MTV’S I Used To Be Fat, Episode 1, Gabriella

The show is about overweight teens who have graduated from high school and work through their summer vacation to lose weight and transform themselves before entering college. Each hour-long episode feature’s one teen as he/she works out with a personal trainer to reach their desired goal. The show is unscripted, and in my opinion has a much more realistic reaction to diet and exercise than most weight loss shows. Will the show promote a healthy attitude towards body image? Or will it simply be a lesson in crash dieting to look hot for the first day of class? We’ll have to watch and see for ourselves, and I will be here to give my opinions every step of the way.

The first episode features Gabriella who seems to be very outgoing and was even nominated as her high school homecoming queen. But despite her popularity she still feels uncomfortable in her own skin due to her weight. She first realized she was overweight when some boys started teasing her in the first grade. Surveillance of Gabriella’s struggle with her self-esteem, and seeing her push through a lifetime of doubt was inspiring.

In 111 days, Gabriella lost 90 pounds. That’s nearly a full person, in 4 months! She was 253, and in 4 months got down to 163. She surpassed the physical pain and mental battles. By the end of the episode you could see that her confidence and positivity poured into the way she spoke, the way she walked, and the way she thought about herself.

My only issue with this episode is the lack of focus on nutrition. While dieting, was mentioned the show seemed to focus more on the physical aspects of weight loss rather than the proper dieting and nutrition which is crucial to proper weight loss. The most inspiring part of the show (at least for me) was when Gabriella’s trainer said to her “It is hard. Keep saying it’s hard. What does hard mean to you? This is where you find it in yourself, the deep, deep place in your soul and you push through.”

To me this applies to everything in life. Why should “hard” equate to giving up and not achieving the goal. This episode helped me to realize that no matter what, you should do what it takes to reach your goals. We all have to find the determination and drive to succeed. Maybe then we’ll start to realize the concept of willpower and limitless boundaries. That is all I have for now until the next show.