I dont plan on doing this, but Im curious how it works

Makoce
Makoce Posts: 938 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I know on the biggest loser people lose like 10lbs in one week and that's part of the show -- but I just met a few people irl who are losing 7 - 8 lbs a week.

I personally think this is VERY unhealthy, but how do people do that?

I feel like if you exercised hours and hours a day and ate a low amount of calories, your body wouldn't /WANT/ to lose anything.

I know the few times I netted very low in a week accidentally I didnt lose anything.


Just curious, thanks!

Replies

  • prettyface55
    prettyface55 Posts: 508 Member
    im also curious!
  • mybiketrip
    mybiketrip Posts: 239
    Hmm. It might come down to diet? I don't know. I'm just bumping.
  • TheSlorax
    TheSlorax Posts: 2,401 Member
    how much do these friends weigh? as for the people on the biggest loser, they have a very high starting weight and therefore a higher TDEE, so when they cut down to 800-1200 calories and exercise 6 hours a day it creates a huge deficit. for their scenario it comes down to the calories in vs calories out equation.
  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
    They do it because they have slashed their calorie intake and are exercising. If someone is very overweight/obese they will lose an astonishing amount of weight in very little time because of this. It will eventually level out and they will have to revamp what they are doing to continue with the weight loss.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    how much do these friends weigh? as for the people on the biggest loser, they have a very high starting weight and therefore a higher TDEE, so when they cut down to 800-1200 calories and exercise 6 hours a day it creates a huge deficit. for their scenario it comes down to the calories in vs calories out equation.

    One of them was a male, weight 180 something. Not too big.
    I know he eats really "clean". Not sure how many calories, though.
    tons and tons of exercise a day. I dont know him will enough to say more than that.
  • TheSlorax
    TheSlorax Posts: 2,401 Member
    how much do these friends weigh? as for the people on the biggest loser, they have a very high starting weight and therefore a higher TDEE, so when they cut down to 800-1200 calories and exercise 6 hours a day it creates a huge deficit. for their scenario it comes down to the calories in vs calories out equation.

    One of them was a male, weight 180 something. Not too big.

    how long has he been losing 7-8 lbs a week? when starting a new diet program, glycogen stores are depleted which is why most people see big losses in their first week or two. basically, it's water weight. beyond that, he is most likely losing body mass along with fat because he is cutting his calories drastically.

    eta: just saw your edit. don't worry about his numbers, I doubt he is significantly lowering his body fat %. IMO (and most people on MFP feel the same way), dropping lbs is not as important as dropping actual fat.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    I just hope they have some kind of doctor supervision. It doesn't sound healthy otherwise.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It's easy when you have a lot to lose. I lost a lot in the first couple months honestly, but you got to remember that most of it is water weight.
  • Fat2Fit4Life
    Fat2Fit4Life Posts: 599 Member
    like most people are saying - the more you have to lose the greater impact a drastic change will cause. It is hard to maintain that lifestyle over time and many folks will not be able to continue losing this way once they hit a certain point. As far as the health benefits - some argue it is way way too fast, but you have to weigh (HA!) the current health of the person. If their weight is causing them to be more unhealthy than the side-effects of losing quickly, they might want to go that route. I know many doctors put larger folks on extreme eating programs before certain surgeries so that the patient is of a healthy enough weight to go through the procedure. I guess it all depends -- in my situation, I could easily lose 5-7 lbs a week with very little effort, but I want to be able to maintain the changes I am making. I am fine with 2-3lbs a week right now.
  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
    the more you weigh the higher you will lose in the first few weeks... you'll never see a tinier person (say, 140), drop 10 pounds in a week. now someone who is 240, yeah 10 pounds could be possible. 340? Yup, easily doable.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    they starve themselves and workout 8 hours a day?

    oh, and it's TV.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I feel like if you exercised hours and hours a day and ate a low amount of calories, your body wouldn't /WANT/ to lose anything.

    It wouldn't "want" to, but it would lose it, anyway.
  • Raynne413
    Raynne413 Posts: 1,527 Member
    how much do these friends weigh? as for the people on the biggest loser, they have a very high starting weight and therefore a higher TDEE, so when they cut down to 800-1200 calories and exercise 6 hours a day it creates a huge deficit. for their scenario it comes down to the calories in vs calories out equation.

