Was She Too Thin?

I didn't watch the show but after seeing people talk about this on FB I read a brief story on it and saw some pics. I don't think she looks too thin at all, she looks great. In the interview I read, she talks about how she used to be a national-level swimmer and was athletic all through the early part of her life. She looks that way now...trim and athletic. I say good for her!

Here is my question: would anyone have cared if it was a man who lost 60% of his body weight, or would they just say he looked great?

Yes, too thin.

The expression on their (the show's regulars....don't remember their
names as I don't normally watch that show) said it all.

Wow. I didnt see the biggest loser, but I have heard this about many who have lost large amounts of weight. I lost a great deal. I went from around 380 (didn't like to weigh myself then) to 160. I'm 6ft. The bones were sticking out of my back, but with all the loose skin I still didn't feel skinny. It took about a year and a half total-and I did it on my own.
Many of my co-workers gossiped and said that I had surgery.
I think it's preposterous. We are critical of people who are obese. We are critical of people that work hard to change their health.
We need to stop watching so much TV and go do something! It's kindness month! If we stayed busy we wouldn't have so much time to think about what everyone else is doing wrong.

Personally? I think she looks thin - but Healthy - not model thin where there is no muscle tone - that chick has muscles and tone.

She was counseled every step of the way in her weight loss journey. I don't believe her blood work came back bad - if that was the case - I think they would say something.

Yes, it's a drastic amount of weight to lose.
Yes, it's a "reality" show. But she did it. Some will say she's too thin. Some will say she is just right. What matters is that SHE is happy where she is. She lost the weight in a healthy manner - she didn't just starve herself. It's obvious she worked out - look at the tone she has.

So is she thin? Yes. She is. Do I think she's too thin? No.

I'm down 26 lbs...and I've got a long way to go!! I can only hope that my muscle tone looks that good when I am at my goal weight.

no not to thin, she had a ton of muscle on her legs and arms, if she was starved that wouldn't be there because starvation would eat muscle first.

She's fine, she likes it and so what. Your too fat, your too thin. Jeez just be a human being.

Anyone concerning themselves over a competition to give money to people that have become obese and then lose weight, is wasting their time being upset. Be upset over the people who dont have a pot to pee in and the only thing they can afford to eat is a frickin McDonalds happy meal. That to me is effed up.

I don't take it as being critical; people are talking about it because they're concerned.

I have a son who just completed eating disorder treatment so if anyone would be sensitive about negative talk about being underweight, it's me. People aren't out there saying she's ugly; they're saying something may not be right with her health and Rachel could need help. THAT is not offensive. Our son was very underweight, needed help and got it from eating disorder specialists.

I do think after seeing Rachel take it too far that there should be rules about BMI to qualify for the grand prize. I really do hope she went too far simply for the money and not because she's developed an eating disorder, because eating disorders are a nightmare to overcome.

From my understanding she is 5'8" and started out at only 260 pounds, which is not that over weight to begin with (I am surprised she made the show). When she finished she had a BMI of 16 which is well below what they consider to be underweight (anything less then 18.5 is underweight). I think that the show should make clear that what she has done to herself in order to win is unhealthy and can be dangerous.

But I have always thought this show pushed unhealthy ideas because it is unhealthy to lose so much weight so quickly to begin with, it increases issues with loose skin, and makes it more likely the person will gain it back, but for those that it really did help, I think that is great.

Yeah, she's a little too thin right now. But it's hardly worth an uproar. Maybe she just wanted to ensure winning -- I'd get that thin if I knew it would ensure me $250K. Or maybe she's just kind of enjoying feeling light for the moment.

It's a little early to make a big stink over this; she can easily gain 10 or 15 lbs. when she wants to, and get up to a normal weight for her size.

I don't watch it, but it was all over the internet this morning, so I've seen the pictures.

My opinion is this:

Yes, it is unhealthy. However, she likely will not stay there. What she did was go the extra mile to get small to win the prize. $250k, apparently. It was a CONTEST. Not a program to just get healthy. I think anyone bashing her should take a step back and look at the whole picture. If there's a problem, then it is created by the show, making the winner whoever loses the most (isn't that how it works?). So, unless every entrant is a woman with the exact same starting height and weight, it just isn't a fair contest from the start. She did what she needed to win. She's a competitor.

That said, she will probably (hopefully) gain a few pounds now that the contest is completed. She won. That was here goal at the end. If her only goal was to get healthy, she didn't need to enter a contest.

The problem I see, is that everyone standing on the sidelines is so critical. They're too fat. They're too skinny. They expect anyone who gives a hoot about themselves and their physical appearance to look PERFECT. So she wasn't perfect. They'd prefer her fat, instead? I don't get it. Double standard. It's ok to be fat, but not skinny?

