Playing Survivor is hard. Surviving on very little food and sleep can be difficult in the real world, but it gets even harder during a competition show.
Some Survivor fans have succumbed to thinking that the New Era is easier because it is shorter and that new players have been pampered.
The 26-day seasons have led some fans to call the experience much easier than in the past, but it doesn’t account for habituation.
As the season progresses, fans tuning in for each episode watch as the players evolve – emotionally and physically. It’s not easy to note weight loss between episodes, but it’s still happening to the players.
Likewise, just because an episode doesn’t feature people scrambling for Immunity Idols doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
Footage has to be cut for time, even when the episodes are 90 minutes long. A fruitless search for an Immunity Idol could be boring during an exciting night.
Deleted footage of Survivor 47 castaways searching for Immunity Idols
Below is a deleted scene from Survivor 47. It was released on YouTube after one of the recent episodes. The video comes from Day 16 after Genevieve Mushatuk and Sue Smey returned to camp from a challenge. The duo then began searching for Hidden Immunity Idols. It wasn’t featured during an episode, but this type of search frequently happens on the show.
Survivor 47 weight loss by castaways
Below is video footage from the Immunity Challenge on Day 3 of Survivor 47. Though some folks already look tired, the video shows castaways before they started suffering this season. The footage also serves as a good “before” comparison.
Rewatching early footage from the season shows that people are losing lots of weight, even if it isn’t obvious in each episode. If a player loses only one to two unnoticeable pounds from each episode to the next, that can account for 20+ pounds lost during a full season.
Next, here’s a video of the Immunity Challenge on Day 22. Comparing Day 22 to how the castaways looked on Day 3 provides a stark contrast. Every member of the final seven has lost weight.
Weight loss noted by Survivor alums
Many Survivor alums have shared how much weight they lost in Fiji (and other locations), even though they don’t reveal that footage during the show now.
Liz Wilcox from Survivor 46 posted about how she lost 17 pounds during her 25 days of gameplay.
John Rocker from Survivor 29 stated that he lost 20 pounds in 11 days.
Survivor winner Adam Klein also shared that he lost 18 pounds during his journey.
One of the most notable weight losses came from Survivor winner Ethan Zohn. He lost 30 pounds over 35 days but noted how he gained some back after hitting Ponderosa.
More exciting news from Survivor
The Survivor 48 cast bios have been leaked. It gives us an early look at the new players.
Survivor 49 may feature a celebrity. Jeff teased something interesting during the application process.
Sierra Wright from Survivor 47 got engaged. She has been busy since returning home from Fiji.
Previous episodes of Survivor are streaming on Paramount+.
Survivor airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.
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