The Biggest Loser - how do they do it?

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  • thumper44
    thumper44 Posts: 1,464 Member
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    ... but here's the thing, does anyone know how they do it? I mean the huge losses that some of them manage - the losing a stone a week... when everything I've read says that it's physically impossible to lose more than 1 - 2lb of fat per week, any more than that and you're eating away your muscles - but those guys definitely aren't!

    Like everyone else said, no jobs, 6-7 hours working out etc..
    but
    What made you think that they don't lose away any muscle?

    Each year, the contestants who win or come close, always lose close to if not over 50% of their original weight.

    Also each year, they always seem to have trouble in that same event where they have to carry around all the weight they lost. If they had kept all their muscle, they wouldn't struggle as much as they do?
  • MFP1984
    MFP1984 Posts: 48 Member
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    There's an article about it here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1390847/The-Biggest-Loser-winner-Olivia-Ward-explains-lost-129lbs.html
  • forgiven4life
    forgiven4life Posts: 451
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    I saw Ali Vincent speak one time and if I remember correctly she said they worked out alllll dayyyy lonnnnggg. She said that some people had blisters so bad on the bottoms of their feet that they had to be packed. that's a bad blister. I suppose if we worked out for 8 hours straight we would be in such a humongo deficit that we could do that too. She also said that they didn't have a chef, they made all of their own food...i thought that was interesting. A lot of them gain it back when they go home (i don't think she has gained hers back she looked amazing). I don't watch tbl very much anymore because it is aggrivating to see people lose 5-10 lbs a week and then beat themselves up about it.

    Actually, you missed seeing Ali on the finale this past Tuesday. She has gained weight back! She's probably put on approximately 20-25 pounds since we last saw her on the show!

    Hhahaahaha what are you smoking? She's in the best shape he's ever been while hosting that show haha she didn't gain anything where ever you hears that is a lie

    There were not talking about the host Allison Sweeney, they were talking about the past contestant and winner Ali Vincent. She HAS gained back some weight, but she still looks good.
  • mrsmofink
    mrsmofink Posts: 6
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    Although it would be SOOO nice to lose weight that fast, it's not realistic. I believe that if you lose weight at a steady pace you will tend to keep it off for the long term. You have to change your lifestyle and the way you think about food and exercise. At least that is what I am trying to do for myself. I guess we will see how that goes. :)
  • Krys_T
    Krys_T Posts: 1,406 Member
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    Here is an interesting article: http://juneauempire.com/stories/033109/sta_416718828.shtml about a past contestant.
  • WhyW8
    WhyW8 Posts: 54 Member
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    Hollywood is all smoke and mirrors. You can't take anything you see at face value. It is not real.

    Yep. I hate living in California. I saw Brad Pitt at the airport and he looked like a dirty bum and I thought...it's all a lie. These are just people like you and me. Except they have personal trainers, personal chefs, wardrobe consultants, make-up people, and killer salaries - no wonder they look so good! Us normal people have to do it the hard way - ourselves! But you know the slow and steady approach is a way that you can live with for life - and thats what we need. Not a quick fix. And I did hear that they work out for like 6 hours on that show. One of my friends said he got the paperwork to fill out to be a contestant and it said you couldn't work for the entire time and he was like -I'm on my own - how could I afford that? But I think their "work" is working out basically.
  • MoLivesLuvsLifts
    MoLivesLuvsLifts Posts: 1,168 Member
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    Wow! I was just discussing this with my family....I guess great minds thik alike.

    Here's how they do it:

    1) Contestant selection - Take a person that normally eats over 4,000+ calories a day and out of shape. Notice when the show 1st started, the "big" women were 215-230lbs. Now the "big" women are 250lbs +.

    2) Nutrition - Put the contestant on a strict 1,200 calorie diet. Not only are they decreasing their caloric intake BUT you're also changing WHAT they are eating. The contestants don't eat processed, greasy or fatty food - just basically fruits, vegetables, lean meats and 100 calorie snacks.

    3) Exercise - The regimine is ALL DAY - 6-8 hours WITH a personal trainer. You can't go wrong with that!

