Discussing
Cheating and 'The Biggest Loser'

i remember a certain old testament prophet lying on behalf of two spies -- and on behalf of her family. not that this necessarily means she was justified in doing so. but she is named in hebrews and james as an example of great faith.

Thus the fault, the chink in the armor of a "reality" game show. A good concept---endurance, courage, struggle, with positive results in health and self-image, individual self along with cooperative effort---yet "gone bad" by unanticipated cracks in the system of rules and procedures of the game that allow for manipulation by participants. I was disgusted by the conniving and self-serving found on "Survivor" and stop watching during the first season. I rather liked "the Amazing Race" (and boldly believe I could win, with the right partner), but have felt uncomfortable with the contestants rushing so hard to find the next clue/accomplish the next task that they entirely miss the faces and places of the setting of the game. I'm uncomfortable with "exotic" settings being just that, the parameters of the game, not real places or people or cultures, but just living backdrop to Americans' amusement.
"But it makes for good t.v.!"

While I understand the concept of what you are posting, I do not believe anything at all that is shown on 'reality' tv. Someone I knew was a babysitter for a family featured on 'wife swap', and as we watched the show together, they pointed out all the half-truths and flat out lies that were being spun as 'reality'. This particular episode had a 'progressive' family from southern California send their mother to swap with a middle-american family in a rural town.

In this episode, the main 'shock' was when the woman from California met the family in the midwest with a pet turkey, and was aghast when she found out the next day they were eating it for dinner. I have heard from multiple sources that this was not in any way, shape, or form what actually happened -- it was simply 'written' for television.

The only reality show I find 'real' was the Joe Schmo show - the premise was that everyone on the show besides the main character was an actor -- but the main character did not realize this. Kind of ironic, huh?

I don't watch Biggest Loser to know if this strategy is cheating or not. That is probably something that the judges are going to have to decide for themselves.

Additionally, despite the intentions of the game - ultimately, the goal is to win the game. So perhaps radical strategies that seem counter intuitive are appropriate.

However, within the context of cheating, NO. It is never good. Even if it benefits you and your family now, there will be a negative consequence later on.