The Biggest Loser show seems to contradict what were taught

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  • ValGogo
    ValGogo Posts: 2,168 Member
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    No, the reality is much simpler. Nutrition is bullsh*t.

    My 3 month old daughter needs only milk to thrive and have the energy to get through the day, and the contestants, and anyone else with that level of bodyfat...

    Will use the stores of fatty acids on their body as food. So long as essential vitamins and minerals are ingested, along with essential amino acids, you don't need to eat.

    There was a 400 pound man in the 70's who fasted for 380 days under doctor's supervision. Couple missteps in refeeding him, but he got to 180 or something like that, and to this day he's slightly overweight, not obese like he used to be.

    What we NEED for nutrition is only what this magnificent machine requires.

    Most of the starvation mode, eating to fuel, it's all hype.

    Coma patients exist on protien powder with added carbs and fats, in a shake, fed through a feeding tube.

    I mean, honestly, the fact that we all haven't woken up to this realization before now is astounding. At least, I can't speak for everyone, but I'm ashamed of myself for not following common sense.

    ETA: eat for your body. Eat what you like. And if you start to gain fat, change your diet slightly, and find what works for you. If you want to lose weight for a boxing match or to look thinner, the principles are the same. You are what you eat.

    Was about to click the X on this thread...

    ...but then I saw this post...



    ...and now I'm in.

    YOu understood this? Please, explain to me. Does this mean I can live on milk and protein shakes? So confused.

    It means micro, vitamins and minerals, nutrients is way more important the macro nutrients.

    Pretty sure that's the opposite of what that guy was saying.
    It usually is.


    Well, than I guess I don't have to eat at all....

    (digs into a large plate of air and drinks a sip of wishes.)
  • 6ftamazon
    6ftamazon Posts: 340 Member
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    1. Starvation mode doesn't exist (or at least it doesn't exist until you're emaciated).

    2. regarding the loose skin. I think a lot of it is a result of good nutrition (and to some extent genetics). I've gained and lost about 200+ lbs in my life and I don't have any. A lot of people don't get the proper nutrients and focus on artificial diet food, which I don't think helps. And I've lost 100 lbs in a 6 months before.

    3. Hard work and training. It's possible. And the fact that there's money on the line motivated people a lot.

    4. Surprisingly it's a lot easier than you think. There's been days when I've been sick or just not hungry and have only eaten 1000 calories. Still I manage to get in 100g of protein in there and all my vitamins. Again, it comes back to not eating processed junk.

    5. If you're super obese, you lose more quicker. Not to mention it's not dangerous, just likelier that you'll put it back on (and a lot of contestants have)

    The important thing to remember is it's a tv show. Their weeks aren't 7 days...they could be 3 days or 14, depending on filming schedule. Not to mention that a lot of their weight loss is water retention. As well, they're encouraged to gorge out on food at the beginning, so their weight loss seems greater. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors. Yes it's possible to lose a lot of weight quickly, but the more important thing is to be healthy and live a sustainable lifestyle.

    Actually what I'm against is the show's focus on eating healthy, but still promoting processed, packaged, and artificial foods. And the way they act like it's horrible if someone didn't lose 20 lbs in a week. And the fact that I've seen god awful form on weight lifting and the trainers don't focus on proper form. And they push people so hard. You can lose weight without it being a miserable experience.
  • MomTo3Lovez
    MomTo3Lovez Posts: 800 Member
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    And IN for slacker babies who aren't eating their whole grains!


    HAHAHA love this!
  • paulawatkins1974
    paulawatkins1974 Posts: 720 Member
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    bump to read links later
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    I want to just jump in and say that whether you have lose skin or not after weight loss and/or pregnancy depends mostly on genetics and age.

    OK, carry on...
  • fvtfan
    fvtfan Posts: 126 Member
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    I have a friend that was a contestant on the show - and he ended up having skin removal surgery after the show was over - which he paid for himself, not by the network. So....they don't all end up without extra skin.
  • One_Last_Time
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    Well how are food/ diet companies going to make money off you if you can simply restrict your intake?
  • One_Last_Time
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    Their food is mostly protein. It's a myth that you need as much protein as usually advocated to retain muscle mass. 500-600 calories of protein would be enough. Don't forget that these are people who work out for hours every day, people who didn't work out before, so you can expect some newbie gains too


    I think you are saying it wrong because 500/4= grams of protein.

    You are right, I did mean 125-150 grams, but I chose to use calories to put it into perspective that it is entirely possible to get enough protein on a 800-1200 calorie diet.

