Biggest Loser vs. Reality?!

well they are eating all day long...and depending on what it is u can do a lot with 1200. which keeps things burning and active.. and doing the numbers..with out exercise 1200 a day puts them at a loss..since to keep there bulky weights requires more cals to maintain.. then u add exercise to that and u burn a ton more cals. your body gets some of what it needs from burning its stores... and that is what you want. u want your stores burnt instead of burning food your putting in.. but the smaller you get the less stores are burnt due to your body not requireing as much cals to keep u moven. up untill i got sick and kinda took a break. i reset my mfp and have been going at 1200 cals plus 1-2 hrs a day exercise and lost 120 in 5 months.

I'm so confused. How did the Biggest Loser contestants, who weighed 300ish pounds to begin with, lose SO much weight eating 1200 calories a day and doing SEVEN hours of exercise per day? Wouldn't that mean their nets would've been like negative? & so wouldn't that have surely caused the metabolism slowdown effect?

Yet I'm only 125 pounds and people here are telling me I'm eating too little at 1200, while I barely get in 30 minutes of cardio a day.

Am I missing something here?

Yes you're missing something, that declined metabolic theory has been dis-proven. The metabolism only slows down about 10% which isn't that significant.

I don't want to get in to the entire plateau stuff, but I can tell you this. They are severely obese they can get away with it. Leaner people can't.

The entire theory of "netting" is also invalid. An example of someone completely fasted, most of the energy comes from fat and carbs. If their TDEE is 2,000 most of the calorie burn will be from a combination of carbs and fat. Implying when you do eat food yet net a negative number the calories you ate will go to your body. So the theory of netting is incorrect.

I consider 10% significant. That being said, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. Laxatives etc.

If your TDEE is 2,500, 10% is 250 calories which would put your TDEE at 2,250. If you consider that significant than okay, It just depends on what a person considers significant.

If little %'s counts. However, I understand what you're getting at.

We also didn't mention the success rate, from my understanding atleast 85% of people on the biggest loser aren't successful in the long run.

Considering what they do, I am surprised it's not higher.

Read this...http://www.bodylovewellness.com/2010/06/09/kai-hibbard-biggest-loser-finalist-part-1-of-3/

It's insane

They do it so fast and I wonder if they can keep mit off when they walk away from the show!

I personally know 3 contestants and they really struggle to keep the weight off. One of them was a finale winner & still works out for hours daily (I'd say anywhere from 4-5 hours a day).

Dr. Arya Sharma is an obesity specialist in Canada. He explains what happens to obese people when they lose weight better than I ever could: http://www.drsharma.ca/obesity-why-diet-and-exercise-is-not-a-treatment-for-obesity.html

Yes you're missing something, that declined metabolic theory has been dis-proven. The metabolism only slows down about 10% which isn't that significant.

Can you list your sources for that? I'd like to have a discussion about it with some bariatric doctors that I know - get their take on it.

http://examine.com/faq/do-i-need-to-eat-six-times-a-day-to-keep-my-metabolism-high.html

http://examine.com/faq/how-do-i-stay-out-of-starvation-mode.html

Those should help.

This is worth the watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk

Read this...http://www.bodylovewellness.com/2010/06/09/kai-hibbard-biggest-loser-finalist-part-1-of-3/

It's insane

Interesting read, thanks for the link.

Dr. Arya Sharma is an obesity specialist in Canada. He explains what happens to obese people when they lose weight better than I ever could: http://www.drsharma.ca/obesity-why-diet-and-exercise-is-not-a-treatment-for-obesity.html

I read the article, and while he touches on some things that happen during weight loss, the article didn't really answer the 'why' of the matter. Losing weight slows down your metabolism and you'll have to eat less than you did before, and less than someone who is naturally at the same weight as you are at your goal weight, because our bodies fight to survive the famine we've imposed on ourselves, blah blah blah, tell me something I don't know.

What I DO know is I don't know if I'll be alive in 10, 5 or even 3 years from now, so I'm not going to stop losing weight just because the odds are against me in the long run.

I have 2 family members who were on the biggest loser, and I can honestly say that when they came out they both looked insanely incredible. (28 year old & 55 year old both female both lost more than 35kgs each) When they came out they were obsessive about working out and eating right as the live final weigh-in show was 3 weeks after their elimination. They came 5th and 7th overall out of male and female contestents; which is something to be really proud of. 3 years later and the younger female has put on all of the weight, and older one has maintained since the show with only a slight gain. I know other contestants from the series have kept it off but I believe the 85% of gaining back in my opinion an accurate assesment.

According to the results published in the International Journal of Obesity, among overweight and obese adults:

36.6% of those who lost at least 5% of initial body weight kept it off
17.3% of those who lost at least 10% of initial body weight kept it off
8.5% of those who lost at least 15% of initial body weight kept it off
4.4% of those who lost at least 20% of initial body weight kept it off

Those who dealt with small weight gains early were most likely to stop or reverse the gain. When participants maintained their weight loss for at least two years, they reduced the risk of regaining weight by 50 percent.

So it would seem that a site such as MFP is not just for losing weight but for staying motivated and remaining accountable for calorie intake after hitting your target.

I know personally that I have been through this exact journey about 7 years ago and put the weight back on (and more) by simply being complacent with excercise and calorie intake. The statistics are overwhelming, but all I know is this time I am ready for a lifestyle change not a diet

They do it so fast and I wonder if they can keep mit off when they walk away from the show!

I personally know 3 contestants and they really struggle to keep the weight off. One of them was a finale winner & still works out for hours daily (I'd say anywhere from 4-5 hours a day).

