The television world is stuffed with series about losing weight and getting healthy. The grandfather of those programs is, of course, The Biggest Loser. The NBC success story boasts high-end workout machines, colour-coordinated clothing, big-name sponsors and a $1 million prize. But it often sidelines fitness for fiery confrontations.
Enter Fit First, which returns to APTN Tuesday night with a subtle twist of its own: The program spotlights Aboriginal Peoples as they seek to shed extra pounds.
There are no purple weights, everyone is wearing no-nonsense black and there’s nary a trademarked phrase like “Last chance workout!” or “No excuses!” to be uttered. Instead, four women from Manitoba sweat it up under the watchful eye of trainer Kent Brown before stepping on the scale.
Executive producer Vanessa Loewen says she’s always been a fan of weight-loss programs — including The Biggest Loser — and thought a similar program would be perfectly tailored to the Aboriginal community.
“Working in this community, there’s not a lot of reality TV that you really want to bring home, because so much of it, for lack of a better term, is uninspiring,” Loewen told TV Guide Canada over the phone last week.
|
“But with the weight-loss stuff, it’s completely relevant. Diabetes is an epidemic, and food and healthy eating choices are a real struggle, especially for people who live on reserves.
“These issues are so completely relevant to us that I knew this was something that we could take and actually use for our audience for good, not just brainless TV watching. I think it’s really struck a nerve with our audience.”
Filmed over the course of six months, the show features a quartet of contestants with varying backgrounds and stories. Forty-five-year-old Michele Henry, at five-foot-one and 211 pounds, wants to drop 50 pounds, and Geri Von Ramin, 63, was trim and fit until a personal loss caused her to gain weight.
Elizabeth Denny, a 38-year-old single mother, is warm and funny on the outside but hiding insecurity fuelled by her obesity, and Krystal Beel, 23, want to get fit for herself as well as teach her four-your-old son healthy habits. (Her mother participated in Season 1.) |
Trainer Kent Brown |
Their hopes are pinned to Brown, a First Nations Cree who qualified for boxing in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Brown captured a gold medal at the 2002 North American Indigenous Games in Winnipeg, and has faced off in the boxing ring for 120 bouts, winning 105 of them.
Needless to say, the man knows how to get fit and stay there. And though he’s a tough guy, he shows sympathy and provides much-needed support to the women.
That’s evident in Episode 1 of the six-instalment run, when Henry, Von Ramin, Denny and Beel don their workout wear and hop on the scale. Like on The Biggest Loser, there are tear-filled moments, but they’re contained in individual back stories rather than any kind of hate-fuelled battle between the contestants themselves.
When not working out, the foursome are educated in eating right — which Loewen explains can be challenging on remote reserves where fresh fruits and vegetables are either exorbitantly priced or difficult to attain — and improving their self esteem.
Are they successful in their six-month journey? Leowen won’t give the finale away, but does reveal Season 3 of Fit First is in the works. The series will focus on youth, aiming to inspire and educate them in healthy choices.
Fit First returns Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 8 p.m. ET on APTN.
Thoughts? Comment below.
Check out the latest behind-the-scenes TV news in Nuts & Bolts and the newest DVD releases courtesy The DVD Dude.
Follow Greg on Twitter
Follow TV Guide Canada on Facebook