Biggest Loser Diet Questions

I think what you're taking as people coming at you is just good, sound, solid advice. Everyone has to do what works for them, but what works for every single person on the face of this earth is eating at a calorie deficit. Now figuring out what your deficit is and what foods make you happy, healthy, feeling good, whatever words you want, takes a little work and adjusting. But asking if one food is good and another is bad is just a set up for getting all sorts of crap, because once again, it's all about calorie deficits (CD). If a particular diet works for you and keeps you in the CD, then do it. If you have metabolic conditions such as Diabetes, Gall Bladder or the like, then you have certain foods you probably have to avoid. I'm sorry you feel attacked, but I really think all of them (us) are trying to help and saying don't make this harder than it is, cause we all know it's hard, and just make sure you are in the deficit. I hate to say it but if you don't want to count calories, you are probably going to struggle a lot more than you want to because no matter what "diet" you are on, you have to know your intake. Good luck, take the advice with the intentions it is given and well, count!

Wow. Ask for advise on dieting and some people come after you....... If I'm asking about dieting it's obvious I don't fully understand certain aspects. Also I'm doing what my specialist had told me to do and the choices that she think would be best. I swear I'm not that much of a dumb***. I do Zumba or Turbo Jam 20-30 every morning. And walk 2 miles at work every day. And when I get home I walk another 4 miles or do another 30-45 min of Zumba or Turbo Jam. Counting calories doesn't work for me or I would of asked for advise on it.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but .........counting calories is how MAINTENANCE works. Sooner or later, you will have to figure out how to count calories.

One example of how calorie counting might work..............you eat the breakfast of your choice (you weigh or measure the portions) and you log your breakfast into MFP. That "counts" your calories for you. It's great - it teaches portion sizes, it teaches protein and fat counts, it teaches fiber counts ....lots of useful tools.

For me having Type 2 diabetes and my Gal bladder removed that doesn't necessarily work in my case. I wish it did.

Need to ask about the gal blabber? I had mine out 9 years ago and life is the same. It is affecting you differently? I've seen people talk about gal blabber but don't really understand.

Same here I had my gall bladder removed 10ish years ago and all my eating problems went away once they pulled that sucker out.

It affects me roughly the same way as the OP though it's not quite AS bad. If I stay under about 50g of fat per day and try to avoid having too much fat at one time it's mostly ok though I completely understand needing to be close to a bathroom after eating.

I am not diabetic however I have had no problems with losing weight at a calorie deficit. I just actually lowered my goal for calories as I was stuck for a couple of months and had over estimated my TDEE.

Okay. So take out the biggest loser side of the diet. I eat between 1200 and 1500 calories a day. I eat more than that I don't lose weight. And I burn at least 500 calories a day. If I only eat 1200 calories a day and work out I can lose between 1-2 lbs a week. Is this a healthy calorie range to follow or not? And yes I'm full. Also on a calorie counting diet what types of things besides calories do you watch and what is a healthy limit? (fat, carbs etc).

Read all of the links provided in this thread.

all of the wat

It affects me roughly the same way as the OP though it's not quite AS bad. If I stay under about 50g of fat per day and try to avoid having too much fat at one time it's mostly ok though I completely understand needing to be close to a bathroom after eating.

I am not diabetic however I have had no problems with losing weight at a calorie deficit. I just actually lowered my goal for calories as I was stuck for a couple of months and had over estimated my TDEE.

Well I'm so freakin thankful I didn't end up with that. Mine was kind of an emergency removal, I wasn't given hardly any information other than "your stomach might be sensitive to high fat foods or it might not".
Also tried to deck a nurse when I work up from surgery, I was ready to show them all who's boss lol.

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So your body is under a lot of stress already, diabetes and dealing with fat with no gall bladder.

Diet is a stress too, so is intense frequent exercise.

Got stress in your life also, like concerned about your weight and diets not working perchance.

Your body personally has a certain level of stress it can take before the screwed hormones are going to fight against fat and weight loss.

I'm betting anything you eating 1200-1400 have well surpassed that level.

You've got in essence a suppressed metabolism compared to what it could be.
Some probably expected because you've likely burned off muscle mass compared to prior attempts.
You are probably in a very carb depleted state, and that means less water weight with stored carbs, and less LBM means slower metabolism.

But being under stress, you've also likely suppressed it even more.

So accept the fact you will have to un-stress your body best you can by eating more, then take a reasonable deficit for your level of activity (and probably less than others could do, because your body is under stress all the time with disease).

But you will have to get as best estimates on either side of the equation as possible.
Maintain weight - burn daily = eat daily
Lose weight - burn daily > eat daily.

