William Melvin Hicks: 50 years old today had he lived

William Melvin Hicks aka Bill Hicks was a fantastic comedy even though many didn't find him funny. In fact, many found him to be offensive, but he never wanted to offend his audience. He wanted them to think, to question, and to challenge what we'd been told. He was a free spirit who wanted us to love each other and stop being afraid, a message that still isn't getting through to people today. I miss the man, and he died when I was 9. We miss you, Bill.

Here is an article with links to Bill's full stand up sets. Enjoy!

Biggest Loser Winner: An oxymoron for America

Losing 220 pounds is an amazing accomplishment. It really is. However, when you factor in that this weight was lost over the course of only a year,it becomes scary. John Rhode lost weight at a rate of four pounds a week. That's twice the recommended weight loss per week. It comes to an energy balance of -14,000 calories a week or -2000 calories a day. That's the daily recommended intake for an adult woman. I know many people watch the show and feel inspired, but this is a terrible example for people who want to lose weight. So much of the contestant's lives are controlled. While they cook their own meals, their resources are limited. There's no white flour or sugar or any other high fat stuff.

John Rhode did an amazing thing, but much of that weight was lost with the help of personal trainers and a huge monetary prize. My point is the show shouldn't inspire anyone to that level of weight loss, but I'm sure that people do after watching the show. It doesn't encourage a healthy level of weight loss, and, if anything, it encourages people who are morbidly obese to try out for the show instead of changing their ways, maybe even gain weight. It also presents weight loss as something that's easy, but losing four pounds a week is nearly impossible in the real world. Even losing two pounds a week is incredibly challenging, and few, if any, behavioral studies have found a way to do this. John Rhode's accomplishment is indeed impressive, but it's not a lifestyle that people who want to lose weight should inspire to emulate.

More importantly, being the Biggest Loser Winner means that many people on that show didn't win. They lost a lot of weight, and, hopefully, changed their life for the better. However, that weight loss is going to be associated with actual losing. Sure, this may seem like a stupid remark, but imagine working harder than you've ever worked in your life only to fail. Did you want to keep on or just give up? A lot of people just give up.

Also, this may have changed, but there's a psychological aspect to food for these contestants meaning there's a reason these contestants gained so much weight. Eating bad food and not exercising really only gets people to a certain weight. To get to 400 pounds, eating has to be medicinal. It has to be accounting for something be it depression, anxiety, or some other issue, but, until this is treated, the contestants are going to gain back a lot of weight. So, John Rhode is the Biggest Loser Winner, and he's made an amazing change in his life. It is impressive, but it's also unrealistic and probably for someone outside of a controlled setting like the Biggest Loser, dangerous.