“Hardest thing I’ve ever done”- Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser star Bob Harper reflects on his time on the show

Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser premiered on Netflix on August 15, 2025, with all three of its episodes. It saw the contestants and trainers of the reality TV show The Biggest Loser, exposing the truth behind the show. 

The Biggest Loser premiered in 2004 and continued for about a decade. It got so popular that it had iterations in more than 30 countries, including the UK. The show's format had its overweight contestants get as thin as they could, in the shortest time possible. 

Health wasn't emphasized because looks were the priority. Reflecting on his time on the show, trainer Bob Harper explained on the Netflix docuseries why the show was hard:

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done," he said, referring to the training days that didn't make it to the cameras. 

He shared that he had to engage contestants in low-pressure and light workouts even on days when there would be no filming. 

What Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser star Bob Harper had to say about his time on the weight loss show 

For the unversed, Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser had its contestants divided into teams and put on a ranch. They were made to follow intense workout routines and were prohibited from contacting their friends and families. Trainers such as Bob would train for their 30 days at the ranch, and winning challenges and temptations would earn the players rewards and money. 

Talking about why people thought the show focused more on looks than health, Bob said that people, in general, were obsessed with their looks. He added that he would probably sound shallow, but he had worked in the fitness business for a long time. He wanted to be as healthy as he could, and it was the same for the people he trained as well, but looks were a huge part of it. 

"I want to look good when I go to the beach," said Bob. 

In Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser, Bob also talked about the time when the producers were worried about him coming out as gay on the show. Harper came out when he was 15 but never spoke about it publicly or on The Biggest Loser, until a gay contestant made him open up in the 2013 season of the show. He said he was nervous about it in the beginning, but later thought there was nothing to be ashamed of. 

Bob called the show the "hardest thing" he had ever done. He revealed that on "dark days" of the show, when there was no filming involved, he would engage his contestants in low-pressure workouts. While Bob agreed with what most of the show made its participants do, he didn't agree with the "Temptations" part of the show. 

He said that he tried asking the producers not to go through with that part multiple times, but he didn't have a say in it. When asked if the show was about making fun of fat people, Bob said:

"That’s something I would never do and have never done". 

He believed that the trolls wanted to attack the show in every way, and it wasn't as harsh as they made it out to be. He added that he was eager to share the examples of people who came up to him to tell him that the show had inspired their weight loss journey. 

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