✨ Episode Summary: In this episode, Jen and Allison are joined again by Recovery Coach and Psychotherapist Cilla Moore, LCSW, to discuss their thoughts on the Fit For TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser documentary on Netflix. From the physiology of starvation to the cultural harm of the show, we aren’t holding back our thoughts! You don’t want to miss this episode. Grab a beverage and let’s chat!

🧰 What You’ll Learn:

• Our personal experience with The Biggest Loser
• Were the “experts” really qualified?
• The physiology of starvation and overexercising
• The long-term outcomes of the show and the harm that was caused
• Different eating disorder behaviors on display on the show
• How trauma responses might have shown up on the show
• The SWAG eating disorder stereotype

Timestamps

• 0:00 – Intro Teaser + Podcast Intro
• 1:49 – Intro to the Episode Topic
• 5:00 – Context Warning
• 5:28 – Episode Overview
• 6:38 – Our Experience with The Biggest Loser
• 10:51 – The Shock Factor
• 19:24 4 – Minnesota Starvation Experiment, Metabolic Adaptation, and Overexercising
• 27:43 – Adaptive Thermogenesis
• 32:10 – Observation of Eating Disorder Behaviors
• 37:11 – Contestant Trauma Responses and the Neurosequential Brain Model
• 56:16 – Bob Harper Heart Attack and Contestants in Coffins
• 59:27 – Eating Disorder Recovery, Increased Brain Space, and Freedom
• 1:02:00 – The Difficulty with Eating Disorder Healing and Integration
• 1:05:50 – What The Biggest Loser Would Look Like in the Ozempic Era & GLP-1s Therapist Hot Take
• 1:13:23 – Rachel Fredrickson, “Taking It Too Far”, and the Eating Disorder Stereotype
• 1:17:00 – The Risk of “Trusting the Experts”
• 1:23:10 – Allison’s Thoughts on Dr. H
• 1:27:00 – Contestants' Shirts vs Being Shirtless
• 1:29:45 – Final Thoughts
• 1:32:22 – Outro & Disclaimer

📚 Resources & Mentions:

• Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser: https://www.netflix.com/title/81670924
• The Minnesota Starvation Experiment: https://psychiatry.duke.edu/blog/starvation-experiment
• How Malnourishment Impacts Brain Functioning: https://www.collab-counseling.com/blog/malnourishment-impacts-brain-functioning
• What Happened to You by Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey: https://a.co/d/8QTkJf8
• Health At Every Size: https://asdah.org/haes/
• Health At Every Size blog post: https://www.collab-counseling.com/blog/principles-of-health-at-every-size
• The SWAG Stereotype: https://www.theprojectheal.org/blog/swag-stereotype-harmful
• Anorexia/AAN: https://www.collab-counseling.com/blog/anorexia-nervosa-atypical-anorexia-nervosa

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🔗 Connect With Us:

Website: https://www.collab-counseling.com/

IG: @collab.counseling