If you didn’t already know, I admittedly am I reality show ‘junkie.’ Hey…they allow my mind to go brain-dead and enjoy itself for 60 minutes. I’m not hooked on every reality show out there but I do get enjoyment out of watching them, in particular, regulars like American Chopper (I love Paul Sr…woofy daddy bear, and the dark-haired mechanic Vinnie…yum!), Survivor, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Project Runway, and America’s Next Top Model (don’t shot me for including this but I love all the bitch-slapping that goes on in this show).

But the one show that I really love to watch is The Biggest Loser. When the show first started a couple of years ago, I thought it would be a show that would potentially degrade those over-weight in our society. Not the case in my mind. I believe it is a show that empowers the over-weight individual. It gives them an opportunity to take charge of their life. And I find the show inspiring in so many ways. It’s not easy to make a lengthy commitment to dedicate yourself to losing weight, to being away from family and friends for three months, and to maintaining the weight lose efforts once the show’s airing is over.

I suspect, like any show with a cast of characters, whether fictional- or reality-based, people find there favorites. They make a connection with that characters life story and or person. Who has had me hooked? Well…I had five players who caught my attention within the first episode. They were: Jerry, the 62 year-old from Peoria. Illinois; David, the 31 year-old cowboy with four kids from Cedar Hill, Tennessee; the ’silent but deadly’ 40 year-old twins Jim and Bill from Long Island, New York; and lastly, my favorite, the married 28 year-old, ex-Miami University football player, Phil. If he were gay and available, I’d be all over him, like a pig in a mud puddle. Something in the face! But alas, given they all were the biggest threats between strength and loss of weight, only one remains on the show out of the five that were my picks.

I look forward to the end of the show’s season…not so much to see who wins the cash prize and title of Biggest Loser but rather to see each and every contestants weight loss since their first appearance on the show. From past shows, many of the contestants end up looking phenomenal!

So I guess there lies the answer. Yes, a reality TV show can inspire!