    Most women only need 40-60g unless you're an athlete. I lose about 2-3 pounds week sticking to 800-1200. I do light home strength training and walking. That's it.
  • Siege_Tank
    Siege_Tank Posts: 781 Member
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    Well how are food/ diet companies going to make money off you if you can simply restrict your intake?

    =( but, if people won't spend more and more of their income on our over expensive foods, (or things marked gluten free, or now have the protein content per serving on the box, or whatever the current trend is..) how will we make money and beat the quarterly estimates on wall street?

    If enough people stop buying them, companies won't produce them. @_@

    And seriously, I laughed so long and so hard about slacker babies not getting their fiber. Thank you for that one.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    Their food is mostly protein. It's a myth that you need as much protein as usually advocated to retain muscle mass. 500-600 calories of protein would be enough. Don't forget that these are people who work out for hours every day, people who didn't work out before, so you can expect some newbie gains too


    I think you are saying it wrong because 500/4= grams of protein.

    You are right, I did mean 125-150 grams, but I chose to use calories to put it into perspective that it is entirely possible to get enough protein on a 800-1200 calorie diet.

    Most women only need 40-60g unless you're an athlete. I lose about 2-3 pounds week sticking to 800-1200. I do light home strength training and walking. That's it.

    What you do and claim is working for you would not work for many women here and in general. Please don't use the term 'most women' when you're just using yourself as your evidence.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    I use to sit in my recliner and shovel pizza in my pie whole while watching the Biggest Loser and criticizing the contestants. Yeah all while weighing 500+ pounds... Once I was losing weight and learning the proper way to lose the weight to keep it off long term, I seen the show for what it's worth which is nothing more than I game show where they force these contestant to lose massive amounts of weight doing crazy marathons of exercise all to win a cash prize.... Can't stand that show anymore........
  • Brianne333
    Brianne333 Posts: 232 Member
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    There's a lot of people who were on the show who came forward after being on it talking about the physical ramifications of doing that. It is done for entertainment purposes and should never be used as a guide to losing weight or getting healthier.

    People talking about not lowering your calories is a bit of a misunderstanding here on MFP. Not everyone understands WHY you shouldn't lower your calories to 800-1000 a day but the idea is still correct. Starvation mode isn't the issue with that - it's that you are not fueling your body properly to function efficiently, let alone build and maintain muscle.
    Yes, if you stop eating you will lose weight. That doesn't mean that it's the way to do it or that you will be healthier afterwards.

    Someone on the first page of this thread linked just one article about a contestant on that show. She was losing her hair and she developed an eating disorder from going through that. It was very unhealthy. It's a good place to start to understand why that show is absolutely not a benchmark of any kind of losing weight or getting in shape.
  • CleanUpWhatIMessedUp
    CleanUpWhatIMessedUp Posts: 206 Member
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    You are right, the contestants on the biggest loser are able to lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time without very many consequences it seems. So it would seem that there is nothing wrong with losing that much weight that fast and people here are just being killjoys with their continuous chanting of 'just exercise and eat at a deficit, don't starve yourself, and don't try to lose too fast.' That is how it seems.

    Here is the truth, life is not a reality tv show. Those people on that show have their diets pretty rigidly planned out for them and they have celebrity trainers and weigh ins every week. They don't have to go to work and they don't have to go to school. Normal people don't get that. Real life is not like that. If we all lived in a biggest loser world, then I would see nothing wrong with the biggest loser approach to weight loss. But in the real world, that approach is pretty much destined to fail after a while, which is why people advise you not to go down that route. They don't want you to set yourself up for disappointment. That approach works on the show, but it is not sustainable in real life.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    This is the reason I love this forum.

    From the OP
    I want to be clear that I am NOT claiming the Biggest Loser way to be healthy, or the "right/ideal" way to lose weight. It just seems like they have sorta disproved some of the theories that get repeated on this forum.

    First post in the thread... was...
    Never mind, I skimmed your post before replying. So you're insisting that the show is actually a healthy way to lose weight?

    Ding ding ding.

    srsly?

    Back to more important things, I find the show interesting, in that some people are capable of so much mental toughness, and so little. Some people break down during the show, others fight.
  • TutuMom41
    TutuMom41 Posts: 278
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    I have a friend that was a contestant on the show - and he ended up having skin removal surgery after the show was over - which he paid for himself, not by the network. So....they don't all end up without extra skin.

    If you have a large amount of extra skin insurance companies pay for tummy tucks. Mine did
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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