This February The Biggest Loser’s Rachel Frederickson lost 155 pounds to win the show’s title. Frederickson had lost the highest percentage of body weight in Biggest Loser history and was the only contestant to actually be underweight at the final weigh in. There was a lot of controversy over Frederickson’s severe weight loss, and she later admitted to working out up to six hours a day to burn enough calories to win the show. Many people pointed out that Frederickson was just playing the game as it was designed and that she was at a disadvantage as a woman in the competition. She did what she had to do to win. Others said hurtful things, as is typical on the Internet. In a new blog entry on the Today Show website, Rachel admits that the negative comments did personally affect her, and she said that she’s worked hard to listen to herself and focus on the positive. Here’s some of what she wrote with more at the source:
Comments during the controversial storm following my weight loss were hurtful. My self-esteem once again was affected by other people’s voices — this time, the kind that live forever in Facebook posts or written in the pages of magazines. People tried to bring me down and (privately) succeeded. To the voices of those who tried to lift me up after the finale, I thank you!
2014 has been a year full of learning, changing and growing for me. I’ve been taking college classes, working in voice-over, walking dogs at the local shelter, training for my first marathon, and through my new career at DreamJobbing [a website that aids job search], I’m helping others change their story.
There will always be other voices in life. The trouble comes when you stop listening to your own. I am committed to trusting my decisions and standing strong behind them. I found strength in this struggle and I am listening to my own voice again!
My question to you is this: What voices will you allow into your life to tell you who you are? Everyone’s voice is powerful. Is your voice going to be one that tears others down or one that lifts this world up with positivity, hope, and love?
That was very well said and inspirational. While I didn’t watch that season of The Biggest Loser, I’ve seen interviews with Frederickson and have found her both sincere and likable. She’s just 24 years old and she comes across as very mature. She busted her butt to win the show and she played by the rules, however extreme they are. She’s also gained some weight back, and she looks great now. I hope that she continues to have success and happiness. I also hope that weight loss shows like The Biggest Loser and Extreme Weight Loss can adjust their format somewhat to focus more on health and wellness than numbers on a scale. Whenever I’ve seen them I’ve been disturbed by how blasé they are about massive rapid weight loss, and this controversy only highlighted that.
Shows like the Biggest Loser and Extreme Weight loss are awful. Of course people lose a lot of weight when they are in a controlled environment where they are given healthy meals and have all day to work out. Try showing people how to lose weight while they balance a full time job, school, and family commitments. Because that is what society actually needs. To be shown a realistic plan where they can fit exercise into their real daily routine.
Yeah I really agree with you on this, which is why the majority of them gain a substantial amount of weight back once they’re off the ranch and back to their normal routine.
EXACTLY!
I have watched the show Extreme Weight Loss, and the most disturbing thing about that show to me is the narrow minded focus put on the number of pounds lost. Contestants are given the goal of losing, say, 80 pounds in the first three months. When it comes to weigh in time, even if the contestant is only 3 pounds short of the 80 pound goal, the host Chris acts like it’s the end of the world! It’s crazy and frankly quite disturbing. Instead of saying good job on all the hard work that it took to lose 77 pounds, they instead focus on what a failure it was because of those 3 pounds that weren’t lost.
They give absurd weight loss goals too – that could actually strain their hearts. There’s a reason why the recommended amount of weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week. But they put them on restrictive diets and have them work out for hours and hours a day, and put them in circumstances that they have absolutely no hope of replicating themselves in the real world. Good lord.
I want a reality show with single working moms getting a college degree. I’m just getting one now. I’m finishing up this semester. My son is visiting his dad and today was my last final. I’m celebrating with my cat and chihuahua. The letter from my supportive boss made me cry. I’ve been through some hell to change my life. Isn’t that a far cry from being the best “dieter”?
This +1,000,000! Love this idea, @homegrrrl!!! That’s a pitch that needs to be made (with you as show creator and years of residuals!). And congrats on finishing up the semester! Three cheers for you! I am a college teacher and have so much respect for students who go up against incredible odds to complete their degrees–especially those who are parents and working full time. Congrats!!!
Hey homegrrl, congratulations! You should be so proud of yourself.
I struggled through getting my nursing degree as a 20yo with no kids, I can’t even imagine going to university as a single mum.
