Biggest Loser Finale: Who's to Blame for Rachel's Unhealthy Weight Loss?

Last night was the Biggest Loser finale. My husband and I are big fans of this show, despite the blatant obnoxious product pushing and marketing you see throughout every season and the "race" to get thin (which if you ask me is a fairly unhealthy concept but, it's television), it sends a positive message about health and fitness.

However, last night was a disappointment of immense proportions. When the three finalists came out, each showing off their weight loss over the last several months, Rachel shocked audiences the most - including two of the coaches...

Trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper clearly had the same reaction as Mike and I did when 105 pound 5'7" former athlete Rachel walked out. Rachel began the season at 260 pounds, losing nearly 60% of her body weight over the course of the season.

Twitter was flooded with comments with followers showing concern about the direction the show is going in and how it is promoting unhealthy weight loss, and today the news followed:

Entertainment Tonight reports 'Biggest Loser Scandal' Is the Winner Too Thin? 

The Huffington Post reports 'Reign in Outrage' Over Winner's New Body
Diets in Review reports Rachel's 60 Percent Weight Loss is Nothing to Celebrate; Biggest Loser Should Be Ashamed

Just to name a few. So our question is: who's to blame? 

Do we blame NBC and the trainers on The Biggest Loser? After all they are the ones "teaching" Rachel healthy habits - clearly she was lead astray. On that note, however, Bob and Jillian were apparently out of the loop with Rachel's ending results. Did they really have no clue? Do they just abandon their contestants in the last lap of the race?

A woman who is 5'7" in no world is healthy at 105 pounds. I am 5'6" and 123 pounds. When I was swimming and excessively working out, I was 140 pounds (see how that works? more heavy exercise and weight training = more muscle = more weight). If Rachel has been exercising as they do on the show, hours a day at high intensity, she's clearly not replenishing her body with the right nutrients to maintain a healthy muscle mass. As an adult woman in the VERY public eye and clearly aware of society's expectations for a "healthy" body, she had to know better, right? 

So to all my fit fans out there, please take this for what it is: a woman with a body image issue. With all of their coaching and training and teaching, the Biggest Loser Staff missed something with this one. She went from one extreme to the next. This is not a positive example of healthy weight loss. Make smart choices with your food. Eat a healthy breakfast, follow it with a fulfilling lunch and well-rounded dinner. Heck, throw a couple snacks in there too like a greek yogurt parfait or whole grain Pita chips. Just take care of yourself. For your health and your child's. This is not what you want her to grow up to look like or aspire to look like. Be the example for her so when she sees things like this all over the news and television, she knows better.