Questions about Biggest Loser...

lsandoval2

ok, i have been reading about the diet and exercise on the biggest loser, and read that they consume about 1500 calories and work out enough to burn about 1200 to 1500 calories.

now my question is, is that do they burn off the 1500 calories they ate, or do they eat instead 3000 calories so their total caloric intake for the day is 1500? because the doctor that supervises them said that they do about 3 hours of exercise a day and eat around that much. i was just a little confused...

thanks for the help!


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lsandoval2

ok, i have been reading about the diet and exercise on the biggest loser, and read that they consume about 1500 calories and work out enough to burn about 1200 to 1500 calories.

now my question is, is that do they burn off the 1500 calories they ate, or do they eat instead 3000 calories so their total caloric intake for the day is 1500? because the doctor that supervises them said that they do about 3 hours of exercise a day and eat around that much. i was just a little confused...

thanks for the help!


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helenwood101

I would of thought they just ate 1500 but I dont know for sure

Girlmom282109

I heard they eat 1200 to 1500 calories and then they burn about 3000-5000 calories a day. They are living off of their body when it gets to the end.

SHBoss1673

It's partially right, at the BEGINNING they eat about 1500, but they adjust their plan when they move out of the obese range, they now (at this point in the show) eat closer to their maintenance.

Remember, these people were in the morbidly obese category, the normal rules of weight loss don't apply. Because of the excess energy stores they have, their body can sustain long periods with little calories coming in without triggering the famine instinct in their bodies.

troyjill44

I just purchased Jillian Michaels book and signed up for her website and nowhere does she advocate for eating your exercise calories. Sorry, I know this will create quite a stir here on MFP, don't shoot the messenger please. :flowerforyou:

Here's what she says about caloric intake: Her book "Making the Cut" recommends you stick to your "majic number" , meaning calories. That number is your BMR-basically the calories that your body burns if you were laying on the couch all day. My BMR is 1364, MFP recommends a 1200 calorie diet, not including exercise calories. Her website though did a calculation for me and recommended a 1200 calorie diet, nothing about adding exercise calories. It's true that the biggest loser contestants work out 3 hours a day. 1 hour of circuit training and later in the day 2 hours of cardio.

HOpe this clears things up!

mrsyac2

I just purchased Jillian Michaels book and signed up for her website and nowhere does she advocate for eating your exercise calories. Sorry, I know this will create quite a stir here on MFP, don't shoot the messenger please. :flowerforyou:

Here's what she says about caloric intake: Her book "Making the Cut" recommends you stick to your "majic number" , meaning calories. That number is your BMR-basically the calories that your body burns if you were laying on the couch all day. My BMR is 1364, MFP recommends a 1200 calorie diet, not including exercise calories. Her website though did a calculation for me and recommended a 1200 calorie diet, nothing about adding exercise calories. It's true that the biggest loser contestants work out 3 hours a day. 1 hour of circuit training and later in the day 2 hours of cardio.

HOpe this clears things up!

Im sitting here eating my popcorn waiting for everyone to chime in --

I have never heard of eating exercise calories- I have heard jillian michaels radio broadcast and she said to eat a set # of calories regardless of working out or not-

In my fitness and muscle magazines someone wrote in and asked since I lost my weight can I increase my calories and the answer was NO because your body is used to eating that many calories to maintain your weight so if you were to increase them then you would gain weight back-

As far as the biggest loser they workout up to 6 hours a day and eat 1300-1500 calories a day

SHBoss1673

I'm not going to sit here and say the way MFP recommends is the only way to lose weight, it's not.

Creating a calorie deficit is ONE way to create a calorie deficit. There are other safe ways to do so. And as Human beings, we are free to choose which ever one suits our needs.
You can set a calorie goal that is reasonable, and not eat exercise calories, you can zig zag, you can create a larger deficit and eat exercise calories, you can eat maintenance and exercise to create the deficit. there are all kinds of ways to do it healthy. But you're here, on MFP, we're going to assume you're choosing the way the site is designed. Why else be here? There are lots of sites out there that are communal in nature that support their members the same way.

I chose MFP because my wife's best friend, and trainer, a woman with over 20 years experience in training, Certifications by ACE NASM, ACSM (3 of the most well known and widely thought of as best certifications out there) as well as being certified in nutrition, group fitness, and geriatric training, agreed with the philosophy of creating a deficit and eating exercise calories back.

That being said, Jillian Michaels doesn't agree with keeping a deficit for life either. She has stated as much, We need to be more flexible about this stuff.
Here is a You Tube video of her telling a "fit" person at one of her seminars to eat at maintenance and use exercise to take the weight off. Which IMHO IS "Eating your exercise calories" or as close to it as makes no difference. It's just another way to express it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFbOEVG5JIQ

There are more videos by people, Jillian Michaels included that state this same thing, She has also advised people on her radio show the same thing as well. As we approach a "normal" weight, we need to focus on our muscles, not our fat. That means eating enough to keep our body metabolically active, and let the body worry about the fat loss.

I'm as big a fan of TBL as the next guy (or girl), but it's a warped perception of reality. It's not going to be possible for the vast majority of us, to lose the kind of weight these people do, in the time they do it. We need to be more realistic in our goals, 100 plus pounds in 18 weeks is a ridiculous concept, more healthy would be 20 lbs in 18 weeks or may 30 if we are in the obese range to start with.

singfree

Banks, your post is right on the money...thanks. I am a BL fan only because it makes me happy to see these people finally getting out of the big hole they've dug and it's saving their lives (even though it is not the most healthy way to do it). I don't like the "game" they play though.

fjtcjt

I agree it may not be the healthiest way to do it, but they are under doctor supervision.

Lets face it, losing this much weight is saving some of these peoples lives. Especially the young ones, this will hopefully improve their quality of life for many, many years to come. Not to mention the money they will save on food and medical care in the future!

SHBoss1673

I agree it may not be the healthiest way to do it, but they are under doctor supervision.

Lets face it, losing this much weight is saving some of these peoples lives. Especially the young ones, this will hopefully improve their quality of life for many, many years to come. Not to mention the money they will save on food and medical care in the future!

Amen. May not be the way us "normals" should go about it, but there's something to be said for results. As long as it's done healthy. Hey, I'd push myself a lot harder too if I had a doctor off camera watching me to make sure I didn't die.

lsandoval2

Thanks guys for the advice! i really appreciate it. i know that this sort of diet is an extreme version of what normal people should be doing. i have been doing this MFP and have lost a little, but i am looking to lose more quickly for a certain event i have and it isn't my total goal that i want to reach by that time. i was just thinking of not eating my exercise calories for this small amount of time and once the event is over, (5 weeks from now). and continue my fitness goal this way. i would eat the 1500 but exercise for an hour and not eat those calories. would that be healthy for 5 weeks??

lsandoval2

this post is older and i am not sure if i am going to get any responses now, so i am going to ask this last one on a new thread. thanks. i hope you answer there! i will still check on this if here are any answers too. THANKS!

cloverluv

Why not?!? Sometimes it's good to mix things up. I go through times of eating them and times of not eating them back. It all depends on how your body reacts. Just remember to maintain proper nutrition.