Weight loss

The unfathomable focus.

The effort.

And then there's that moment when a body ceases to be human and transforms into a highly calibrated instrument of sport.

No matter how we might have resisted at first, it became infectious.

After a while, we all found ourselves drawn to the screen every evening to watch fine young Australians be the best they can be.

It's enough to make you hum Vangelis anthems in the car.

That's right, nothing has sucked in this viewer quite like The Biggest Loser (Ten, Monday-Friday).

It's in my blood now - the valiant achievements of both red and blue teams, of Gillian and Bob, the trainers who make you believe fat people can preen.

And the mansion where it all happens.

Who knew Australia had such palaces?

It's been going for weeks now and interest isn't waning.

It's not like winning way too many gold medals.

That can leave one feeling blase, with a low-fat taste in the mouth.

The Biggest Loser is an addictive marathon of incredible shrinking people.

This week we said goodbye to an aggressive obese bloke called Wal.

He was an unpleasant individual, but very good television.

Every week he lost the exact amount of weight I desire to shed - in a lifetime.

Every evening, as I sat on the couching nibbling deep-fried prawn crackers and sour cream dip, I wondered how Wal could lose 4.5 kilos in a week and yet my scales don't move?

Incredible.

Let's not diminish the extraordinary achievements of our...

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