Hope your cat and chihuahua give you an awesome celebration!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Well done to you! I’m still in the process of finishing and despite getting tons of support, find it difficult with kids. I have a final on Sat, and that’s why I am here, right? )) But for you as a single mom, I just can’t imagine how much discipline and willpower this has required. I really admire such an achievement. What did you study?
I’ve watched The Biggest Loser, I’ve never seen Extreme Weight Loss, so I won’t comment about that show. The Biggest Loser does NOT focus solely on the number in the scale, the show is a TV program and designed as entertainment but they do a very good job, in my opinion, of teaching the competitors on their show that a fundamental lifestyle change is required to sustain weight loss goals. They teach nutrition as well as focusing on losing a lot of weight through hard core physical effort. they try to teach people the skills to maintain the weight loss after the show ends and many of them do. It is not fair to criticize the show if you’ve never bothered to watch it, these two shows are not interchangeable. The Biggest Loser is an amazing show, very inspirational, and the contestants are brave and strong. They shouldn’t be dismissed and degraded by people on the Internet who don’t even bother to make the effort to understand the show. You don’t like it, fine, don’t watch it but don’t assume because you don’t watch it’s not worthwhile.
Working out six hours a day is a great way to run your body into the ground.
She looks like she finally found a stable weight that suits her body so that’s good.
It sounds miserable and exhausting, and clearly wasn’t something she intended to keep up once the show was done as she’s already gained a little weight back. Though if you remember, some of that working out was setting up treadmill and walking while she was working – hard, but not absurd.
In a weird way, I am impressed with her. What she did was horrible for her body and her health, but that must have taken an enormous amount of dedication to follow through, because its pretty clear she didnt actually think she needed to be that thin. I think the format of the show is absurd, and by casting increasingly larger people its getting dangerous, but she played the game and won and seems to have gotten back to her life. Hopefully no damage was done to her body or her heart, but for that I actually blame the show for creating these circumstances.
Oh I agree with you 100%.
I blame the show entirely.
She looks so much better now with a few pounds back on. The photos from immediately after are jarring.
Agreed. When it all went down I was like eh she’s just slender no biggie. But now that I’m seeing her about 15 lbs heavier, it’s shocking.
Very jarring. She looks more like her old self now, face-wise. Healthier, prettier.
Nice that she seems to have perspective that others sadly do not.
I agree of course that internet bullying is endemic. However, is she under a lifetime contract to omit the bout with exercise bulimia that caused her “win”? Can’t she admit the brush with death called anorexia got her a prize? I don’t feel she’s evil or bad, just in denial.
She looks exactly like Maria Menounos in the skinny pics. Looking at these photos really makes you realize how thin the average starlet/entertainer is. Depressing.
I am very sorry that she was hurt by the negative comments, but the “results” photos are shocking. She looked skeletal and dried out! Maybe she is contractually obligated not to say much, but the fact that she gained some back and has settled at that weight speaks volumes. However, I do 100% agree that her dedication was admirable, and she more than deserved the money!
I’m not a fan of those weightloss-shows exactly because it advertises weight loss at any cost no matter how healthy they want to make it seem during the actual show.
Many participants from those shows seem to go either streight back to their former weight or the other extreme of not eating enough and/or working out way too much.
Rachel looks great now that she gained a bit of weight again. I hope she can keep her positive and healthy approach to life.
She looks terrific now, healthy and fit as opposed to under weight. I’ve lost 35lbs this year so I know how hard she’s worked to achieve her weight loss. It’s a really difficult thing to do.
I work in a public library in a small town so everybody knows me, and everybody has commented on my weight loss. I know they mean well, and everybody has been very complimentary about it, but I wish that people I only vaguely know didn’t feel the need to talk about my body and comment on it. It makes me feel self conscious. So I can’t imagine how awful it must be to work so hard , achieve so much and be criticised so heavily for it by complete strangers.
I understand how you feel. I lost about 90lbs over a year and a half.
It makes you feel so self conscience when people focus so much on your body. It almost makes you want to cover up so people won’t focus so much.
The criticism is weird, accept that she signed up for a show in which the public was asked to watch her lose weight. I take issue with her claiming to be so hurt about comments from the public – she signed up to be entertainment for people.
She went through extreme weight loss to win a lot of money, and took extreme measures to do it, and came out looking a bit malnourished. She did it for the prize, not because she thought she would stay at the weight or that she looked great. So why is it so surprising that people thought she looked extreme – it was extreme. I can’t stand the boo-hooing of these reality folks. She got what she wanted, and she should learn to ignore the peanut gallery.
