Why is it that people on the Biggest loser etc

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gibran30
gibran30 Posts: 30 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
okay,,, please help me understand something....

If I am understanding correctly lets say that I have a daily caloric intake of 1400 calories but then I exercise and burn 450 calories then in order to at least stay above 1200 ( to not enter starvation mode) I would need to eat some more food...

Well how do the people on the biggest loser do it.... it seems they exercise ALOT and they arent allowed to eat much so how are they loosing so much weight and yet seemingly breaking the rules, If you follow what I am asking
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Replies

  • ivyjbres
    ivyjbres Posts: 612 Member
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    Remember the pictures of holocaust death camp survivors? Well they weren't that skinny cause they were eating 6 meals a day, I'll tell you that! "Starvation mode" is really a misnomer: yes, your metabolism will slow down in your body's effort to preserve itself, but if you keep pushing it, it doesn't have a choice but to use that fat supply just to live.

    The harm in entering starvation mode isn't that you stop loosing weight, its that when you return to a normal diet, you gain exponentially.
  • NikiP7
    NikiP7 Posts: 2
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    The Biggest Loser contestants work out about 6 hours a day. AND they eat (well, they should be eating) small controlled meals throughout the day with snacks. The other post was right, their bodies are burning so much it doesn't have a choice but to lose the fat. If only I had 6 hours a day to work out and endless supplies of free healthy food!! Oh yeah, and yelling trainers.
  • courtneykrueger
    courtneykrueger Posts: 51
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    And not to mention that you are not giving your body enough nutrients to function properly. Also remember that you don't see everything on Biggest Loser, they have nutritionists on the show and (hopefully) know what they are doing!! :) Be healthy and eat those calories!
  • taraknits
    taraknits Posts: 29 Member
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    Excellent response!!
  • Amcantar
    Amcantar Posts: 43 Member
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    Remember the pictures of holocaust death camp survivors? Well they weren't that skinny cause they were eating 6 meals a day, I'll tell you that! "Starvation mode" is really a misnomer: yes, your metabolism will slow down in your body's effort to preserve itself, but if you keep pushing it, it doesn't have a choice but to use that fat supply just to live.

    The harm in entering starvation mode isn't that you stop loosing weight, its that when you return to a normal diet, you gain exponentially.

    Yes, so let your body enter starvation mode, because if the people in a Holocaust death camp can "push it" and keep loosing weight, so can you! And it's totally legitimate and healthy for your body!
  • gina205
    gina205 Posts: 74 Member
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    I don't watch the show but maybe it's not how much they're eating, but what they're eating. Maybe it's a lot of protien. I'm sure they eat more than you see. Those shows are edited. Things aren't always what they seem. They have to stay properly nurished for all that exercise.
  • gibran30
    gibran30 Posts: 30 Member
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    so are you saying that the people on the biggest loser arent losing weight in a healthy way?
  • ivyjbres
    ivyjbres Posts: 612 Member
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    so are you saying that the people on the biggest loser arent losing weight in a healthy way?

    yeah
  • ashleynicoleb
    ashleynicoleb Posts: 376 Member
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    I've wondered that, too. I have a feeling they don't eat their exercise calories. I've never even heard of eating back the calories you burn during your work outs until I started MFP. I remember seeing on a past show that there was a whiteboard tracking calories for the day and it had a total of around 1280.
  • charmsangel13
    charmsangel13 Posts: 50 Member
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    I know what you mean - I was watching the weigh ins on the Aussie version of the show (not sure if thats the one you were watching too) and some of the guys lost 14 kg! The girls lost anywhere from 3 - 10 kg! It was insane. Here I am trying to make sure I'm eating and exercising enough and STILL haven't lost weight (have lost cms tho) and I'm getting super frustrated.

