Anyone who watches reality television knows that it isn’t all real, after all, whether it’s Loser, Housewives, or Hills, they still have a story to tell and a show to produce. But it’s one of those things that no one talks about. Until now.James Garrison, a participant in Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition‘s first season earlier this year, is calling himself a whistle blower and exposing what he describes as mistreatment of the shows participants.
“You read it here first… The Biggest Extreme Makeover Loser WhistleBlower,” said Garrison at the end of a nearly 2000-word diatribe against Extreme Makeover’s producers and cast, calling out by name JD Roth (the man also behind Biggest Loser) and the show’s trainer Chris Powell.
In our interview with James after his episode aired he described health problems he was having as, he says, a result of his rapid weight loss, which meant losing 313 pounds in 365 days. This month he had another rush to the hospital which resulted in the removal of his gall bladder. It got him thinking.
“Well it took another near death stay in the hospital, my second in a year, to realize exactly what I was promoting. Yes, I lost 313lbs in one year on ABC’s Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition, but should you? The answer is no. No one should lose that much weight that fast and if anything I am proof positive as to why its not a good idea. Those are unrealistic expectations that in reality are more harmful than good,” is the statement Garrison wrote in the blog post that started it all.
He says that post was also followed up by personal emails to Roth and Powell, explaining his health problems, the $50,000 in hospital bills from the past year, and asking for help with it all, which he says were ignored.
“I guess what is hard to understand is, after emailing JD. Roth and Chris Powell asking for assistance with my medical and over $50,000 in hospital bills I was ignored.”
Anyone who has ever been desperate to lose weight, knows that extreme diet measures to drop a few pounds is sadly, just as common as scarfing down a quart of Rocky Road ice cream once the goal weight is met.
In a recent article in The New York Times, a very eye-opening and quite controversial light has been shed on the diet practices of a few of the Biggest Loser contestants. And while they don’t involve eating pints of ice cream, they do question the ethical and safety regulatory practices of NBC’s popular weight loss reality series.
From purposefully drinking as little water as possible drop a few pounds to working out in layers of clothing when the cameras were turned off, past Biggest Loser contestants are openly discussing some of the behind-the-scenes diet practices they would do to lose weight before stepping on the scale for their weekly weigh-in’s.
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