The Biggest Loser last night

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ohthatbambi
ohthatbambi Posts: 1,098 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So while watching the Biggest Loser last night I listened to Jillian say that they needed to burn 6000 calories and only eat 1200 calories. I assume the 6000 calories is over a 24 hour period. That is a mega deficit. Did I hear it right or am I missing something? Any thoughts?
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  • rachelmommy1
    rachelmommy1 Posts: 85
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    I remember hearing something like that.
    My question is this....how do you burn that much without being in a gym 8 hrs a day or hurting yourself? That's the paradox......too light to try out for the show, too heavy to be healthy! lol
  • Demetria
    Demetria Posts: 178
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    Wow, I surely hope she didn't mean that much in a 24hr period but maybe it's because they are so obese. Good question, Bamboo. I would like to know for sure, too.

    Demetria
  • Jess22207
    Jess22207 Posts: 11
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    i'm pretty sure she meant in a 24 hour period and thats crazy i never stopped and thought about it. on the commericals towards the end there was a trainer tip and she said to eat at least 1200 calories a day but make sure your burning more calories than what youre eatting...i know they are!!! i wish i had that much time to work out in a day, geez
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
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    That's what I heard but at first I thought she meant that for the week but then realized when Shay was asking Julio about his burn that it was daily. I would imagine their 1200 calories is packed with as much nutrients as it can be to give them some nutrition. They also have extreme amounts of weight to lose and can allow a bigger deficit. Remember this is a TV show and not real life - they are monitored by doctors, they have Bob and Jillian watching over their shoulder all the time too. I love the show - it inspires me to push myself in my workouts--I see what they are doing and think if they can - why can't I... but reality of it is its reality TV....
  • nanchmeyer
    nanchmeyer Posts: 1 Member
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    I heard the same thing - I was wondering how in the world a person could find time to do that in the "real world" - and am I burning enough??? I'm excited when I burn 300 on the treadmill.
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    I heard the same thing - I was wondering how in the world a person could find time to do that in the "real world" - and am I burning enough??? I'm excited when I burn 300 on the treadmill.

    You cannot replicate anything like this from the Biggest Loser in real life. Please don't try!!! It's dangerous. "Under a physician's care" or not, they are all putting their health in jeopardy burning that many calories (a deficit of 4800 cals a DAY). Imagine the shock his poor internal organs are going through! :frown:
  • awestfall
    awestfall Posts: 1,774 Member
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    i'm pretty sure she meant in a 24 hour period and thats crazy i never stopped and thought about it. on the commericals towards the end there was a trainer tip and she said to eat at least 1200 calories a day but make sure your burning more calories than what youre eatting...i know they are!!! i wish i had that much time to work out in a day, geez
    THIS IS CORRECT PEOPLE!!! YOU SHOULD BURN MORE THAN YOU ARE EATING>MY DOCTOR CONFIRMED IT.REASON THIS IS TRUE IS BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO ARE OBESE NEED TO DROP WEIGHT.ONCE YOU GET SMALLER YOU CAN ADD SOME CALORIES BACK AS LONG AS YOUR STILL WORKING OUT>
  • rndalsn
    rndalsn Posts: 26
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    I heard the same thing, but I cannot believe that they are eating 1200 cals and burning 6000. There is no way they could possibly have the energy to work out if that is what they are doing. If I burn around 800 calories in a day and only eat 1200 calories, I will have a headache and be very lethargic. I've tried it to lose weight fast, but have found that's not the way to go. Hopefully, we all misunderstood what they said...
  • Latenight
    Latenight Posts: 2 Member
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    This show is not real life!! It's television..and loosing that much weight in a week is not healthy for anyone no matter how much you need to loose. It's just not healthy! Ask Dr. Oz:-)
  • JStarnes
    JStarnes Posts: 5,576 Member
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    You heard it - 6000 for women & 8000 for men. Shay asked Julio what his burn was & he asked her what he was supposed to hit & she said "8 if you're a guy" That's an INSANE deficit. :noway:
  • nancymilo
    nancymilo Posts: 7
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    I'm pretty sure they're burning 6000 calories per day, that's the only way they could have those massive weight losses. I'm a huge fan of biggest loser, but for the motivation it gives me. I don't think any contest would be worth risking my health like that, even for $250k! I am as big, even bigger, than some of the contestants on the show, but I've been losing a steady 2 lbs. per week. This has worked great for me :bigsmile:
  • zebras
    zebras Posts: 600
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    It was impressive that they exceeded the original goal of 150 lbs total, and that they got everyone across the balance beams and finished the challenge. Great teamwork for only the 2nd week of a group like that.
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
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    I agree - and tracy after being in the hospital and very limited on her workouts - I was very proud for her!
  • tryingagain2
    tryingagain2 Posts: 90 Member
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    It was impressive that they exceeded the original goal of 150 lbs total, and that they got everyone across the balance beams and finished the challenge. Great teamwork for only the 2nd week of a group like that.

    I have a feeling the third week will be like the second week normally is....its just not possible to keep up big losses like that.....I think even the trainers were saying it.....but still its tv and not real life.....I really dig watching it though!:drinker:

    I love coach Mo....he's a sweetheart:smile:
  • rachelmommy1
    rachelmommy1 Posts: 85
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    I wonder if they really use the supplements and stuff. I never really thought about it before, but they have a whole line of "Biggest Loser" supplements and protein powders and stuff.....maybe that has something to do with it???
  • chgudnitz
    chgudnitz Posts: 4,079
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    These people can have a deficit like that because they are VERY FAT. Their body can sustain itself by eating itself, and that's what the show is promoting. It can't or shouldn't be tried at home. If you're not 415 pounds like the guy on the show, then you can't deficit like that.

    It's a TV show people, ratings would suck if they had people go for walks and eat a normal diet. Don't take Jillian whatever her name is advice as gospel for yourself, it's dangerous for an average person.
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
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    I would bet Jillians advice outside of the show is different for a normal person
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    Well, I don't know about you guys, but according to MFP, I'd burn about 1900 calories doing nothing. I don't do nothing, I park a couple blocks away from work & walk that 4x/day, I walk up stairs, I walk around, I lift books, etc. So, over the course of a normal day I'm probably easily burning 3000 cal. If I work out for 1.5 hours, I'm easily burning 4000 cal in a day. Add 3 more hours of active exercise, and I'm at a 6000 burn. Plus, I weigh less than almost all of the contestants so they'd be burning more than me at rest and during exercise.
  • ohthatbambi
    ohthatbambi Posts: 1,098 Member
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    Just out of curiosity I decided to put my polar HRM on as soon as I got up. I am going to wear it for 24 hours and see what I burn on an average day (including my exercise). I am just curious b/c those numbers are so huge. I do realize it is a TV show and what they do is NOT normal. I was really interested in what everyone's take on it was. Thanks for the replies!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    duplicate thread. I posted about this on here:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/66592-6-000-calorie-burn

    so I won't rewrite the same thing. But essentially chgudnitz is right.

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