“It makes me wonder, what things happening today will we look back on years from now with similar eyes and say, 'I can’t believe we let this happen?'”

If you ever watched The Biggest Loser and found yourself rooting for the contestants (and maybe even feeling inspired), this episode will prompt you to look at it all through a very different lens. Today’s conversation is not just about a reality TV show, but about exposing the extreme and unsafe practices it normalized, the harmful beliefs it perpetuated about health and body size, and how so many of those beliefs are still shaping our lives today.

I'm breaking down the new Netflix documentary, Fit for TV, and sharing my reflections as a former viewer, a registered dietitian, and someone who now sees just how toxic shows like The Biggest Loser have been for our collective understanding of health. From unrealistic exercise routines to extreme calorie restriction, public humiliation, and the perpetuation of weight stigma, these harmful narratives stuck with me for years.

We dig into the consequences contestants faced, including metabolic slowdown, weight regain, and lifelong shame, and we shine a light on why the system set us all up to fail. My hope is that after listening, you’ll deepen your understanding of why dieting fails us, how weight stigma sneaks into everyday life, and what it really looks like to pursue health with compassion instead of shame.

Most importantly, we talk about what you can do to unlearn these narratives and break the cycle for yourself and for those around you. Whether you watched The Biggest Loser or not, this episode will help you see diet culture with a more critical, informed, and compassionate lens.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the practices on The Biggest Loser were incredibly unsafe, and why they were normalized for entertainment
• The reality of metabolic adaptation, weight regain, and the toll of weight cycling on our health
• The importance of challenging harmful narratives and stepping away from self-blame when diets don’t “work”
• How weight stigma shows up in sneaky ways
• What it looks like to move forward with a healthier, more compassionate view of all bodies (including yours!)

You are not failing if a diet hasn’t worked for you. The system is flawed, not you. Thank you for listening and for being willing to look a little more deeply and compassionately at what we’ve been taught about health. If this episode resonated, I’d love for you to leave a rating and review, or share it with someone who might need to hear it too!

Resources:

• What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat, by Aubrey Gordon
• "You Just Need to Lose Weight" and 19 Other Myths About Fat People, by Aubrey Gordon

Come back next week for another episode and connect with me over on Instagram at @diet.culture.rebel

Struggling with food, but not sure where to start?

You don’t have to feel 100% ready to get support. If you're tired of obsessing over food or feeling stuck in the diet cycle, my team of Registered Dietitians is here to help. We offer one-on-one nutrition counseling—and we accept insurance! Spots are limited, so head to https://dietculturerebel.com/insurance to see if we’re covered in your state and learn how to get started.