Have you secretly wanted to audition for "The Biggest Loser"?
I heard the radio ad in my city announcing the open call for another season of "The Biggest Loser" and wondered if I would be able to scan the line of potential cast members and recognize anyone from my church or neighborhood or high school. Of the thousands of people hopeful to be selected for the ultimate diet and fitness bootcamp, surely I would know someone.
Read more: Weight-loss tips from "The Biggest Loser" graduates
Or would I? "The Biggest Loser" is a tricky show -- not just because it is full- and sudden-immersion into counting calories and spending hours and hours a day being screamed at while wielding kettlebells and sweating profusely on the treadmill -- but because it puts your body out there for the nation to see. If someone is a viable candidate, which the show cites as being at least 85 pounds overweight, then weight issues are clearly not being hidden. But it is one thing to be recognized as a bigger person and another to stand on a scale in a jog bra and shorts and to cry, vomit, shake, and maybe even pass out during activity that other folks may do every day.
I wonder how many people long to audition, to get guidance from Bob Harper or one of the other celebrity-status trainers, and to go cold turkey to get radically healthier but don't simply because they are afraid to stand in that line, possibly be recognized, and then broadcast the good, tough, and ugly on TV.
Considering this makes me applaud the contestants even more than I have when I've watched episode after episode of people who worked hard to (as they often say) save their own lives. It takes a lot of courage to sign up, stand up, put it all out there.
Are you one of those people who would like to audition for "The Biggest Loser" or who've at least considered going to an open call? What would it take for you to put in your own video or application?
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