Former 'Biggest Loser' Contestant Calls the Show 'Dangerous'

By PopEater Staff Posted Jun 21st 2010 04:20PM

Kai Hibbard, a finalist on the third season of 'The Biggest Loser,' reveals how dangerous she feels the show really is to its contestants.

"I have people that come up to me and talk to me and ask me why they can't lose 12 pounds in a week when I did. When I didn't. It didn't happen. It's TV," she told the CBS 'Early Show.' "I need to take blame and responsibility for the fact that I helped perpetuate a myth that's dangerous."

When asked to clarify about her "a week is not a week on TV" comments, she said, "I'm saying that it would be, most times, longer than a week and I believe once, in my season, it was less than a week." (Contestants weigh-in on the show every week to determine who may get voted off.)

Hibbard also claims that the techniques they were taught to lose weight weren't always healthy. "The weight loss for that show is for ratings. People have to remember that 'The Biggest Loser' isn't a weight-loss camp that happens to be filmed for TV. It's a TV show that's made to look like a weight-loss camp. So there was pressure from production and everybody involved in the show to make sure you had as big of numbers as possible every week."

"I could tell you that before I went on the show, I never learned to dehydrate to manipulate a scale and I left knowing how to do it better than some fitness competitors I know," she explained.

But that wasn't the only thing she took from her time on the 'Loser' ranch. "I left with a very poor mental body image," she said, after dropping 118 pounds during 12 weeks on the series. She has since put 70 of those pounds back on.

"I found myself loathing what I looked like the more weight I dropped because of the pressure on me. And I found myself doing things like considering coffee a meal. And because of the mentality that I was surrounded with, and the pressure that was given at that show, it was considered acceptable to behave that way," she added. "I take full responsibility for everything that I've done. But you can't understand it unless you understand the pressure that was there," she continued.

Her husband added that all she would eat at times was coffee with Splenda and would always special order food if they went out for a meal. "She came back with her hair falling out and we all finally all sat down and were like, 'This isn't healthy for you,'" he said.

"My best friend and my mother are registered nurses, and along with my husband, they staged an intervention," Kai admitted.

Hibbard just wants people to be aware of what really goes on during 'The Biggest Loser.' "I participated in something that I feel is harmful to so many people, so I own responsibility to make it better. I'm not making any money off this. I am not getting anything out of it except for the fact that maybe I'm redeeming myself a little bit for being too much of a coward at that finale."

Do you believe her claims? Join the discussion on Facebook.

Tags: Kai Hibbard, The Biggest Loser

Comments

(297)

Monday 21 June

By Cat

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I have mixed feelings reading the above article. I vividly remember watching Kai and her journey with The Biggest Loser. What I am most amazed about is her dissatisfaction with the program when she actually improved her health. On the show she was very obese and now she is not. Wow I guess she didn't learn anything from the show,,,,,NOT. As far as her drinking a cup of coffee instead of a meal,,,,,if she was used to eating 6 - 8 meals a day, as her weight before the show indicated, then a "meal" of a cup of coffee instead of a meal isn't that bad. I just have to say that this article gave me a lot of "heartburn" and think that this is just from a disgruntled contestant who did not win the grand prize.

By Crys

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Cat, I don't think you get it. The show has people rapidly lose weight. While they say the weightloss is supervised by a doctor, it will have different effects on people. If she continued down the same path after the show that she was on while on the show, she would not be healthy, whether she was obese or not. It was her contact with another trainer after the show that helped her find that happy medium where she isn't obese but isn't obsessed at the same time. I've questioned how healthy it was to lose 10+lbs a week when people normally lose 2-4lbs a week on other plans. What she said makes sense. In the video, she expresses gratitude but at the same time is very honest about her experiences. From her reasoning and the fact she's not making money saying what she is, I believe her.

