Cledus T. Judd is someone I wasn’t familiar with before Celebrity Fit Club. He’s sort of like the Weird Al Yankovic of Country Music. At one point, Cledus had ballooned up to near 300 lbs. He wanted to lose the weight for his daughter, Caitlyn Rose. (Cledus’ ex-wife is Julie Reeves, the songstress behind “Trouble Is a Woman,” the song Melinda Doolittle brought to our attention during Country Week on this season’s American Idol.)

Along the way, it seems Cledus took things to extremes. Well, he began losing weight on the extreme tip. He said he just stopped eating. Thus far, Cledus has admitted to having issues with going to the grocery store. He’s afraid of food. Dr. Ian has gently chided him for not eating enough. Now we find that Cledus is over-exercising, or strenuously exercising by running behind his tour bus to catch up.

I’m afraid for Cledus. He’s a sweet and kind man, but he’s got some serious issues that Celebrity Fit Club seems to be making worse. The fact that he’s being applauded and encouraged to exercise and eat right isn’t really helping him. Cledus has some warped ideas about exercise and nutrition. He thinks that by over-exercising and not eating that he’ll lose a ton of weight. At first, he will. What will happen is he’ll slow his metabolism down and cause lots of other problems. As a former bulimic, I know.

It’ll get harder and harder to not only lose weight but to maintain it. He’ll continue to try and control the situation using different methods as we’ve already seen him employ. I just don’t understand how Dr. Ian and psychotherapist Dr. Stacy don’t address his issues more. I really hope that behind the scenes they are working with Cledus to help him through his problem. I’d hate to see him descend deeper into this eating disorder. It’s hard to watch.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Fit Club is doing that. It’s not really good for the ratings, is it? What does that say about us America? I’d love to know what you think. Am I off-base? Does Cledus have an eating disorder? If so, doesn’t Fit Club have a responsibility to give him some help?