Dr. Arya Sharma is an obesity specialist in Canada. He explains what happens to obese people when they lose weight better than I ever could: http://www.drsharma.ca/obesity-why-diet-and-exercise-is-not-a-treatment-for-obesity.html

Honestly, this has not been my experience. I maintain easily at 110-115 pounds after a 70 pound loss eating 1600-1800 calories per day and doing little exercise. When I am more active, that number becomes closer to 2000-2200. Interesting. Granted, my weight was stable at 170-180 for several years eating 3000-4000 on average with almost zero activity, so I may be weird. Not that I'm a special snowflake, I just wonder why it is that I'm not fitting the picture that article presents, and I don't want to just dismiss it as bs just because it's not the case for me.

I think your experience is accurate.

You'll notice that the article never addresses calorie counts and what those people actually eat. People gain weight back because they eat too much - and that can be caused by not understanding calorie goals in the first place. That's the reason I have gained back the weight on every yo-yo diet I've ever done. When I stopped, I went back to old habits.

The article describes that in fancier words - "eating like a 130lb person who never lost weight". Okay, but what does that person eat like? How many calories do they consume? How is that different than the 130lb person who used to be 150lbs. There is a whole lot unaccounted for in that scenario.

I'm so confused. How did the Biggest Loser contestants, who weighed 300ish pounds to begin with, lose SO much weight eating 1200 calories a day and doing SEVEN hours of exercise per day? Wouldn't that mean their nets would've been like negative? & so wouldn't that have surely caused the metabolism slowdown effect?

Yet I'm only 125 pounds and people here are telling me I'm eating too little at 1200, while I barely get in 30 minutes of cardio a day.

Am I missing something here?

Yes you're missing something, that declined metabolic theory has been dis-proven. The metabolism only slows down about 10% which isn't that significant.

I don't want to get in to the entire plateau stuff, but I can tell you this. They are severely obese they can get away with it. Leaner people can't.

The entire theory of "netting" is also invalid. An example of someone completely fasted, most of the energy comes from fat and carbs. If their TDEE is 2,000 most of the calorie burn will be from a combination of carbs and fat. Implying when you do eat food yet net a negative number the calories you ate will go to your body. So the theory of netting is incorrect.

I consider 10% significant. That being said, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. Laxatives etc.

If your TDEE is 2,500, 10% is 250 calories which would put your TDEE at 2,250. If you consider that significant than okay, It just depends on what a person considers significant.

We also didn't mention the success rate, from my understanding atleast 85% of people on the biggest loser aren't successful in the long run.

According to my Sister the bariatriac nurse, 95% of people who lose significant weight, put it back on. Her program not only performs surgery but runs exercise groups/classes and a bunch of other things that I tuned out because she's super pushy and has been on all things since we were kids. I have lost 88lbs by watching what I eat, exercising and occasionally taking advil as I overdid my routine.

She still tells me "when you put it back we now do the gastric sleeve"

I'm so confused. How did the Biggest Loser contestants, who weighed 300ish pounds to begin with, lose SO much weight eating 1200 calories a day and doing SEVEN hours of exercise per day? Wouldn't that mean their nets would've been like negative? & so wouldn't that have surely caused the metabolism slowdown effect?

Yet I'm only 125 pounds and people here are telling me I'm eating too little at 1200, while I barely get in 30 minutes of cardio a day.

Am I missing something here?

Yes you're missing something, that declined metabolic theory has been dis-proven. The metabolism only slows down about 10% which isn't that significant.

I don't want to get in to the entire plateau stuff, but I can tell you this. They are severely obese they can get away with it. Leaner people can't.

The entire theory of "netting" is also invalid. An example of someone completely fasted, most of the energy comes from fat and carbs. If their TDEE is 2,000 most of the calorie burn will be from a combination of carbs and fat. Implying when you do eat food yet net a negative number the calories you ate will go to your body. So the theory of netting is incorrect.

I consider 10% significant. That being said, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. Laxatives etc.

If your TDEE is 2,500, 10% is 250 calories which would put your TDEE at 2,250. If you consider that significant than okay, It just depends on what a person considers significant.

We also didn't mention the success rate, from my understanding atleast 85% of people on the biggest loser aren't successful in the long run.

According to my Sister the bariatriac nurse, 95% of people who lose significant weight, put it back on. Her program not only performs surgery but runs exercise groups/classes and a bunch of other things that I tuned out because she's super pushy and has been on all things since we were kids. I have lost 88lbs by watching what I eat, exercising and occasionally taking advil as I overdid my routine.

She still tells me "when you put it back we now do the gastric sleeve"

Nice....

And what about all the people that have the surgery and regain? That's a pretty big number too.

I can't remember the number, but essentially she said that the people who didn't exercise after the surgery would not be ultimately successful either.

Bump will read links later. Thanks everyone for posting them. Looks interesting. Better get ome sleep now

I think to lose weight and keep it off you have to make a life style change. You can't just eat less to lose weight and deprive yourself. If you do that once you lose the weight you might start eating the things you stayed away from and before you know it you weigh more then you did before. Thats what I did and i gained it back plus 30 more. At 5'1" 202 is way too much. Now I eat 1300 a day and I eat what I want. In 3.5 months I lost 30 LBS. Feel great.

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According to the results published in the International Journal of Obesity, among overweight and obese adults:

36.6% of those who lost at least 5% of initial body weight kept it off
17.3% of those who lost at least 10% of initial body weight kept it off
8.5% of those who lost at least 15% of initial body weight kept it off
4.4% of those who lost at least 20% of initial body weight kept it off
>>>>
I think the reasons why they gain back the weight are
1) They thought the battle is over and let their guard down.
2) Did not work on the cause what make the gain weight in the place. Most of people who gain lots of weight are emotional eaters.
3) Fat cells are still there. It's just shrink. It's easy for them to gain back the the weight than a person who has less fat cells.