By qwfqwfasf

fan and i find her claims extremely hard to believe. 99% of the time you can actually see the contests looking visably healthier, not just body, but they dont seem so grey, drawn out and fatigued. How is that possible if this show is so unhealthy. Also, if she learned so little, except how to drink coffee for a meal, how has she not put back all her wait? And the claim that "no normal person orders all meals specially made, like without cheese" is a crock, i order all my meals

=== g i f t 2 w a t c h .[c o m] ===

159 [u-s-d] [r-o-l-e-x] [o-m-e-g-a] [g-u-c-c-i] [e-d] [g-u-c-c-i] [w-a-t-c-h]

[b-e-s-t] [g-i-f-t] [f-o-r] [y-o-u-r] [p-e-o-p-l-e]

=== g i f t 2 w a t c h .[c o m] ===

By ASM

I know Kai personally, as I was also a contestant the same season. Everything she is saying is true. You CAN be unhealthy losing weight if you aren't doing it properly. I can remember one weigh in being 12 days! And to portray that to the public as being one week is a dangerous message to convey.

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By juja

I AGREE WITH YOU 100%

By CHAPIS

I totaly agree with you I think she wants a reality show cause she didn't win the grand prize, I myself lost 15 pounds with the biggest looser program.She talking about unhealthy weight loss and she was unhealthy at the begining of the show any way and with loosing "healthy or unhealthy" weight she probably gave herself a couple of more years of life to herself by doing the loosers program, SO KAI GET OVER IT AND BE HAPPY YOU LOST ALL THEM NASTY POUNDS CAUSE YOU LOOK AND FEEL BETTER ANYWAY AND THATS HEALTHY

By Emily

you idiot!!!!!!!!!! you have no idea how many meals she was eating a day. she may have been eating less than you! you have no right to judge people like that Cat. if you lose weight that quickly it ISNT improving your health!!!!! that much weight loss is a huge change to your body and your body can get very overwhelmed. DONT JUDGE!!! I used to be skinny, kinda like you wish you were. But, i was unhealthy, i grew up became a 'big girl' took some responsibility and went to the hospital where i was forced to gain 60lbs. Myfriends uncle is over weight. He did drugs as a child. YOU CLEARLY KNOW NOTHING YOU SELF CENTERED IDIOT!

By kc

If she ate 6-8 small meals a day, she'd never be able to lose 12 lbs. in a week. This crash weight loss is bound to fail--it's very unhealthy (except for the producers' pockets), and cannot work in the long run where it really matters. The fact that she's already regained 70 lbs. is proof. Even if she went back to eating normal "diet food," she was bound to put on weight. Starvation tactics like she described mess with the metabolism. That's why anorexics gain weight so quickly when they start eating a normal diet.

If she continues to follow a 1,000-2,000 calorie a day plan, her body will adjust in time and she'll start to lose that 70 lbs. in a reasonable amount of time.

By Heather

So you're saying she got healthier? Losing your hair and not eating is the furthest thing from healthy. I'm a nurse and I know what desperate people do to lose weight and that show is for DESPERATE people. The only healthy way to lose weight is at most 6 pounds a week and that's pushing it. Sure in the begining you may lose a lot but it should NOT last the entire twelve weeks. The fitness part of that show is also ridiculous! You can't push your body like that because you can KILL yourself by doing it. Its quite ridiculous that you would think she's lying about these things because its nearly impossible to lose weight that fast in a healthy way. Your body can't handle it.

By Nee

Cat, just because you're thin does not mean you're healthy or happy. Also a cup of coffee is not a meal regardless of what else you've eaten that day. Unless you've ever had to lose a significant amount of weight you could never understand what she is trying to say. Get off your high horse and stop judging.

By laura

I agree. Sounds like she's making up excuses because she put the weight back on. If she felt it wasn't healthy then she needed to leave the show...period. The fact that she has put it back says she isn't ready to loose the weight and keep it off. I wonder if her husband, mother and friend are also overweight?

By kaye

I agree with the mixed feelings. Though I certainly do not think that a cup of coffee should be a meal, I also feel that gaining the 70lbs back is just as unhealthy, nor even that of a happy medium as Crys states. That means she has gained 59% of her weight back. How healthy can that be. I'm 98lbs, Extremely healthy, and I do not diet (nor have I ever) or watch what I eat...and eat all the fattening things and desserts each day that I want. Everything is Moderation and we all have to take Responsibility for that. We over eat, we are going to gain a ton on weight...we don't eat enough, we are going to get sick.