    Can't believe how much weight they are losing, but I guess they have fancy trainers and nutritional supervisors etc. so they can get away with it. When they get home again they have trouble with weight loss which makes me feel less like a loser!
  • dawniee
    dawniee Posts: 143 Member
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    you wont,...... the calories that you burned off from working out is just that....old calories....I do not eat my calories I burn off...defeats the purpose....that why they lose so much weight.....they actually aim for negative calories!! I eat my 1200 a day and workout as much as possbile. the more you workout, the more you will lose...just make sure you are getting lots of water, 90 grams of protein to keep your muscles and build more, and not too much sugar. High fat and sugars make you crave more of them, to get rid of cravings, keep these low! You can look at my goals and compare to yours....I'm actually signed u with jillian michaels.com to get good advice on diet excersise and since i'm incorporated what she says, I'm seeing the scale move more! Good luck
  • gibran30
    gibran30 Posts: 30 Member
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    okay dont mean to seem dense... but it your bodies metabolism slows down etc it seems you wouldnt want to go into starvation mode...
  • skinnyme125
    skinnyme125 Posts: 396 Member
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    I heard them say tonight that they only work out like 2 hours a day. And each one has there own calorie intake number. They may not be breaking the rules after all. But I still think they are, this is why. First of all they are losing like double digits in weight each week. That means they are losing a whole lot really fast. Too fast. It has always been said that to lose weight the healthy way and to keep it off you shouldn't lose more than 2lbs a week. Then these people lose all this weight and then go home and gain it back because it is imposable to stay at the levels they set for them while at the farm. Most people don't have that much time a day to work out and to fix their food that is healthy, and go to work and take care of the kids. But while on the farm they have no other responsibility. It would be wonderful to loose that much weight that fast but I would hate to be in their shoes as they will most likely gain it all back. :(
  • jr1985
    jr1985 Posts: 1,033 Member
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    you have to remember... people on the biggest loser have a LOT of weight to loose... the rules change when you go from needing to loose 300 lbs to only needing to loose 10-20... I read that they generally eat about 1500 calories a day. but also try to work off around 1500 calories a day... but more than that... most of these people were quite possibly eating as much as 5000 calories a day before they started dieting on the biggest loser... they are active enough where your body can't go into starvation mode... where if you live a sedentary lifestyle your body can get to be very efficient on very few calories... Don't get discourages... The Biggest Loser is not like the real world, as much as I wish that it was :)
  • gibran30
    gibran30 Posts: 30 Member
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    and I dont mean to sound confused but yet i am :) some say you should eat some of your exercise calories and some say not to.. I just dont get which is best
  • irishgal44
    irishgal44 Posts: 1,181 Member
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    you wont,...... the calories that you burned off from working out is just that....old calories....I do not eat my calories I burn off...defeats the purpose....that why they lose so much weight.....they actually aim for negative calories!! I eat my 1200 a day and workout as much as possbile. the more you workout, the more you will lose...just make sure you are getting lots of water, 90 grams of protein to keep your muscles and build more, and not too much sugar. High fat and sugars make you crave more of them, to get rid of cravings, keep these low! You can look at my goals and compare to yours....I'm actually signed u with jillian michaels.com to get good advice on diet excersise and since i'm incorporated what she says, I'm seeing the scale move more! Good luck

    Thank you! I've never heard it put this way before and I think I will take this advise. :flowerforyou:
  • CCSunlight
    CCSunlight Posts: 249 Member
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    Different things work for different people. I would say that the best thing for you would probably be to talk to a doctor or nutritionist face-to-face about your goals and find out what they think is best for you.
  • Hotlips69
    Hotlips69 Posts: 66
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    If you speak to a professional they will tell you not to eat your work out calories! Aim to eat 1200 to 1300 calories a day and aim to do at least 3500 calories burned in exercise in a week. You will find many conflicting things on here but what works for one may not work for another. I follow the advice of a professional trainer, who has been trained in many aspect of the health field. He is the one that recommended this site in our Boot Camp! If you follow those 2 simple things and make what you are eating a priority you will lose! Be extremely aware of what you are eating and be accountable for it!
  • FireRox21
    FireRox21 Posts: 424 Member
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    In order to lose weight, you MUST eat a basic minimum NET calories. The key here is NET CALORIES!!!! If your daily goal is 1200, then you need to eat a minimum of 1200 NET CALORIES. Forget about starvation mode. The minimum is needed to supply your body with the energy it needs to support basic function AND exercise. So, after you've entered in all of your calories for the day, click back over to your home page and look all the way to the right and you will find your NET calories. That number should be at or as close as possible to your MINIMUM calories needed for the day.

    I'm not saying that you must eat ALL of your exercise calories back, I don't. However, I am struggling losing weight because my NET calories are too low daily. I burn on average 900-1100 calories daily through exercise and it is hard to eat all of those back because I am just not that hungry.

    So, when all is said and done, pay attention to the NET calories number!!!!
  • MonicaBenavidez
    MonicaBenavidez Posts: 92 Member
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    and I dont mean to sound confused but yet i am :) some say you should eat some of your exercise calories and some say not to.. I just dont get which is best

    I eat mine. I lose about 3 lbs a week when I do. When I don't, I gain.

    Bottom line- for me eating my exercise calories works.

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