You can only get so accurate on the burn part, but you get get really decent on the eat part as so many above pointed out.

But you can't adjust eating level correctly if you low ball it and try to come in from the low side, much less successful.
Gotta come in from on high, with high burning metabolism.

And think about strength training focus rather than cardio focus.

Okay. So take out the biggest loser side of the diet. I eat between 1200 and 1500 calories a day. I eat more than that I don't lose weight. And I burn at least 500 calories a day. If I only eat 1200 calories a day and work out I can lose between 1-2 lbs a week. Is this a healthy calorie range to follow or not? And yes I'm full. Also on a calorie counting diet what types of things besides calories do you watch and what is a healthy limit? (fat, carbs etc).

I'm just starting out, so I don't have all the answers for you. I think from that reply that you've come to realise that counting calories doesn't mean 'eat whatever you want as long as it has the right amount of calories', which is a good first step. As for your Biggest Loser diet, you can do that and count calories... the two are not mutually exclusive.

Your doctor advised you on your diet, but can you see a nutritionist? You can find a lot of information on line about what the other items to look for are in your daily totals (i.e. fat, salt, protein, etc.), but what is good for everyone else, as you know, may not work for you given your health issues. If you can't see a nutritionist, finding the recommended amounts (someone else might have links to these, but I haven't looked for them) and then experimenting with your food and the numbers should give you an idea of what works or not. The 'note' section at the end of every day is great for that. If I were you, I would use it to note throughout the day how you felt after your meal, what your blood sugar levels were and anything else you feel is pertinent (bathroom habits?). Over time, you'll see a pattern and will be able to adjust accordingly.

As for your question on water, there are different ways of doing it. Some people may only track water. I count everything I drink towards by water allowance as I feel that any liquid is mostly water, but also make sure to track it as to account for the extra calories or sugar etc in non just water drinks.

As for your red meat. If you feel you can't make it work and worried about it going bad because it's still packed in the grocery store or butcher packaging and you can afford it, invest in a machine that seals food... like seal-a-meal (there are several brands on the market). We bought ours on sale and it has saved us way more money than it cost by avoiding us having to throw away food (not just meat).

I hope you figure out what works for you.

Edited to fix typos.

So your body is under a lot of stress already, diabetes and dealing with fat with no gall bladder.

Diet is a stress too, so is intense frequent exercise.

Got stress in your life also, like concerned about your weight and diets not working perchance.

Your body personally has a certain level of stress it can take before the screwed hormones are going to fight against fat and weight loss.

I'm betting anything you eating 1200-1400 have well surpassed that level.

You've got in essence a suppressed metabolism compared to what it could be.
Some probably expected because you've likely burned off muscle mass compared to prior attempts.
You are probably in a very carb depleted state, and that means less water weight with stored carbs, and less LBM means slower metabolism.

But being under stress, you've also likely suppressed it even more.

So accept the fact you will have to un-stress your body best you can by eating more, then take a reasonable deficit for your level of activity (and probably less than others could do, because your body is under stress all the time with disease).

But you will have to get as best estimates on either side of the equation as possible.
Maintain weight - burn daily = eat daily
Lose weight - burn daily > eat daily.

You can only get so accurate on the burn part, but you get get really decent on the eat part as so many above pointed out.

But you can't adjust eating level correctly if you low ball it and try to come in from the low side, much less successful.
Gotta come in from on high, with high burning metabolism.

And think about strength training focus rather than cardio focus.

This is excellent advice. I wish I had known this in my 30s - I would not be here in my 50s. Strength training is what made the biggest difference. I can eat more now than I ever have and I continue to lose weight.

You've gotten a LOT of good advice here - read it all and then give it at least 4 weeks. Good luck.

simple answer, given to me by my dr.: move more, eat less. Complicated answer-eat less than you burn. Eat healthy foods not potato chips and twinkies. Do whatever exercise you can to keep your body getting fit. Walk-slowly if necessary-ride a bicycle. Walk from the far side of the parking lot instead of a close spot. take the stairs instead of the elevator. Make small changes then bigger ones with how you move around.

No need to overthink it too much-especially at first. It is about making lifestyle changes that are sustainable, NOT looking for one more DIET.

You can eat red meat as often as you want. But you can't eat unlimited quantities each time. You can eat more boneless skinless chicken breast than beef for the same number of calories. You can eat chicken and avocado for similar calories to beef alone.

Gal bladder questions - Yes me having it out affects me a lot. Any more than 1 oz of cheese, 1 egg, salad, anything greasy, butter, oil, craisens and others. They never affected me before, however now I will have to use the restroom in about 5 to 10 minutes.

Sorry to hear that. I've had bathroom issues but not like that. I hope you can find something that works for you.