I’ve never watched Biggest Loser or Extreme Weight Loss but in no way are these shows promoting a realistic healthy lifestyle. I was shocked when I saw Rachel’s photos when she was announced the winner. It is only human nature for people to comment on that kind of extreme weight loss. Complaining about people’s shock is the same as Renee Zellweger calling us haters for pointing out her new face. Rachel was not healthy at the end of the show. She was extremely underweight and working out 6 hours a day is not good for anyone. She looks a lot better now. I understand why she did it in order to win that money, but she also needs to realize that she was putting her health at risk and opening herself up to comments and criticism.
I have to point out, they work out 5-6 hours a day while on the show as well, and no one bats an eye at that.
It’s great how you have never watched the show but you know what they’re promoting. I have never watched Extreme Weight Loss but I have watched many seasons of the Biggest Loser, surprise: they promote weight loss through exercise, diet and nutrition. They lose weight through exercise and by consuming less calories than they burn and by making healthful food choices. They have a doctor on the show, they have complete medical evaluations of all the contestants and almost every contestant leaves the show healthier than they were when they signed on, all pretty horrible stuff, right? All just so much grist for the mill of entertainment. The Biggest Loser is a transformational show and the contestants are amazing people, worthy of respect. It takes so much guts to put your fat self out there and say, I need help, whatever their motivation, they shouldn’t be shamed for it.
She does look better now, but she gained that weight back fast…
I mean it’s more than a couple of pounds in a few years, she won just 10 months ago…
Anyway, I wish her all the best and those stupid shows should just stop.
I think she dehydrated herself before her weigh in to take off every possible ounce (like a boxer) so she could to win, which would explain why she gained some back quickly – one or two days of normal eating and drinking water would help fill her face back out and make her less skeletal. She looks healthy and fit. If shes training for a marathon, she is probably very healthy and fit.
I don’t know, to me it looks like it’s more than water…
More like she starved herself to win and is now yo-yo dieting, like anybody dealing with crazy diets.
And going from being overweight, to loose 150 pounds and work out 6 hours a day, to gain back 25 pounds and to training for a marathon in less than a year qualifies as “crazy diet” IMO.
But I’m probably just being a judgmental b*tch making hurtful comments lol
haha she better stay away from celebitchy because i think most of us fall into that catagory.
I do agree that she most likely finished the run-up to the show by dehydrating herself to get every last ounce possible. And of course she gained weight as soon as she finished the show, her goal had been to lose as much weight as possible. Until we see her weight go drastically back up we can’t call her weight levelling out “yo-yo dieting” so much as her going back to a normal caloric intake and a normal level of exercise.
I don’t think it’s necessarily yo-yo dieting, I think she realized that to win the show she needed to lose too much weight, and after the show she corrected to a far more normal exercise/diet routine which allowed her to come back up to a healthy weight. She was NOT at a healthy weight when the show ended so her weight gain isn’t quite the same thing as just falling off the wagon after the show.
I don’t think she’s ever been on that wagon to begin with…
She wasn’t healthy before the show, she certainly wasn’t healthy after and I don’t think gaining 25 pounds back in such a short time while training for a very difficult run (even for someone working out on a regular basis for more than 10 months) makes her healthy.
Again, just my opinion 😉
I love what she said. She looks so much better now with a little weight back on.
She definitely looks better with a little extra weight. I am watching the Biggest Loser this season and the weight loss is not as extreme as it has been in the past. The first week there were big numbers but I think that is to be expected. Since then, digit number weight loss is very rare (even in the bigger contestants). So maybe (hopefully) they realized what happened last year (and yes it was in the name of game playing) and have changed their focus a bit.
I feel bad for anyone who has to face public scrutiny like that, but she had to expect some of the shocked/negative reactions though, right? She went to an extreme to win a TV competition, which she did. That was a choice she made not for her health but for her bank account.
She looks great and very healthy now, and I applaud her for getting to the right place and maintaining it – not easy to do.
I thought that the first few paragraphs of her interview that were reprinted were touching. The last 2 sounded like a big old ad for her new employer.
Whenever ppl complain about criticism for skinnyness or being told to eat a sandwich, I am like “yeah yeah, cry me a river…” BUT I now realize ppl can be deeply hurt by it because there can be a hatefulness of someone picking at you, and if you weren’t skinny they’d probably dig their claws into something else.
