Biggest Loser Producer Launches Plant-Based Show

Famed producer behind hit NBC show The Biggest Loser JD Roth will soon launch plant-based reality series The Big Fat Truth. Each hour-long episode will follow a specific group of people—diabetics, new moms, night nurses, previous weight-loss show contestants, and more—and challenge them to consume a plant-based diet for 90 days. Vegan meal delivery service Kitchen Therapy will provide participants with vegan meals for the first 10 days of their journey, and their individual progress throughout the time period will be monitored by vegan medical professionals including Michael Greger, MD—who Roth lovingly calls “the Michael Jordan of the plant-based world.” Roth transitioned to a plant-based diet several years ago—a journey he documented in his book that shares a name with the new series—at the behest of his wife Christine, who serves as a consulting nutritionist on the show. “Over the years, I’ve learned what I’ve done right and what I’ve done wrong,” Roth tells VegNews. “I can no longer support a lifestyle with animal products knowing what I know.” Roth says a group of six diabetic participants featured on the show completely ceased taking medication after the initial 10-day, plant-based transition—“just from eating plants!,” Roth exclaims. The Biggest Loser’s first winner, Ryan Benson—who gained back most of the weight he lost during the first season in 2005—makes an appearance in the new series as well. “After The Biggest Loser, [Benson] said ‘thank you for the $250,000 check, and then went straight to his favorite burger place,” Roth recounts, adding, “the mind is the body’s biggest muscle.” Roth believes the medical industry is undereducated about the consumption of plants as medicine, and admits that while he himself once benefited from the money spent on quick-fix diet programs, a more holistic approach to sustainable health can be achieved by eschewing animal products and processed foods altogether. “I want to do my part with the brand I built,” Roth says. “It’s not about watching me drink almond milk, but about putting it into action.” The first episode of The Big Fat Truth—which Roth says will either focus on five previous participants of The Biggest Loser or six diabetics—is set to debut in April 2017 on the wellness network, Z Living.