on Jillian's site.
The basic premise of the show: Jillian travels the country, spending a week with each family and, besides teaching them the diet and fitness plan she used on "The Biggest Loser," but also trying to untangle some of the problems that are making the family turn to food for comfort. If you hated "The Biggest Loser" because of the massive weight loss numbers, you are probably not going to like "Losing It" either. On the most recent episode I watched, two of the family members lost 50 pounds in two months and one lost 30.
What I like is that Jillian doesn't act like it's "Just calories in, calories out" like so many diet gurus do. I'm getting a little sick of that phrase. Sure, calories are important, but even more important to address are the beliefs and blocks that are keeping people stuck. If knowledge was enough, we'd all be thin already, or at least most of us would. Jillian acknowledges that there is a lot more to weight loss than losing weight. Many of these families have gone through traumatic events -- a child or parent who died, a painful divorce, serious illnesses -- that were so difficult to deal with that they retreated into food as an escape from their problems.
Some of the common problems families seem to share on the show:
Communication Breakdowns: The Mastropietros couldn't talk about their child who died shortly after birth. Debra Jones's preteen daughter couldn't tell her mom that she was carrying too much responsibility for a child her age. The May family children were afraid to talk to their mother because she was carrying so much bottled-up anger about her divorce and would become hostile and defensive. The wife in the Northern family couldn't talk to her husband about how overwhelmed she felt. The Vivios had adopted a "suck it up" attitude that made it impossible to talk about how they were feeling.
A Sense of Powerlessness and Hopelessness: At some point all members of these families seemed to demonstrate a sense that they were not in control of their lives anymore. At one point during a workout, Jillian yelled at a woman who was half-heartedly going through the motions, "This isn't happening to you! YOU are happening to it! Act like it!" That seemed to be a theme, from Elijah who didn't think he could tell his father that he didn't like football, to the father in the Northerns, who seemed to feel like everything good that could ever happen in his life was behind him and retreated from life.
A Cluttered Environment: Most of these families seemed to hang on to a lot of stuff. It came out especially with the Mays and the Joneses, but the Vivios had a lot of knick-knacks and junk in their yard.
A Fear of Failure, or of Success: None of these families were risk-takers. They seemed to be afraid to try new things or reach for ambitious goals. Often during a workout, they would stop just short of what Jillian was asking of them, and it seemed like a part of them didn't know how to handle new information that they were actually strong and successful people.
Macho-Man Dads and Low-Self-Esteem Moms: When the dads were around, other family members seemed to tiptoe around them and cater to them. Even as the wives became overloaded and unhappy, they didn't ask their husbands for help. The wives tended to avoid upsetting their husbands and resisted compliments.
Have you been watching the show? What do you think? Did I miss any important common themes?