DietTribe on Lifetime Television is a new kind of dieting show.
Unlike other shows which take individuals out of their comfort zone for weeks of diet and nutrition training, DietTribe and host/trainer Jessie Pavelka take five friends and teach them how to exercise and make healthy lifestyle choices.
The idea of getting five friends together for a reality show really intrigued me. When you think about it, it's the same concept we're trying to accomplish at LIVESTRONG.COM. Get a community of people together who want to change their lives for the better, and give them the tools and support to make healthy lifestyle decisions. I wanted to learn more so I called Jessie and chatted about the concept of the show, and his theory behind healthy exercise and nutrition habits.
Photographed by Bradford Rogne
Krisserin: I know from personal experience, how hard it is to motivate yourself to get to the gym, especially when there is no one there to hold you accountable, which is why I really like this idea of getting five friends together to work out. Do you think the group dynamic helped the women on the show lose weight?
Jessie: Most definitely. It's like in sports when you have a team—you have five friends who all share the same goal, working together to lose weight and supporting each other. Support is huge in the gym and even at home. If you have a spouse or a roommate dedicated to making healthy lifestyle choices, you’re less likely to go home and binge on whatever you have in the fridge.
Krisserin: Was there anything about the group dynamic that hindered their progress?
Jessie: Well, with anything it has its good and its bad. These women have known each other for a long time—and when they get to the first weigh-in they do great. They're all pumped and excited and they drop a lot of weight. But then after a while they start getting complacent. They think they're doing great and they don't have to work as hard. That's when all their bad habits come out and everything gets harder.
If one of them is having an off day, the rest of the women have to decide whether or not they want to join the pity party, or continue to work hard.
Photographed by Bradford Rogne
Krisserin: Speaking of complacency, the first season was 90 days, and this time around it is 120 days. Do you think that's a manageable amount of time for a regular person to maintain a stringent diet and exercise regime? I feel like a lot of us after a month would just figure, "I lost 10 pounds, that's good enough."
Jessie: A lot of people go through the habit of gaining 10 pounds and then losing 10 pounds. It's like they enjoy being in a constant state of chaos.
Krisserin: I don't know, I just think 120 days is a really long time. I'd be really hard for me and I'm assuming most of the women on the show have never worked out with a trainer or seen a nutritionist?
Jessie: You'd be surprised. A lot of overweight people know more about nutrition and dieting, because they've tried everything. Some of them would be telling me things and I'd be like, "How do you know that?"
Krisserin: "And why aren't you doing it?"
Jessie: Exactly. But I think 120 days is totally doable—because we're teaching them how to create healthy habits. All of the women take what they learn and do it at home afterward the show is over.
Krisserin: I noticed on your profile on Lifetime, you said the excuse you were tired of hearing was "I can't." What would you say to people who don't have you there to help them in the gym when they get to the point where they feel like they can't.
Jessie: I have a joke I tell the girls, I say, "I can't never could." If you keep telling yourself you can't, you're just making it harder for yourself. These women keep saying "they can't" during the workouts but they keep on doing them. So in the end, they still end up doing the work but they waste a lot of time and energy telling themselves they can't.
Krisserin: What role did nutrition play on the show, and what do you think is a healthy attitude toward food?
Jessie: Some people eat to live and others live to eat. The thing about diets is that they are temporary and extreme and most cause burn-out syndrome. After a while, people get tired of making good decisions. You have to find a diet that you find enjoyable and that allows you to have the bad snacks that you love now and then. Depriving yourself is setting yourself up for failure. Everything in moderation, that's what Aristotle said.
Krisserin: That's the way I feel—If I don't have my In-n-Out burger every once and a while I'm not a happy person. So I have to ask, what foods are your guilty pleasure? You're from Texas right? What about Queso dip?
Jessie: That's right, I'm from Corpus Christie, Texas. I love queso dip, but I grew up eating Oreos, they're probably my favorite bad snack. And I love dark beer, like Guinness.
Krisserin: What about alcohol? I don't think people understand how many calories they're consuming when they go out and have two or three drinks.
Jessie: I say if you work hard during the week and eat well, there's no reason why you can't go out with your friends on Friday and Saturday and have a few drinks. Just as long as you use some self control—don't have too much to drink so that you're too hungover the next day to make it to the gym.
Krisserin: Well, I love the idea behind the show. I don't see why more people don't create workout groups with their friends.
Jessie: Totally—and if you don't have money to hire a personal trainer you could split the costs between five people and it makes it totally affordable. It's great even if it's only once or twice per week.
I look forward to talking more with Jessie about the DietTribe, and different ways to create healthy habits in the gym and at home.
You can catch the Season 2 Premiere of DietTribe at 9.p.m (EST), Friday, Oct. 2 on Lifetime.
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