By lisa

Ho can you say a cup of coffee is an okay breakfast and obesity has nothing to do with it. That is just plain unhealthy. You should know better. Just because you like the show and people lose weight does not mean it was in a healthy way. Anyone knows losing weight that fast is not healthy in the first place. You should television is for ratings first and foremost. What land you living in. It may be hard for you to believe but why does she need to lie and why is this so hard for you to believe anyway. Are you one of those tv zombies who does and beleives everything the media puts out there. LOL

By Tim

I knew that the shows dirty little secret would eventually surface. Its the perfect show for the growing population of overweight/obese individuals. Make them think they can change all the damage they have done to their bodies over the years in a matter of weeks/months. As a trainer I always suspected the methods that were being implented on the show were a little suspect. Whenever a new client approaches me about losing a significant amount of weight in a short period of time I always advise them to not concentrate on only losing weight but actually changing the lifestyle that caused them to put it on in the 1st place. Also, you need to eat and exercise according to your somatotype (bodytype) to improve your chance for success/progress. There is SO MUCH more I can say on this topic but there just isn't enough room to reply.

By Lisa

First thing to remember is that most of the people on this show weigh more than 250 lbs. The more you weigh the more you will lose. If you did one of those liquid diets like Optifast you would lose 8-12 lbs a week. Those diets are medically supervised. The reason for being on the biggest loser is to lose as much weight as possible, to learn how to exercise on a regular bases and hopefully to pick up some healthy eating tips. Losing the weight is the easy part. Learning what to do next is the important part. Keeping the weight off is much harder no matter how you take it off. When you start any program the maintenance part is key. If the biggest loser doesn't offer a maintenance than the smart/responsible thing would be to continue with a nutritionist or a trainer that will help you to continue staying healthy. These contestants need to be smart, take advantage of the opportunity but then also seek out all the necessary tools to keep the weight off.

By Barbie

I totally agree Lisa, when you are that overweight you can drop those kinds of numbers, but notice towards the end there numbers start getting smaller as they get smaller. Kai was a major crybaby in her season, she was a game player too, Its so easy now to blame the people who helped her lose her weight. Oh and Like being 100 plus pounds over weight was healthy too! Like any diet, after you lose your goal weight you must maintain it. Kai needs to grow up!

By Linda

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OK..YOU ARE AN IDIOT AND UNEDUCATED OBVIOUSLY. DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT DOCTORS SAY YOU SHOULD NOT LOOSE MORE THAN 2 TO 3 POUNDS A WEEK, IF YOU CAN, TO DO IT SAFELY AND RIGHT??? IF YOU TRY TO CRASH DIET OR LOOSE WEIGHT FAST IT IS DANGEROUS. SIMPLE AS THAT. IT TOOK YEARS TO GET FAT SO IT TAKES TIME TO LOOSE WEIGHT AND TODAY EVERYONE WANTS QUICK FIXES TO THEIR PROBLEMS AND FAST.IF HER HAIR WAS FALLING OUT DOES THAT NOT SAY SOMETHING TO YOU? DO YOU THINK THAT IS NORMAL AND HEALTHY? DO YOU HONESTLY THINK IT IS SAFE TO LOOSE THAT MUCH WEIGHT THAT FAST? IT IS NOT. SIMPLE AS THAT. AND, SHE HAS NOW PUT BACK ON 70 POUNDS OF THE WEIGHT SHE DID LOOSE AND WILL PROBABLY PUT IT ALL BACK ON PLUS MORE COZ SHE LOST IT TOOOOOO FAST. NOW, IF YOU CANNOT FIGURE OUT THIS SHOW IS ALL ABOUT RATINGS AND MONEY THEN I DO NOT KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY TO YOU EXCEPT GET EDUCATED BEFORE YOU POST AGAIN.AND OH YES, TO SAY THAT A CUP OF COFFEE IS NOT A BAD MEAL SHOWS ME WHAT KINDA OF I-D-I-O-T YOU TRULY ARE! MY GAWD..AND THESE PEOPLE BREED!

By CD

How exactly does what she weighed before the show indicate that she ate "6-8" meals a day???? I am a big girl and I eat a banana for breakfast everyday, a lean cuisine for lunch and a sensible dinner. I am losing weight, but never, ever did I eat 6-8 meals a day!!! Idiot.

By Show Is Dangerous

I have always believed that the show was unhealthy. No matter how much they claim that it isn't. Any doctor will tell you that consistently losing that much weight on a weekly basis is a shock and strain to the system. Also I want one of you to show me where dehydrating yourself to make a weigh-in look good is a good thing. The show is harmful and a disgrace to the public eye and is dangerous.

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