Motivation and Psychologists

[Jules]

Did anyone else see the special on last night on An unnamed Broacasting Company's channel? The were testing some ivy league psychology professor's theories out on volunteers.

One test involved 6 overweight people (5 women, 1 man). They all signed an agreement promising to certain terms as follows. At the start of this, they were each given skimpy bikinnis and a photographer took pictures of them posing in their bikinnis. Then, they had 2 months to lose 15 lbs. If they lose atleast 15 lbs, they get the pictures returned to them. If they fail to lose that weight, their pictures will be shown to America on National TV.

All the people stepped it up and worked really hard, some losing nearly 25 lbs. All but 1 person lost the weight. That lady only lost 13 lbs, but she decided she was proud of her body and said she didn't care if her pictures were shown. (Nevertheless, she was still pretty happy that despite the threat, they didn't actually show her bikinni pictures.) The professor was proudly saying that it was successfully motivating people. While it worked short term- I wonder how many went back to how they were before. It seemed to me that fear was not a great motivating factor to live with and I didn't think he (a smug little man) really proved his point well enough.

I also realized that people on the biggest loser already voluntarily show their stomachs on TV during weigh-ins. It annoyed me that the annoucer said "Move over biggest loser, we've got an even better motivator". Any thoughts on this?

[Trying4Thin]

What theory was he testing? Abject Humiliation? Scare Tactics? Or Determination of the human Spirit? In any case, those people fared better than the most recent red team did. (hehe). Wow, that was low....even for me.

~Carrie

[Big_Girl_Bigger_Heart]

I do not think fear is an effective motivational tool for the long term. If you hold a gun to someone's head and told them if they eat anything that has more then 100 calories in it, you'd pull the trigger....they'd turn into human rabbits. That by no means proves it's an effective method. They are doing it strictly out of fear, not the desire to change.
I know for myself that I had to WANT to change. I had to set realistic goals, and slowly achieve them. I had to force myself to hold ME accountable for my poor choices, and reward myself for my good choices. While the end result my take a little while longer....at least it's being done on MY terms. And it'll be for life.
Hell, if they want to show me in a bikini to the world...GOOD. It's about time we take these skinny women off the shelves, and show the world what real women look like. I am tired of trying to live up to the "image" of what a woman is supposed to be to begin with. Reality check! My ass is always going to be big...rather it's in style or not...because long before J-Lo, I had a big ass. My thighs will never be perfect, because I have muscular legs. I actually use them for more then standing around getting my picture taken. My boobies are never going to be "Perky, and perfect" because I am a DD and they don't make natural boobies perfect to begin with. I am going to always have stretch marks....because 80% of women out there do, and I am one of them. And ya know what....I'm okay with that. Because behind my fat **** my big thighs, and my saggy boobies is a woman who has a lot of offer the world...so if they want to see me in a bikini, GOOD. Let the world see me for what I am...and that's over weight....not who I am...because a camera could never capture that.
And that y'all is what it comes down to in the end. Change comes from loving yourself, and accepting who you are. You may not be something to everyone, but to someone, you're everything.
Sorry for ranting on and on...but this is something I am passionate about. They want to make shows to expose people who are over weight, and yet...they make no steps to help those who are over weight. They say obesity is a pandemic, and yet...every where you look you see fast food. And now a show has found the cure for weight loss? To publicly chastise, and humiliate. Blah. Let’s line all those men up, and make them show their penis's to the world. That way we can all point and laugh. Bastards!
Anywho, that just makes me mad...I need a time out.

Lady Jami

[muppet]

Really Lady Jami, I wish you would loosen up, and tell us how you really feel!
Honestly, I love how passionate you are about this issue. I feel the same way.
I get very frustrated with all these reality shows, which I love, and their need to cast 'hotties'. I find myself rooting against most of these girls and guys, because I feel like that's the main reason they were cast.
I know some people watch the show, hoping they will see a boob, or something, but that's not at all why I watch. I love Survivor. I don't mind when they have the 'hot girl', the 'hot guy', the 'older girl'.. etc. But lately some of these shows seem to be stuck on the 'hot' factor, rather than the 'interesting' factor.
And then there are shows like 'fear factor', which I don't watch regularly, but have seen enough of...... who are like an ad for boob jobs. So many of the women have these crazy, distorted bodies, as a result of boob jobs. I swear, some Dr. should have their license to practice medicine revoked, for what they do to these girls. Yeah, I know they want it.. they ask for it, and they pay for it, but I would think a Dr. would say, 'That's not right for your body' Boob jobs do damage to nerves. Girls talk about how their breat sensitivity has changed. Well, DUH! You've got an inflated balloon in your chest! What did you think would happen?
I also hate this 'boob job' trend, because so many girls are doing it, and on tv, you hardly see any real women any more. I have kids, and they do watch some of these shows. Mostly Survivor. But I don't want my kids thinking that's how women are supposed to look! I don't want any kids thinking that! Or thinking that they aren't good enough, and need to undergo surgery, in order to be presentable. I don't want boys growing up to be men, who expect girls boobs to not be affected by gravity! I swear, there's going to come a time when I man won't know what a natural boob looks like!
Wow, quite a rant here.....This is something that just drives me nuts. And most guys, if you catch them staring at some girls chest, or commeting about someone on a tv show, and you tell them that those boobs are fake, they'll say, 'I don't care!" I think they should care. These fake boobs are getting out of hand. And these girls are getting younger and younger. They are risking their health. They don't feel good enough about themselves -- they think they need it.
It's just crazy. I want it to stop. A woman's body is beautiful. And everyone is unique. Pretty soon, everyone is going to look the same. It scares me .. it really does.

