The Biggest Loser is a popular television show that airs on NBC. It is a competitive weight loss reality show that lasts several months. Contestants live away from their families on The Biggest Loser Ranch. They are evaluated by doctors and are provided with one on one as well as group training with two of the industry's leading personal trainers, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. Each week the contestants work out, eat a strict diet, and compete in competitions. The prizes in the weekly competitions vary but usually involve either a cash prize, a one pound weight advantage at the weekly weigh in, or immunity from being sent home that week. At the end of the week there is a weigh in; the two contestants who have lost the lowest percentage of total body weight are in danger of going home. Each of the other contestants vote for one of the two smallest losers to go home. This continues until it gets down to the final three competitors. The winner is announced during a live season finale.
Upon first glance, it seems like just your average weight loss competition, but if you really pay attention you see that these contestants are people with enormous motivation to change their lives for the better. Yes, the competition aspect of the show sucks you in, as each week you route for you favorites to lose the most and stay on for another week. For me, though, it's the will and determination of the contestants that keeps me coming back for more. Even those who do not need to lose weight can feel inspired by these men and women who strive for positive, life long changes. It seems that every week at least one contestant declares "if I can do this, then anyone can do anything!" You can't help but believe them. You see how hard they work every single day. You see them struggle with temptation, and you see them reap the rewards of resisting the temptations. This show is not only an inspiration to those who struggle to lose weight, but it is also an inspration to anyone who strives to live a better life or who aches to achieve a life long dream. At the end of each episode, I find myself pumped up and ready to take over the world. I am motivated to make my own dreams come true. I feel resistant to failure. I feel like I too can do anything and achieve anything. Not many television shows are capable of inspiring such determination, but The Biggest Loser does just that in a really big way.