October 31, 2000

6:50 AM

This is the true story of what happens... when seven strangers... are picked to live in a house and have their lives taped... to see what happens when people stop being polite fat and start being real skinny. America's obsession with weight loss continues on ABC. It's the anti-Fat Project.
posted by hijinx (7 comments total)

Anybody wanna take odds on when the cannibalism begins?
posted by harmful at 7:28 AM on October 31, 2000

Well it ain't big brother, look at that big kitchen window. That's where I'll be tossing in the late night twinkies and pound cakes. Hopefully they'll get Ben Stiller to reprise his role from Heavyweights. Okay everyone meet Tony Perkins, he's taking over from now on.
posted by skallas at 8:11 AM on October 31, 2000

It's only a week, and there's weights and stuff around to defend themselves with, so I don't think any cannibalism's going to happen.

I don't think most people can make long-term lifestyle changes (ie, learning how to eat right) in the period of a week. That's just silly.

If Good Morning really wanted to help these people lost weight, permanently, they'd set up year-long meetings with nutritionists, give them all home excercise equipment, and training in how to properly manage their time to use the equipment.
posted by cCranium at 8:13 AM on October 31, 2000

err, regular meetings throughout the year, not a meeting (or more than one!) that lasts 365 days. :-)
posted by cCranium at 8:14 AM on October 31, 2000

If Good Morning really wanted to help these people lost weight...

That's a big if. Year-long meetings? Pshaw. The TV-ratings "sweeps" period only lasts a month. GMA wants "results" that will show within that time-frame; don't expect any follow-up to show whether these folks will continue to lose weight, or even maintain their weight loss, in the long term.

The article implies that these are people with a history of unsuccessful attempts at weight loss. I wouldn't be surprised if most of them have tried at least some of the techniques this series will be covering, although I don't expect any admission of that. I've been through the same thing myself; I can spout all kinds of fact and theory about proper diet, exercise, healthy lifestyles, and so forth, not to mention a few of the oddball crackpot weight loss theories that get popular. And I still weigh twice what I should.
posted by harmful at 8:35 AM on October 31, 2000

harmful: ditto. Well, maybe not twice, but a goodly amount more for certain. I know about eating healthy and regular excercise, that really isn't what's making me not try. It's a combination of laziness and complete and utter disinterest in restricting my lifestyle.

From where I sit, though heavily indented :-), I'm enjoying things the way the are, and I'm not terribly concerned with my appearance. It may be worth my while for health reasons, but that's about it, and I'm still young enough to believe in my own immortality.

Physical fitness is something anyone can attain, you just have to be willing to work hard at it. Fuck the fat gene (as discussed here a few months back) or any of that victim shit. There's one reason I'm fat, and it's because I choose to be, through my lack of desire to do anything else.

Year-long meetings? Pshaw.

That was my point, really, disguised in unintentional vaguaries.
posted by cCranium at 10:54 AM on October 31, 2000

With so many obese americans, this GMA show idea is ratings gold. If you think it's ridiculous to think the show's participants can change their lifestyle and diet in one week, just think of the people that will watch this on tv and think they can change their lifestyle and diet.

blah, blah, but if it helps one person, it's all worth it, blah, blah.

It's a pure ratings play. Try to make overweight americans feel good about losing weight by watching a tv show. Pure ratings genius.
posted by mathowie at 10:57 AM on October 31, 2000