[Big_Girl_Bigger_Heart]

I could not agree more, and that is my biggest complaint. I am supposed to fit an "image" of what a woman is "supposed" to be. Honestly, I feel we live in a society so wrapped up in faults, and what things should be, we forget to see them for how they really are. The average size of a female in the US is a 14. For god sakes, why don't I see average women posted every where? Oh wait, that's right....being fat, is evil. Evil to the point where they put stupid ass shows on TV to prove fear is a motivator. That to me is the greatest possible insult, and shows just how ignorant a person can truly be. It doesn't take an Ivy League idiot to point out fear can drive a person to do something. That was proven in the time of Neanderthals If not before then. I am fairly confident that a Raptor picked at the weaker dinosaurs to steal their food. T-Rex probably did too…and they sure as hell didn’t go to Harvard, or Yale, or whatever damn school those people were from.
What it comes down to ultimately is, if we must portray something…why can’t we do it without glitz and glamour? Or fake boobies….and collagen lips? Let’s get some women on fear factor that are REAL…..and let’s get some REAL men and women are those damn bachelor shows while we’re at it. I wonder how many men would be drooling over me if I was standing in a bikini letting my rolls hang out for the world to see! Hahaha, like my cellulite, and stretch marks?!
That is what I love about biggest loser. They show people for what they really are. You see a woman standing there with her tummy hanging out, and you know what, that’s just fine. If you go door to door, you’ll see many women just like her. It takes a very brave person to stand there like that…and rather then have some show chastise them, or make assumptions about what motivates a person, they should pay homage to her for having the balls to do something so few people ever would. Further more…they should have enough common sense not to assume that their methods work long term. I mean after all, we are talking about an Ivy League school.
Blah…once again I am off on yet another tangent. Sorry y’all.

Lady Jami

[Big_Girl_Bigger_Heart]

P.S Sorry for using profanity. I'm very passionate about the things I believe in, and stand for...and tend not to censure myself like I should.

Lady Jami

[Patty_Ann]

You two have cracked me up reading these posts. LOL I agree with how these shows are more concerned about having "hotties" on their shows. It is irritating seeing Fear Factor - I have not seen a single woman on that show that is over a size 5. How sick is that? I like watching this show - my kids love it...haven't watched it in awhile though - don't have good reception from the rabbit ears. lol

Not sure if this irritates the he** out of you all but what is it when a celebrity gains 5 lbs - the media talks as if it is a tragedy - give me a break - they are humans, too. No wonder these women are starving themselves nowadays...look at Nicole Richie - she was BEAUTIFUL when she was doing that show with Paris. Now she is so skinny it sickens me. One woman I love - Tyra Banks! She is a real person - has anyone watched her talk show? It's a good one! She is always talking about how she doesn't really look like she does on a cover - always talking about airbrushing and make up. She shares it with all the world that she is a REAL woman - no breast implants, etc. She is REAL! Check her show out - you will really like it!

I agree that when you lose weight it has to come from within...you have to WANT it. At this time in my life I am changing...I have changed my life by just the way I eat, the way I exercise, and the way I live day by day. I always wanted the quick fix - none of them worked for me. Working hard and staying strong is what has helped me in this journey to weight loss - it just takes dedication and true love to yourself to get you there.

Be true to yourself!

[Jules]

He,he.. I'm glad I'm not the only one who found this study demeaning and horrible, not to mention that it proved NOTHING! I loved your comments -and I totally agree. Why does TV have to be filled with "hotties"? (Especially survivor -which I love. It's always the interesting people that get voted off by the "hotties") Even on sitcoms if the man is large, the woman must be thin -King of Queens for example. Love the show, but how come it's okay for the man to be fat? We all know that wouldn't air if their sizes were reversed.

I just couldn't believe they took the time to make that show, to "investigate" the motivation factor of fear. You know those people went home and celebrated with cake and ice cream and pizza. Just goes to show how dumb TV is today. (And thanks for making me laugh so hard -ads for breast implants haha! Too true! )

[pathoulihanuk]

we dont have that show jules king of queens but that is bordering on sexism and there size which is well out of order but unbelievably people watch it to make ratings.

[Missy]

OMG! I'm so glad all of you posted about this, I thought I was the only one that hated the direction that society is heading. It seems like you can't go anywhere without some girl skanking around in a skimpy outfit letting it all hang out. You know what irks me?? The fact that the girl is automatically considered "hot" just because she's barely wearing anything. I have seen many stereotypical women out there that have the body, the fake tans, the skimpy clothes...but their face is nothing special to look at. BUT...they are considered "hot" because they are almost naked.

It also seems like that is all men want nowadays...those girls just act dumber and dumber and think it's okay not to be smart because they have their "looks"....I'd rather be smart and have a great personality and a pretty face, than prance around in front of men like a hootch. I also think it's degrading that they allow strip clubs to be open...here in Canada...the girls don't wear anything..NOTHING! So they rub their genitals (lord knows where they have been) all over a mans lap which I think is utterly disgusting. Is it sexy to have white trash climb all over your lap? Those girls should be ashamed of themselves and so should the men for going to a bar and degrading these women (someone's daughter!)

Oh...and it also seems like you can't go and see a movie without having to see boobs or some naked girl in it....they NEVER have naked men in a movie, that would be absurd! *sarcasm*, but it's okay to degrade the woman and have society think it's normal.

The sad thing of all of this is...that I see these girls walking around half naked at like age 9 and 10 years old. They are growing up to think this is normal and that they have to dress/act like this in order to have a man like them. Anorexia is also huge in young girls right now because television and society tells them it's ugly to be fat.

I know I can't change anything or change society....but this seriously has to stop. I hate living in a world that is so superficial and blind.