The Biggest Loser Diet - thoughts?

Options
2»

Replies

  • DawniesLife
    DawniesLife Posts: 157
    Options
    of course they aren't getting healthy to MFP standards

    it's a reality tv show. love watching it but i watch it for what it is - entertainment. all the shows about weight loss have them eating under 1200 net cals per day.

    They aren't healthy and I will post this link again from a former contestant :

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

    Okay, I see where you are coming from here, but did you honestly read the article? Because the diet on the show and the diet at home are different just an FYI if you did not read the article...
  • sarahliftsUP
    sarahliftsUP Posts: 752 Member
    Options
    I know that it everyone says you should eat your exercise calories and I love having a few extra calories to eat when I exercise but on my new elliptical....I burn over 1,000 in my 30 minute workout so....I was really nervous about what to do because I simply cannot eat the amount of healthy food I would need to to eat back all of those calories so....maybe I will be ok as long as I am reaching the goal BEFORE the exercise calories are added???

    Are you sure it's over 1000 calories in 30 minutes? If this is going off of the machine then I wouldn't trust it. Unless you are doing some HIIT on the elliptical then yes.. but if not I'd get a HRM just to make sure of how many calories you are burning.
  • crystal_sapphire
    crystal_sapphire Posts: 1,205 Member
    Options
    of course they aren't getting healthy to MFP standards

    it's a reality tv show. love watching it but i watch it for what it is - entertainment. all the shows about weight loss have them eating under 1200 net cals per day.

    They aren't healthy and I will post this link again from a former contestant :

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

    Okay, I see where you are coming from here, but did you honestly read the article? Because the diet on the show and the diet at home are different just an FYI if you did not read the article...

    I read it. Honestly, I'm just going to back out of this thread because I want to say something but I would rather not have this turn into a huge insulting thread.

    btw i suggest getting a HRM because there is no way you're burning 1000 cals in a 1/2 hour.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    Options
    The folks over at livestrong.com expect you to eat back your exercise calories, but are willing to give you a lower quota to begin with. Pre-exercise, they calculate that I need to eat 932 cal/day to lose 1.5 lb a week or 1,182 cal/day for 1 lb a week. I tried to set it for 2 lb a week and was told to choose a more realistic goal. MFP set me at 1200 cal/day

    For the last couple of weeks I've used 932 cal/day as my net calorie minimum and 1200 cal/day as the maximum.
  • gingermim
    gingermim Posts: 58 Member
    Options
    Thanks for sharing that was interesting.
  • DawniesLife
    DawniesLife Posts: 157
    Options
    The folks over at livestrong.com expect you to eat back your exercise calories, but are willing to give you a lower quota to begin with. Pre-exercise, they calculate that I need to eat 932 cal/day to lose 1.5 lb a week or 1,182 cal/day for 1 lb a week. I tried to set it for 2 lb a week and was told to choose a more realistic goal. MFP set me at 1200 cal/day

    For the last couple of weeks I've used 932 cal/day as my net calorie minimum and 1200 cal/day as the maximum.

    Thanks for the information. :)
  • scagneti
    scagneti Posts: 707 Member
    Options
    Can some one explain to my why, WHY, so many people are intent on starvation mode not existing? Do you all WANT to eat substantially less than is nutritionally recommended. I don't understand why you would want to survive on 1000 or 500 calories a day, when if you just have the slightest modicum of patience you can eat healthy, balanced and nutritionally sound meals, keep living your lives (ie socializing with others - a meal out, a drink here or there) and not beating yourself up the first time you want cookies or ice cream and still lose constistently? Why are there 86546547332145 posts a day about "can I avoid starvation mode" or "starvation mode is bogus". Let's just say there's not a ton of research backing it up or a bajillion other posts a day of people who are eating 700-800 cals a day and not losing. Let's just say for arguements sake, starvation and starvation mode were made up by fairies that wanted you to lose weight more slowly. I still don't get WHY anyone would want to go through life eating this little!!!!! Your bodies work freaking hard just keeping your heart beating, why make it harder? Haven't we abused out bodies enough letting them get overweight with careless feeding in the first place? Why does everyone seek the answer in malnutrition?!

    I don't understand either. I've lost around 40 lbs eating pretty much what I want, just slightly less of it (still taking in 1600-1800 calories a day) and I don't see how if I lost it a month faster (or an extra 3-5 pounds by now) by starving myself and making myself miserable, that I'd be any better off than what I'm doing. I'm doing a plan that I'm going to live on for the rest of my life (and I'm LOVING exercise, which really surprised me!) and can't fathom how anyone can think that their body needs the same amount of fuel a day it does doing practically nothing versus a day that it apparently burns almost the daily intake of food in a half an hour. It just doesn't make any sense at all to me.

