The season premiere of the hit NBC reality weight loss show “The Biggest Loser Couples” will air on January 5. Trainer Jillian Michaels has been making the rounds on the talk shows and has expressed some fear for the growing number of morbidly obese contestants who will appear on the show.
Jillian believes that some contestants may be too big to safely undertake some of the strenuous challenges. Season 9 will feature four contestants who are over 400 pounds and one man, Michael Ventrella, breaks the record at 526 pounds. According to the show’s medical experts, the new contestants are the “sickest group” to ever appear on the popular weight loss series.
Michaels and fellow trainer Bob Harper are concerned that these contestants may not be able to handle the rigors of the show, especially in the first few weeks. She said, “The contestants keep getting bigger and bigger. As the trainers, we have no say over the challenges. We worry about them, too.”
Last season two people were taken to the hospital after they suffered heat exhaustion following a one-mile run on their first day. Another contestant from an earlier season suffered a stress fracture after running a half marathon and left the show because she couldn’t continue to train.
Michaels experienced a blow to her ego when she was accused of giving some of the contestants drugs to help with their weight loss. The show investigated the allegations and found them to be totally baseless.
Jillian is also concerned about the way she has been portrayed as the “Simon Cowell of weight loss.” She hopes to soften that image with another short-term series that she is undertaking. “Losing It With Jillian” will premiere in the spring. She’ll work with a different family every week to give them her brand of tough love while helping them to get to the bottom of the issues that affect their health and happiness, and will give them the tools to make life-altering changes.
An amazing success story from season eight was winner Danny Cahill, who lost 239 pounds. See his before and after photos here. Another winner gained all of his weight back. Erik Chopin will appear this week on a Discovery Health special “Confessions of a Reality Show Loser”. See his before, after and now photos here.
View more photos below.