The price of thin: Weighing in on the Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge

The modest, unassuming buildings grouped together near Snow Canyon State Park in Utah, are not what most people imagine when they hear "#1 Most Popular Resort in America," but that's what a partnership with one of the most watched shows on TV can do for a place. However, what Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge lacks in first impressions, it makes up for in its mission.

Billed as a "compassionate" boot camp and blessed with a supersized endorsement from Biggest Loser, the little-resort-that-could offers viewers the chance to succeed at their own challenges. No cameras, team colors or $250,000 in prize money, but no one can vote you out either.

It's for those of us who have sat on the couch and wondered what it would be like to work with Jillian and Bob, face calculated temptations, physical challenges, make friends, er, alliances, and get weighed on a giant digital scale on national TV, okay, maybe not that last part. I am also pretty sure they don't force you to wear unflattering bike shorts and sport bra combos or go shirtless on national TV, so it's already less painful than the NBC version.