More often than not, when people find out I'm a personal trainer I'm asked if I'm like Jillian from the TV show "The Biggest Loser". They are usually referring to her red faced screaming and belittling of the people she's helping on the show. The answer is no. I and many other fitness professionals do not scream, yell or belittle our clients. Creating a trusting interpersonal relationship is difficult if you are always yelling in someone's face. The show is just that, a show. It's for entertainment purposes and the actions of the trainers, and results of their clients are not typical.

What most people don't realize is that these contestants train for hours everyday under close watch of doctors and trainers, all while eating a very strictly monitored diet to facilitate their weight loss. This is not something that's going to happen in the real world, no matter how strict your diet and discipline. Most people have the common distractions of family, work, friends, etc. and simply don't have the ability to prioritize fitness the same way to achieve the results these people do. Face it, losing 10 LBS. every week is not realistic for most people.

Another concern about the "Biggest Loser" is that most of the contestants end up gaining all of their weight back upon returning to their normal lives. What's up with that? It seems the psychological concerns that plague each person, and are ultimately the cause of being overweight do not get addressed or properly worked through during their time on the ranch. Perhaps a psychologist should be on hand to provide education and support for permanent behavior changes in addition to the rest of the support staff.

I think showing the general public that it is possible to lose weight through hard work, sweat and maybe even some tears is great! The show offers some good points and I know that it motivates many viewers which is important. The image it projects of personal trainers is cause for concern though and most trainers couldn't get away with half the unrealistic things that Jillian and Bob get away with.