what shady doctors were paid off to support this nonsense. The trainer Chris clearly doesn’t know how to train people safely. There’s a right way and a wrong way to lose weight and this is clearly the latter.

I can understand if the people are heavier having them do a lot of swimming and rowing and more low impact activities, and then maybe as they lighten up start with the running. Biking’s low impact, but if it’s under supervision. The same with dancing and other things as well. I could understand if they were teaching the lifestyle changes, and getting to the root of some the issues emotionally.

Yes swimming, using elliptical and bike machines, under supervision, are great for very heavy people. This show doesn’t do that though. Seems like they make them run a lot. I imagine it’s for better TV.

I will use an elliptical to work out. I like the ones with the tvs. I plug in my earphones and go. Again, I’d be terribly boring on TV. This show would much rather see 300 pounders running, in constant pain, all while sobbing about their childhood issues.

I haven’t seen it but I think I know the type of programme this is. Pain is a sign that something is wrong and I think that there are much better and safer ways to lose weight than going completely hardcore. I went for a three hour walk yesterday and have a sore knee today. I take that as a sign than maybe I pushed it a little too far and to rest today. That makes much more sense to me than pushing through the pain and potential causing longer term pain and damage to joints. I don’t run (unless it’s after my son!) on the basis that it can be damaging to joints