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NYTimes reports that 'Biggest Losers' have decreased metabolism

sprc1616
sprc1616 Posts: 14 Member
As someone who is just now back in the game after a weight loss rebound, I found this interesting and I admit, a bit depressing. It would be interesting to see if the decrease in metabolic rate is less for people who start from the same weight as the BL contestants but do a less extreme form of diet. I'd also like to hear from people who have kept it off - what was different about their situation?

http:/mobile.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html
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Replies

  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,469 Member
    So, according to what I just read 'starvation mode' is no longer a myth?

    It seems this proves that if you cut calories, you will suffer a pretty severe decline in the ability to burn calories after you lose significant weight and it is inevitable that hunger will drive people to regain, no matter how hard they try to keep weight down.

    Great news, thanks SPRC..... :'(
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited May 2016
    Would like some more information as to how they kept to a reasonable level of calories and exercise.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,469 Member
    Thank you for responding Stevencloser. We'll wait for the published report.

    My experience has been that for 5 years I kept my weight down. Then I made the conscious decision to stop restricting calories after reading some science on age related metabolism shifts downwards, some statistics on death
    rates of older people comparing bmi, and about bone loss and related bmi. So my weight gain wasn't 'biological' as the above artical suggests, it was logical for me. However, my 'free eating' took me above a weight I felt was healthy and now I am trimming again.

    I find this recent news is perhaps believable in that I did feel that over the 5 years I kept my old weight off, it seemed I had to eat less than other peopel of my height weight and age. Having said that, I also know that my activity level dropped significantly in the last two years of maintenance. Having said that, the level of activity I had been able to do earlier in maintenance became harder and harder to sustain as I got older. So with the maintenance calories I used and sustaining a high level of activity, I was finding that weakness and hunger got more and more tiresome.

    For me that was the catalyst for stopping restricting myself to a certain number of calories.

    The article says caloric restriction does not work. Well, they quote one doctor involved on the study as saying that anyways.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,469 Member
    This is a really interesting article and I'm looking forward to reading the study too.

    My take is that, yes, it could be seen as depressing, but I don't find it that way for a couple of reasons.
    1. I can readily accept that my BMR is lower now than it was when I was obese AND also lower than would be expected for someone else my height and weight who hadn't been obese. However, on a purely practical level, I'm only interested in my own experience, and if I have to eat less than some other mysterious hypothetical person then so what? All I know is the amount I need to eat now to maintain what I've lost.
    2. I can also readily accept that the short 20-30 min run I do essentially gives me possibly the calorie deficit which I need to maintain my weight. It's like I'm doing my run and it's just a "waste of calories" since I can't, in theory, eat those calories back. But on the other hand, I get a huge amount of satisfaction and personal pleasure from my run, in addition to the wonderful cardiovascular and other benefits, which help to keep my good cholesterol up, my lung capacity functioning, my muscles toned and help me build the strength needed to prevent fractures and falls as I age. So the calorie thing is not something I even really think about. I do my workouts for other reasons.

    I do feel terribly for some of these people. But they should hopefully get some comfort from the fact that their experiences will most likely help millions of other people in the future through this study and studies which follow. I'm grateful to them.

    I'm glad to see such a positive attitude in your approach. That certainly seems the best option in view of the news we have heard. I'm glad your plan of eating and running is working for you and can give you many healthy years ahead. :)

    I somehow think that the science behind this article will bring insight into the problem of obesity and may open up ways for people to be healtheir.

  • sprc1616
    sprc1616 Posts: 14 Member
    Dopeysmelley, your positive thinking is great. :)
  • DarthSamson
    DarthSamson Posts: 172 Member
    You always have to wonder what lead to the weight gain in the first place ? You always have to fix that first.
    the diet etc is easy its why did you ever need to diet is the hard question.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    kmbrooks15 wrote: »
    I would be interested to see how this information applies to someone losing slowly through proper diet (meaning sufficient calories instead of this extremely low calorie stuff) and reasonable amounts of exercise. The Biggest Loser is not "reality"--who has time to exercise 7-8 hours a day? I do one hour per day, and some of those are lighter days (if I've worked really hard the day before, I might just do a one-hour walk instead of a harder workout). I'm losing slowly (it's taken 2 1/2 months to lose 17 pounds!). I just wonder if these same effects would be observed in people losing gradually instead of this extreme and rapid loss the Biggest Loser contestants experience.

    Excellent points. I have always looked at this as a lifestyle change and not a diet. To me a diet is a temporary action. It only makes sense that once the supervision and hard core exercise stop the pounds come back. These people should have developed the tools and discipline to maintain. The other side of it is that its not easy, I am currently trying to lose the twenty pounds I put on when I slacked up on my running.
  • WakkoW
    WakkoW Posts: 567 Member
    My gut, non-scientific feeling is that this could be a result of the methods the participants used to lose the weight. It is very interesting and could lead to a better understanding of the human body, but most people do not go about losing weight in such an extreme manner. It would be interesting to compare to individuals who lost slowly.

    The people on this show go from sedintary to spending more time exercising than professional athletes. It really shouldn't be surprising there could be consequences to that. Creating 3,500 calorie deficit to lose 1 pound a day for weeks? I really feel bad for them if indeed the case is that they have done permanent damage, but maybe we can get over the quick is better mindset we have. Maybe this could be a cautionary story against extreme measures.

    When it comes to permanent weight loss, the tortoise wins.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    WakkoW wrote: »
    My gut, non-scientific feeling is that this could be a result of the methods the participants used to lose the weight. It is very interesting and could lead to a better understanding of the human body, but most people do not go about losing weight in such an extreme manner. It would be interesting to compare to individuals who lost slowly.

    The people on this show go from sedintary to spending more time exercising than professional athletes. It really shouldn't be surprising there could be consequences to that. Creating 3,500 calorie deficit to lose 1 pound a day for weeks? I really feel bad for them if indeed the case is that they have done permanent damage, but maybe we can get over the quick is better mindset we have. Maybe this could be a cautionary story against extreme measures.

    When it comes to permanent weight loss, the tortoise wins.

    Yeah, this was a very interesting article, but I think we should be cautious about drawing conclusions for everyone from the information in it. These people created extreme calorie deficits (one guy was going for 3,500 *per day*). I would be interested to see a study of people who lost large amounts of weight using a more reasonable deficit. Would their leptin be totally depleted, as it was for the people in this study? Would their metabolism be impacted so dramatically?