Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition

Another weight loss reality show, “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition,” hit the airwaves last night, from the makers of the very successful “Extreme Makover” franchise and ABC.  Chris Powell is the trainer who specializes in working with the morbidly obese.  Each show focuses on one person trying to lose an intense amount of weight and follows them through a full one-year journey.

The Premise

The particpant (how nice that I don’t have to say contestant) is picked, their bio is shown, and the individual gets flown out to California for a one-week bootcamp which includes workouts and food plans.  For the first three months, Chris moves in with the client and trains them daily, keeping them motivated and helping them with food choices.  For the next three months, the client is on their own and facing all their demons while they try to lose weight.  Months six through nine continue with the participant battling to shed pounds by themselves, followed by the big reveal at the end of the full year.  The individual being followed gets rewards for meeting weight loss goals every three months and a big reveal with friends and family is the wrap-up for each episode.

Rachel

Rachel’s episode was the first to air.  She is a former homecoming queen and current physical education teacher who has ballooned up to 369 pounds at the age of 21.  Chris takes her into his system and she thrives under his intense supervision.  While at the one-week bootcamp, a room in her house is transformed into a home gym.  During the first three months when Chris is with her regularly, she loses 80 pounds, meeting her first goal and winning her first reward, a trip to Greece with her brother.

There is trouble at home, though, as the family isn’t as willing as Rachel to change their ways, sticking with their old fatty foods and letting Rachel fend for herself.  Over the second three month period she loses 50 pounds, five short of her goal, but still a tremendous 130 total dropped over six months. However, during her third three month block, Rachel loses a measly three pounds as she loses focus on her food choices and slides back into old habits.  The final segments of the show see her undergoing skin reduction surgery at the 9 month mark, followed by the year end reveal where she weighs in at 208, a 161 pound weight loss.

Chris Powell

I could hug the producers who hired this guy.  Thank you!  Chris has a degree in Exercise Physiology and is a certified Strength and Conditioning specialist!  Yay!  Do you know what that means?  This guy knows what he’s doing!  He doesn’t just look good and passed an online course.  (I’m talking to you, NBC!)

Chris has developed a food system called STAX where you fill up plastic containers with food every day according to your current weight.  The containers are color-coded for proteins, starches, veggies, and fats, and it includes a timer so that you eat every three hours.

Some Problems

You got zero sense of what Rachel’s workouts were like during the year.  The show did say she was on a 1,500 calorie per day diet that was designed by a registered dietician (kudos again, ABC).  I also thought it was lame that she didn’t reach two of her three month goals, but they gave her the reward anyway.  I’d also like to see them delve a bit more into the psychology of the client as the weight comes off; there were no one-on-one camera moments where Rachel talks about what it’s like to move in a new body and that I would have liked to have seen.

Because I didn’t get a lot of connection with Rachel, I didn’t feel as inclined to cheer for her.  I was a bit reserved about her weight loss at the end of the year, even though it was stunning and transformational.  And yeah, the getting the reward even though you didn’t lose the weight bugged me.  I’m a Mom; I know when I do that to my kid, I’m in trouble.

What did you think of the show?  Did you find it inspiring?  Do you like the format?  Will you watch another episode?  I’ll definitely be tuning in again.

Cheers,

Lisa