And lets not forget, this was TV. By the end, she's essentially an actress. The same internet this morning was posting pictures of Mark Wahlberg talking about how much weight he put on (and lost/is losing) for the last movie he was in and his current one. He's an actor. She became an actress.
If it is amazing and "How did she do that?!" when an actress loses a ton of weight (or puts on 30 pounds in 2 months) for a movie role, or we obsess over how quickly they lost their baby weight and are back to washboard abs... why do we view this woman any differently? She essentially became an actress for this show. Unless she goes on to other acting roles that require her to lose/gain weight, I'd bet she balances out at a healthy weight in short order and goes on about her life, with an extra $250k in the bank.
Good for her.

--
Oh.. and I also wanted to say that at what is she, 5'3" or something? 105 lbs isn't insane. I had a college roommate who was 5'7" and was like 108 lbs. Nobody said she was unhealthy. Everyone was jealous. And no, she was not anorexic. Just naturally thin. She didn't work out and she loved pizza and junk, just like the rest of us. She just had a crazy metabolism, loved to dance (recreationally,not as a class or exercise) and it was in her genes.
The BMI charts do not take into account body type. And if you look over the insurance charts from decades past (that's where these numbers came from originally---to see what sort of health risk you were to insure).. you'll see that they change, all the time. AND that they have always been way off in terms of what a "normal" person looks like.

Maybe we should be having this reaction over all the magazine covers and the models on them. Hmm?

She definitely looked too thin IMO, I was kind of shocked when she walked out on the stage. Even the trainers looked shocked. She just looked kind of unhealthy. I think she looked really nice during makeover week when she had about 20-30 more lbs on her than she did at the finale. As for whether or not we should be looking to TBL for what's healthy, probably not, but I do hope(and I think they do) that they have a psychologist on the show to monitor contestants as well as the doctors and trainers.

This is an interesting question. I would compare her to Kelly Ripa. Some think she's too thin as well.

I don't watch the Biggest Loser - so I had actually do some research - the "runner up" - David? He lost by 2 lbs and I don't see people pitching a fit about his weight loss.

I see some say "yes" and others say "no". I have to agree with those who say she looks thin but fit. I don't see sagging skin. I don't see flab. I see arms that I would LOVE to have!! I see tone legs and a flat stomach. I know I've said it before - you can't make everyone happy. If Rachel Frederickson is happy with her new-found body and weight loss, why can't we be happy for her? Why are we criticizing her? Let her be. Let her enjoy her healthier lifestyle!!

She's 5' 5" tall. She weighs 105lbs. I'm 5'10 inches and weigh 165lbs. I've got curves. I'm working on tone.

Do I think the TV show set a bad example? No. Why? Because they are showing people shedding pounds? Because they are showing them exercising and eating right?

I think she looks good. She was overweight. I think this society keeps pushing the numbers up for what's considered overweight. You can tell yourself if you're overweight or underweight. I'm 5'4'' and weight about 105 and there are days I feel I could lose some around my tummy. I have never dieted but I would probably consider dieting if I went up to 120. 120 would not look good one me. my limbs, head, face etc all fit a skinny person. to answer your question, neither the show or her have set a bad example. she looks great, much better than when she was overweight.

I don't base my self perception on "reality" shows and really if someone does they have bigger issues than just body image.

Does the general public really care? I would not have been familiar with this had Dr Oz not decided he needed to use it for free publicity. Is it a game show? I have no idea what it is other than stupid. Are people really inspired by fake real? Do people watch real housewives and suddenly start yelling at their friends, throwing drinks in their faces and flipping over tables? God I hope not!

I know I am kind of all over the place but I don't understand why anyone even watches reality TV let alone takes it seriously enough to have a debate over it.

The standard USED to be that on a medium frame for every inch over 5 foot you could/should be able to have 5-7lbs ... so for someone who is 5' 8" tall with a MEDIUM frame 140 to 156 lbs. For me ... that's about right.

Now naturally if you have a small frame then those numbers go down and if you have large frame then the numbers go up.

HOWEVER, thin isn't always HEALTHY and large isn't always UNHEALTHY. The danger that I think people are concerned with with this woman is did she trade one unhealthy eating habit for another? Did she trade being overweight and unhealthy for having anorexia nervosa (medically the term anorexia simply means not hungry or no appetite ... anorexia nervosa is the eating disorder) and unhealthy?

I don't know if she's healthy or not. Only she and her doctor do. Did she look a little too thin to me? Yes ... and I sincerely hope that she hasn't swung the other way.

The looks on Bob's and Jillian's faces though ... Their concern was plain to see.