Also, I try to avoid commenting on others body weight. No good can come of it. When ppl (esp men) have fawned over me for being skinny, obviously I loved the praise but some part of me found it depressing / stressful.
Bullying is bullying, no matter who it’s directed at. No one should feel that it’s ok to poke at people over their bodies. I’ve been too skinny and overweight (I have serious food intolerance issues and it is hard to maintain a stable weight), and I have had very insensitive or downright mean comments directed at me on both ends of the spectrum. I wish people would just leave well enough alone. You don’t know if someone is struggling with medical problems, or if they are genetically predisposed to being a certain body type. People KNOW how they look. Pointing it out to them is not helpful, and just adds to their stress. A person could be struggling to get enough nutrients every day trying to avoid having to get a feeding tube, and some jerk says eat a hamburger – yeah, that’s really cute. I wish I could eat a hamburger. I wish I could go to a restaurant and find something on the menu I am able to eat. I have to cook everything from scratch myself in my kitchen every day. When someone comments on my weight, they are completely ignoring the fact that I am trying to stay healthy and out of the hospital. I could hardly care less what the scale says.
You have my sympathy Shannon, food issues are the worst. I have a suggestion on the cooking from scratch thing, if you’re obliged to do it, make extra servings to freeze. I Set them up so I can pull them out to heat up when I don’t feel up to cooking. It’s so worth the little bit of extra hassle to be able to have something I can actually eat on hand when I feel like i’ve been mashed by a truck. Also wrapping in plastic plus foil helps avoid the freezer burn. It’s Really worth it if you hate cooking as much as I do and have a limited menu because of belly issues or what have you. I hate cooking everyday.
I was on a crash diet similar to Biggest Loser in a way (working out 2 hours a day, twice a day and only eating frozen vegetables & yogurt)
It lasted 3 months so I could look amazing for when my husband returned from overseas because I was feeling badly about myself. I lost 45 pounds and looked great but my skin was really dry, my metabolism is shot, I am losing my hair NOW months after i returned to a normal diet and my doctors said it is because I had a vitamin deficiency and your hair is slow to respond and slow to recover. So was it worth it? No. My husband loved me before and after the weight loss and I gained back 15 pounds immediately just by eating normal healthy food again. And as a woman, there is nothing more devastating in a way than losing your hair…I’m 26 and had luxurious thick hair that is now brittle and thinner than my 60 year old mother’s. I cant even put it up in a ponytail because its so noticeable.
These shows suck because they never show those kind of side effects that can come with rapid weight loss.
I’m glad your husband is back and you can be a happy weight. My hair got really thin once from a very stressful time in my life, and it’s back to normal now. I bet yours will be, too.
Though Rachel’s weight loss was without a doubt extreme and shocking, girlfriend stayed seriously commited and did what she had to do to win that prize money!
She’s definitely gained some much needed weight back (as was expected) and looks great. As such, my only concern with this story is that she continues to refuse to acknowledge that she did what she did as a (temporary) means to an end, said end being a very large financial reward. Like it or not, there are lots of young impressionable minds who regularly tune into that show and the lack of transparency about the whole process could ultimately be harmful.
She needs to toughen up. When you put yourself out there like people do on the BL you will hear the good, the bad and the ugly from others. She needs to figure out that there should only be a few people’s opinions that matter anyway. Once she does that, she will be forever comfortable in her own skin! She seems like a sweet person and she worked hard. Good luck to her.
You know, I would have had her back if she’d initially just said, “Yo, I did what I had to do to guarantee that prize money!” I may not have agreed with how extreme she took it, but her choice & I probably would have done the same thing.
BUT…at the time, she kept giving all these interviews about how healthy she was, how there was nothing wrong with her weight loss, and how she was the healthiest she’d ever been in her life. She didn’t own up to her own behavior, and she put out some really sketchy, gross misinformation about how “healthy” it was. She should deal with the well-deserved criticism, imo.
they should be punished on the show for losing more than what is healthy-i believe for women anyway that’s 2.5 lbs per week. any more than that and they’ll be set back on the show competition wise compared to others-that’s how they can hold them accountable and send a healthy message to the audience and the participants
Her skinny pictures are better than the average Hollywood starlet. At least she exercised and ate right. She has a lot of muscles.
Also, think of all the people who do manual labor. Carpenters and welders and people like that. They work out all day too. You just don’t look at it the say way, because we are so sedentary these days.