Biggest Loser Season 3 contestant Kai Hibbard is slamming the popular reality TV show insisting the show is a scam.
Hibbard, now 144lbs, says the show gave her an eating disorder because the pressure both during the show and after the show had finished taping was too much to handle.
“The thing is, it got worse when I got home,” says Hibbard who started the show at 262lbs. ”I would get e-mails constantly from the producers: ‘what have you done today?’ ‘are you working out enough?’ It was just always, always, always. At that point, [I had] all the pressure on me, and [I was] trying to do right by what I had been told is the best thing to ever happen to me. And they would tell you all the time, ‘200,000 other fat girls were in line right behind you. How dare you waste this experience? How dare you let anybody down?’”
It was at that point, Hibbard says, that she began eating only 1,000 calories a day and working out between 5 and 8 hours daily.
The former contestant says she felt so much pressure to exercise and stay thin that her hair started to fall out, she was covered in bruises and slept only 3 hours a night.
Hibbard says she tried telling the show about her struggles but they weren’t interested in her troubles unless she was willing to go on TV. “Save it for the cameras,” she says they told her.
So what do you think is the show trying so desperately to increase ratings that it goes to severe lengths for viewership – or is this former contestant trying to cash in on an extra 15 minutes of fame?
We call BS on her story, but that’s just our opinion. We’ll let you be the judge!
Hey guys. I have read some recent reports and accounts concerning the unhealthy practices on the show, and what I can tell you is that I had a somewhat different experience. While it is true that the show kept tabs on us so as to track our weight loss, they often offered help and assistance if I told them that I was struggling. They never scrutinized me or put me under pressure enough to want to hurt myself or bring about an eating disorder. You must understand, however, that the show has evolved season to season. Therefore, I don’t necessarily think it’s right to call Kai out. Rather, people need to understand that the experience on The Biggest Loser show is drastically different for everyone involved. For me, it was an unbelievably positive experience from the day I stepped foot in California at 334 lbs, to the day I landed back home, 5 months later and down 130 lbs from my starting weight. In total, I lost 164 lbs in the 8 months it took to shoot the show, and I found the people from the show to be unbelievably helpful, from the doctors to the Registered Dietitian, Psychologist, trainers and even production crew. I guess that many changes were made in the time between our seasons, but I’d bet that most contestants from my season and those to follow would concur with my assertion.
I am blessed to say that I now try to pay forward what I learned and am lucky enough to report that I have not only been able to maintain the majority of my weight loss, but have changed my career entirely. I now am a full-time motivational speaker and wellness ambassador, and thank all who were involved with The Biggest Loser show as often as possible.
Bill Germanakos
The Biggest Loser
season 4
http://www.WeightLossTwins.com
http://www.facebook.com/billgermanakos
Whatever! She needs to take responsibility for her own actions. THAT is what the show teaches. She didn’t HAVE to work out 5 to 8 hours a day, especially since she wasn’t on tv anymore. It was up to her how to live her life once the show was over. She got an amazing opportunity, and should have learned more from the experience. The life they live on the ranch isn’t realistic, they’re trying to win a game, and things need to move faster. But while they’re there, they are learning things, (or should be) and should go home equipped with tools to MAINTAIN their weight loss which means you can eat more, and work out less. Eating disorders happen to many people, it’s more of a mind thing than a physical thing. She had her weight under control, but needed more help with her mind, it seems like. She can’t put the responsibility for this on the show. Many have come away from that show stronger people, and haven’t had this happen.
If The Biggest Loser doesn’t torture their contestants I don’t know what the hell they’re doing. I understand you go on the show to lose weight but to work out for 2-5 hours and consume only 1,000 calories is deathly to anyone, I don’t care if you weigh damn near 900 pounds!
http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2010/06/season-3%e2%80%99s-kai-hibbard-of-the-biggest-loser-confesses-the-show-gave-her-an-eating-disorder/
I give this woman credit for coming out and being honest. Many people who lose a lot of weight like she did can become anorexic. I worked with a young woman who was heavy and she started to lose weight. She looked great, but she couldn’t stop losing the weight. She became dangerously anorexic. It happens. Unless we walk a mile in her shoes, we cannot understand what was happening in her mind.
I really feel for this girl. I watch Biggest Loser and wonder what kinds of disclaimers they must have to sign, because some of the stuff they “have” to do looks outright dangerous and unhealthy. They drop such huge amounts of weight SO quickly, in an environment that is very different from what their real lives are…I think it sets them up for real problems when they return to normal life. Not that everybody doesn’t have to take responsibility for what we do, but I think that going from extremely unhealthy to extremely healthy – must make it very hard to find the middle ground of healthy living that would be reasonable to maintain over the long term.
If you watched Kai’s season you could see she had some pre-existing mental issues. I would say that in her case, her mental state was probably such that she had a higher risk of falling into unhealthy weight-loss and exercise patterns. Putting anyone into an intense situation like that is hard, but putting someone more fragile in there, it only makes sense that a couple people are going to take it too far and lose control.
I am very proud of her for coming forward. That was not an easy decision! As a person who struggled with an eating disorder, CARLY–you have NO clue what you are talking about. It is a deadly mental disease. Though it is a ‘mind thing’ as you so carelessly and obviously naively say the ‘mind thing’ turns into a ‘physical thing’ with deadly consequences!! The mind plays many tricks, with the pressure that is placed on all contestants, encouragement of losing that much weight, and blatant disregard to the mental aspect of eating disorders (including overeating) is atrocious on this show. I just pray that others have the courage to seek help if this show has led to similar situations. God Bless Kai for her courage!
I have known Heather Hansen from Season 3 since we were in junior high, and I have never heard her throw he BL under the bus like that. I am really quite surprised by Kai’s comments, especially in light of some interviews she gave in 2007, just before she got married. She basically is contradicting her self now with those previous statements. you can read it here:
http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/biggest-loser-3-runner-up-kai-hibbard-staying-slim-getting-married-5012.php
But basically, she said she likes her workouts post BL better, is happy to be healthier now, and is passing it on. If she took it to an extreme, that is on her completely. She got help, then just threw the helpers down a flight of stairs because she can;t control herself. Shame on her.
I think there is a bit of exaggeration in her claims. The Biggest Loser is ran by PROFESSIONALS…who know that you can’t eat a mere 1,000 calories and skip meals and still work out as much as they do on the show. If you don’t fuel your body right, you’re NOT going to lose weight. If you’re skimping that much on food, your body will hold on to everything you eat, just to survive. Professionals aren’t that stupid.