As long as she and her doctor are happy with what she weighs I don't think any other opinions matter.
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, the average top fashion model's BMI is 16.3.
The article I came across about her says she is 5'4" and now weighs 105 lbs.
According to the BMI calculator I found online she comes to a BMI of 18.0
She looks alright to me.

I feel so badly for her, working so hard and to have it end with the controversy. I can't imagine the hard work it takes to lose that kind of weight.

However, I do think she looks too thin. And 105 is tiny for a 5'5" person. Most of my opinion comes from the look on Bob and Jillian's faces, they knew she looked gaunt.

I have wondered, however, if part of it is the difference in the side by side before and after pics, that makes it more shocking. If I just saw her without knowing she'd lost the weight as a normal person in the store or something, I probably wouldn't give it a second thought, just a thin person.

I usually like the show a lot, they don't promote model/unrealistic skinny for their contestants or viewers. They commend people who end up at a healthy weight- a normal weight. This girl just went too far. Hopefully she will bounce back a little and fill out, perhaps she just didn't drink or eat for a few days to look super thin on the finale. Who knows.

Yes, I thought she was too thin.

My SIL is 5'8, and weighs around 105.

It's just her naturall body. She was so self concious about people telling her that she is too skinny, that she went through a phase of extremely unhealthy eating in an attempt to gain weight. Luckily, she finally decided to accept her body the way it is and just eats whatever now... And is completely healthy.

To me, there are SOOO many factors that go into judging whether a person's weight is healthy or not, that it is impossible to tell JUST by looking at one factor.

Even before they weighed her in, I thought she was WAY too thin. Seriously, the minute she walked on stage I thought, UGH - she looks anorexic!

I am hoping she did some extra crazy dieting to win the money and then gains about 10 lbs back to put herself at a healthier weight.

I don't actually think BMI is a very good measure of health, since it doesn't adequately judge people who are very muscular and therefore heavy, without being fat or unhealthy.

I don't know if the show should impose limits on how much they can lose. I do think they should have their doctors continue to evaluate them for a few months to make sure they are staying healthy. I was really impressed with how well Rachel did on the ranch and was glad to see her win, but I thought she looked too skinny.

I read that she is 5'5". I think she's too skinny. She should be at least 115 in my opinion. But if she's healthy and happy with how she looks and feels, who am I to judge? Boy, do I wish I was 105!

Yes. I'm 5'3" and 105 on me is too thin - and people tell me that! Hopefully she hasn't transferred one bad addiction to another.

Umm I don't now. Someone else threw Kelly Ripa's name out there - she looks like her - yes too thin but not too bad either. Very muscly. People love to complain....

If I didn't know her history and just saw her out in public I would think she was thin, but not necessarily too thin. However, I have read about her "backstory" because she is originally from MN although now lives in LA. Knowing her history of emotional problems and eating problems to the extent she cut off her family because of her weight gain I do wonder if perhaps she still has an eating disorder, just manifested differently. She was a champion swimmer in HS and credits her weight loss and success to her natural competitive nature and athleticism. She gained a large amount of weight after HS due to a bad breakup and some other issues. I just hope she's healthy both physically and emotionally. She is only 24 and has now gained and then lost over 100 lbs since graduating from HS. That just doesn't sound healthy to me. She says she's finally happy and I hope it's true.

ETA: She's actually 5'4 to 5'5.

I'm 5'7" and naturally stay within the 110-115lbs range. Even though that is technically "underweight", that's my normal. I don't think 105lbs is "too thin".

I think she was fine…as long as she is being healthy about losing the weight. I thought she looked great and happy. What is important is to be healthy. I don't think she looks too thin at all. I say good for her. I also think that people pick on other people way too much…and are making a big deal out of this one woman's personal triumph. People who are saying she is unhealthy and too skinny are being mean. Leave her alone people!

To me, she didn't look healthy. And tv adds 10 lbs, right?

That said, the weight my doctor swears is my healthy upper range, makes me look gaunt and old. I look best 20 lbs above that. It took a few rounds of losing and gaining before I believed it. (Unfortunately, I have less control over my diet now and may have to live with the doctor's preferred weight for me.)

A friend who had gastric bypass says that people who have dramatic weight loss often need a period to settle into a new realistic weight. I hope she gets there.

The entire show itself is what is messing things up...the show is called the biggest loser. What do people expect?? Whoever loses the most gets the cash. And THAT is a lot of cash. If you want that cash you will go to any lengths to win

No she did not look healthy and BMI is never a good way to tell if a person is healthy...it should go by actual body fat. BMI is not reliable enough to go by so no BMI should have absolutely nothing to do with it.