    I also read that a week on Biggest Loser isn't REALLY a week. AND they dehydrate themselves before weighing.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    how much do these friends weigh? as for the people on the biggest loser, they have a very high starting weight and therefore a higher TDEE, so when they cut down to 800-1200 calories and exercise 6 hours a day it creates a huge deficit. for their scenario it comes down to the calories in vs calories out equation.

    One of them was a male, weight 180 something. Not too big.

    how long has he been losing 7-8 lbs a week? when starting a new diet program, glycogen stores are depleted which is why most people see big losses in their first week or two. basically, it's water weight. beyond that, he is most likely losing body mass along with fat because he is cutting his calories drastically.

    eta: just saw your edit. don't worry about his numbers, I doubt he is significantly lowering his body fat %. IMO (and most people on MFP feel the same way), dropping lbs is not as important as dropping actual fat.

    ^^This!^^

    Fast weight loss =/= healthy weight loss.

    I want to drop fat NOT "weight"
  • prat27
    prat27 Posts: 73
    real simple if you are 400lbs and you lose 5lbs that equals 1.25% of your body wait. On a standard male with much less body fat clearly as a % to their entire body would lose is nearly 2lbs. Its all relative.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    they starve themselves and workout 8 hours a day?

    oh, and it's TV.

    Well. This.
    But also - by reducing carbs they impact the glycogen storage in muscles. No glycogen, less water. Less water less weight. 3-4 lbs can easily be lost like that. But it's useless - guess what happens when you recarb?

    The rest is massive calorie deficits which may lead to a bunch of health problems.

    And they lose muscle mass. Who wants to do that?
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    It's easy when you have a lot to lose. I lost a lot in the first couple months honestly, but you got to remember that most of it is water weight.

    Definitely this. They will lose 20-30 pounds the first week (which I attribute to water instead of fat), and then they will lose 5 pounds or so the second week. What I think is unhealthy is the fact that the contestants are always mad/upset when they lose 5 pounds instead of double digits. Five pounds is a lot!!!
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    I wouldn't ask about this if I weren't planning on doing it. OP, don't worry about what your friends are doing. Keep it simple.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,706 Member
    I know on the biggest loser people lose like 10lbs in one week and that's part of the show -- but I just met a few people irl who are losing 7 - 8 lbs a week.

    I personally think this is VERY unhealthy, but how do people do that?

    I feel like if you exercised hours and hours a day and ate a low amount of calories, your body wouldn't /WANT/ to lose anything.

    I know the few times I netted very low in a week accidentally I didnt lose anything.


    Just curious, thanks!

    This might happen in the beginning of the diet of very obese people, or under certain medical conditions.....but is not something that was sustainable with an intentional weight loss diet. When I had chemo and radiation for thyroid cancer I lost 11 kilos ( roughly 22 pounds ) in the first five weeks, because I could not eat much and what I ate I could not keep down and then slowed down to a more normal weight loss , because I started to eat more again because the other choice would have been a feeding tube.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    I once lost 10 pounds in a week just from cutting out soda, and I was already at a fairly healthy weight.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    I wouldn't ask about this if I weren't planning on doing it. OP, don't worry about what your friends are doing. Keep it simple.

    She could just want validation for a "slow and steady" approach, in which case, all of us are apt to give. :-D
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    Eating healthy and cutting out sugar will do wonders for you waist line.. just sayin. :)
  • brraanndi
    brraanndi Posts: 325 Member
    Here's how the biggest loser does it and boy can it be unhealthy -
    http://www.bodylovewellness.com/2010/06/16/kai-hibbard-biggest-loser-finalist-part-2-of-3/


    If someone who isn't on the Biggest Loser is dropping 7-8lbs a week, they have to be very, very overweight. Then it has nothing to do with their diet and instead to do with how big they are. Trust me once they get closer to their target diet it won't be so easy.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Thanks for the answers, guys! Definitely makes sense.
    And yes, it was more of a validation on top of wondering how it scientifically works.
    I was curious.
  • Chimis_Siq
    Chimis_Siq Posts: 849 Member
    Ive read that they exercise about 6-8 hours a day and have restricted calories. That becomes there full time job...........

    :)

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