[Thor]

So this open letter about Biggest loser has received a lot of attention in the media, its all over the place and my reply is making its rounds

I was asked to write an editorial so to speak about my experience by one of the papers, I am about to submit it but here it is in all its glory..

September 16th, 2013 was a big day in my life, day one of my journey back to health after being given the amazing opportunity to compete on the Biggest Loser Iceland. Before starting this day I have to share with you what life was like before and why I decided to apply to be on the show. I think I owe so much to those other 1300 people who did not make it, to make this amazing opportunity I received mean something special for me and those who I might inspire along the journey.
After moving to Iceland in 2010, I was at an all-time low point in my life, having reached over 165Kg and suffering from depression, anxiety and feeling horrible about myself, my future, and lacking any confidence. I was fortunate to be returning to Iceland to be around my amazing family which has for all my life been a source of strength and support that I know I am very fortunate to have.


I started young learning to eat emotionally, after moving to Canada at the age of 8 years old, I learned quickly to eat unhealthy when I felt down, which was a lot when I was trying to adjust to a strange new country, a new language, new friends. I unfortunately picked up a lot of bad habits in dealing with life’s ups and downs, rewarding myself with food when things went well, and of course finding comfort in food when things were bad.
People who are dealing with weight issues all know and understand that the world is not kind to us, whether it’s the glances by people staring at you, the comments people make, or the feeling you get when you enter a clothing store and the clerks sneer at the idea you think something there will fit you. Fat shaming is real and it’s one of the last big prejudices that is commonly accepted in our society. We have the Fatbooth app where people take images of themselves and then all laugh at how they look as obese people, we see comedians often targeting fat people, and movies and television have no qualms about adding to stereotypes of overweight people as being fat, lazy and sometimes even suggesting much more insidious things like questioning our intelligence.
The fact is those people you see on the street carrying all that extra weight are constantly aware of it, they can’t hide their problem, unlike alcoholics, workaholics, and people with any other host of social and mental problems. We wear our problem for all to see, and are judged for it in all aspects of life. Job interviews, dating, friendship, there is no way to not see the obvious and people can assume so much seeing your obesity and thinking they know what stands behind it.


My experience in Canada with fat shaming is quite different than in Iceland. Canadians are polite and while you get glances, people are much more polite at least to you in person, in Iceland, I experienced people, strangers talking to me and quite frankly stating things such as “How can you let yourself be so fat” and my favorite “You need to stop eating so many burgers…” In truth it was hot dogs which was my problem
When I did my final interview for the producers at Saga Film, I shared with them my deepest feelings on my state in life, I felt no hope for the future, I was terribly lonely having not been in a relationship in over 10 years, and every day was a struggle just to get out of bed.

My worries about Biggest Loser were of course what all people worry about, will people laugh at me, and will they see me at my weakest and make it a source of mockery. Will I live up to my expectations, will I fall down and have nowhere to hide in this small nation. So many doubts, but at the same time so many hopeful feelings of accomplishing something special, something great like regaining my health.

From day 1 at Ásbrú I realized not only was this going to be a positive experience but that I was surrounded by amazing people from Saga Film. When I got to meet the other 11 contestants I would soon have as a second family, I realized how fortunate I was that here were 11 people in similar situations that were all great people with big hearts. Many a nights at Ásbrú we sat around and talked about our life, tears were shed, and lots of bonding and laughter too.
I have been overwhelmed by the positive response to the show since it first aired, of course to be expected there will always be critics, but those are few and far between. I cannot tell you how much has changed for me since that important day in September, I have regained not only much of my health, but learned so much about my body, my eating habits and learned a lot about training from our two amazing trainers. My confidence is back, my outlook on life is one of excitement and joy, I am excited to jump out of bed in the morning and look forward to the day, smiling and laughing more than I can remember in over a decade.


I have to address a few things however that have concerned me. #1 is the idea that the trainers were too tough or mean on us, and in particular to a few contestants. Let me be clear, these two people have big hearts, and they were tough because they had to be. Some people had a hard time opening up and dealing with the underlying problems emotionally that led them here. You cannot find peace and regain your health if you do not deal with your mental health, sorry, but it is just not going to stick if you don’t.
Sometimes you simply have to call people out, we who have been overweight for so long have lots of excuses and self-pity. We find excuses as to why we should miss a workout because for much of our life we have battled with our internal dialogue which has repeatedly self-sabotaged our life and you cannot expect trainers to not call us out on that when they see it. It might seem mean or harsh, but for me I can say I am very thankful for all the positive and tough feedback, our minds need to change their way of thinking, we cannot reinforce bad habits and most importantly bad patterns of thought which have plagued most of us for our adult’s lives.


The frustrating thing about a number of well-respected health groups coming out against this show is they are missing an amazing opportunity to use this for positive change in our society. It is very frustrating and frankly heart breaking to see these professionals call us out and be so badly misinformed before publishing their now infamous open letter. Stating they would never have signed on to support this show. What is it exactly you oppose? Besides being dead wrong about our diet, exercise and access to health care professionals and mental health help, what did you see on the Icelandic version that harms our society?? To suggest you see fat shaming on this show and that people are better off watching something else is quite out of touch with the response we have had from the general public since the show’s first airing.
No way was season one perfect, nor can anyone claim there were not mistakes, but there was never anything but 100% support from Saga Film and everyone surrounding this show for us to turn our life around and regain our long term health.
What matters most is that this open letter does hurt those 12 competitors, you are suggesting what we are doing to be extreme and being part of something that promotes fat shaming. To say that we are part of the problem for people struggling with their weight is quite frankly insulting and detached from reality.


I think I stand with most of the Icelanders that watch this show in saying you are simply wrong, and you should do the right thing and consider your words carefully in wording an apology for promoting dishonesty about the show and its contestants.
We are all working together for Iceland’s future trying to change this epidemic of obesity, Reykjalund is overwhelmed by applications for its obesity course; our healthcare system is simply unable to help enough people and very few people can afford proper mental health care. Which is all the more staggering to me that health care professionals in a system that is failing our children and society at large wants to attack a TV show that shows people there is hope, there is a chance to change your life, and these are real people going through difficult and great times for all to see, an open window into the world of obese people.

Bkv,
Þór Viðar.