    I grew up in the 80s watching my mother and sisters starve themselves (even though none of them weighed more than 130 pounds) a few times a year when they had trouble buttoning up their pants, only to go through the very same process over and over again. Others might want to spend the rest of their lives yo-yoing, but not me. I'm worth doing this right.
  • busygirl1
    busygirl1 Posts: 217
    Options
    I would be suspicious of a piece of exercise equipment that told me I burned 1,000 calories in 30 minutes. That is an outrageous amount of calories in 30 minutes. Might wanna cross check that with a heart rate monitor . . . just a thought. =0)

    That was my thought also, perhaps it needs to be calibrated. It would be crap to be working your *kitten* off and eating back even half those calories when I doubt you are actually burning anywhere near half those calories in the first place. good luck x
  • superwmn
    superwmn Posts: 936
    Options
    I think it sounds like a solid meal plan. I really like the foods they encourage (lean protein/veg/fruit/whole grains/other).

    I'm not crazy about the 'current weight times 7 or 6' formula for determining daily calories. That would have me at 924 calories/day and I would not last long on that. Not falling below 1200 calories is supported in the article, but that formula would not allow someone of my weight to stay at or above 1200 calories.

    So I'm all for the foods they recommend but not crazy about the amount of calories.

    Charmagne
  • Jwpawlowski
    Jwpawlowski Posts: 19 Member
    Options
    Another thing to keep in mind is that the 1050 calories that the Biggest Loser diet calculated was for a 150lb person as stated in the article. For the actual biggest losers on the show, many are 300+ pounds, and for them, the recommended calorie intake was listed as 2100 calories as was also stated in the article. As a 300lb person loses weight, they will need to gradually adjust their caloric intake to keep getting results as their BMR gets smaller from being less of a person. I think that since nobody on the show gets to 150lbs until the very end, they probably just cut them off at 1200 calories at that point. In other words, the formula they use is more applicable to the heavier people as they have more weight too lose, more calories to play around with, and less of a chance of slowing their metabolism, while the formula may not be specifically design to calculate caloric intake for those who are closer to or within a healthy weight range.
  • joybell32
    joybell32 Posts: 252 Member
    Options
    Thanks for sharing! Im a "huge" fan of the show!:wink:
  • Pisces42
    Pisces42 Posts: 12
    Options
    I agree it seems drastic but then again , if given the opportunity to "get the job done" so to speak in 6 months and get your life back. I would do the show in a heart beat. There is no mystery as to why they lose so much weight. Calories in, exercise .. I am starting to realize this big "mystery" of how to loose weight is NOT A MYSTERY at all. hmm I guess I am a slow learner.lol
  • busygirl1
    busygirl1 Posts: 217
    Options
    I would be suspicious of a piece of exercise equipment that told me I burned 1,000 calories in 30 minutes. That is an outrageous amount of calories in 30 minutes. Might wanna cross check that with a heart rate monitor . . . just a thought. =0)

    That was my thought also, perhaps it needs to be calibrated. It would be crap to be working your *kitten* off and eating back even half those calories when I doubt you are actually burning anywhere near half those calories in the first place. good luck x
  • TiffanyW1014
    TiffanyW1014 Posts: 614 Member
    Options
    I know that it everyone says you should eat your exercise calories and I love having a few extra calories to eat when I exercise but on my new elliptical....I burn over 1,000 in my 30 minute workout so....I was really nervous about what to do because I simply cannot eat the amount of healthy food I would need to to eat back all of those calories so....maybe I will be ok as long as I am reaching the goal BEFORE the exercise calories are added???

    Just be very careful I found that sometime the elliptical calories burned are NOT accurate. Try using a HRM and see if the calories match up. That is the best way to figure it out. I'm not sure what you weigh but I weigh 190.8 and I burn around 330-350 in 30 min. Eithre way 30 minutes on an elliptical is great keep up the good work.
  • McFrench
    McFrench Posts: 205 Member
    Options
    I am doing a biggest loser challenge at my gym. They gave us this plan to follow, but our trainers said rather than figure your calorie intake by weight X 7, to increase it to weight X 10-12 for women, and even more for men. I didn't pay too much attention to the BL plan, I have been using MFP the whole time, and have lost 27 pounds since Dec 1. I am sticking to what works for me!

Categories