    4) Environment - Take them to a ranch away from the things that can cause stress - family, friends, jobs, tv, etc.

    If you put all of that together you SHOULD lose 15+ lbs a week!

    But, I want you to know this nugget of advice that I got from my former personal trainer. She said:

    "You're running your own race. You can't look to Biggest Loser or what everyone else is doing. Remember, the way you take it off is the way you keep it off FOREVER. So, if you lose weight with pills, you'll have to take them forever; Lose weight doing drastic changes, you'll have to do that forever; BUT, if you lose weight eating a healthy diet that's full of vegetables/fruit and keep activity in your life, you will gradually lose and then keep it off FOREVER"

    Then, she said something that totally SHOCKED me. She would only train with me for a month and I was paying her $105 week which is $425 month. So I trained with her and lost a good amount of weight. She said that she won't train with me again until I can lose 20 lbs by myself. She wants me to find my own "formula" and then she'll work out again with me. I'm so grateful to her that she just didn't "take the money". So far, I've lost 18 lbs without her. It's been hard but very rewarding. In fact, I probably won't see her until after the Summer, so that she can REALLY see the change that I did for myself.

    Stick in there! You can DO THIS!
  • suzitkd
    suzitkd Posts: 110
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    Well, some interesting responses - it's amazing what goes on when you pop out for a bike ride lol! First off I'd just like to say that I have no intention of replicating what they do on biggest loser in any way! I'm aware of how much they work out, how gruelling that is, and I have no desire to lose more than 1 - 2lb a week (actually managing that would be great, but that's another story lol!).

    There is so much discussion on here about 'eating back your exercise calories' with so many people getting very hot under the collar when you DON'T eat them back - which is what lead me to thinking about the biggest loser show. Obviously what they do on there is to the extreme and could not possibly be replicated in real life - but you can BET that they aren't 'eating back their exercise calories'! - BY A LONG WAY!!! Yes, I can see that they are probably losing some muscle mass too - indeed they definitely do struggle when made to carry the weight they've lost! However, the vast majority of what they've lost must have been fat - if a large proportion of it had been muscle they wouldn't have been able to stand up by the time of the finale surely! So isn't this proof then that, certainly for those with more to lose at least, sticking to your 1200 - 1500 or whatever your daily calorie intake should be, exercising, but NOT eating back those calories works? I can see that when your body fat percentage has greatly reduced that you would need to be a lot more careful to eat enough calories so that you don't hit into your muscle mass, but if you have 30+ lb to lose is that such an issue?

    Thank you all for your encouragement - I know I can do this, I will get the weight off eventually, it will be a slow process but it's for life so I'm in no big hurry - if in a year's time I'm at target I'll be very happy! It's still early days for me, I feel like I'm going through a life changing process and being of a very analytical nature I like to understand why things do or don't work! Right now I'm NOT eating back my exercise calories - I've yet to decide if that's the right choice! Time will tell.
  • JenniferVegas
    JenniferVegas Posts: 25 Member
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    There was a link to a blog from one of the former contestants on TBL around here somewhere. Apparently that particular contestant is now battling an eating disorder and was very critical of the way they did things on the show. A lot of it is not as it seems. But, real life dieting is very boring and would never make good television.

    I think I read the same story. (Was it the winner of Season 1?). They gained all the weight back and then some. I don't know if the show got "better" in helping them after they left but many of the contestants lost weight and then couldn't handle normal life with all the temptations.
  • JenniferVegas
    JenniferVegas Posts: 25 Member
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    On Biggest Loser they also exercise for eight or more hours per day! They do not have to worry about jobs, kids & all the other responsibilities of every day life while they are on the ranch. Oh, and they have access to their own personal trainer(s) constantly! In "real" life, we do not have that much time to devote to exercise. They also live on the reanch where there is a kitchen stocked with all healthy foods: They don't have to resist the goodies that the hubby or kids bring in, the ice cream stand, etc. In real life it can be done, but takes a lot more time and effort. But in the end, we can all get there!

    Just keep on keeping on! :flowerforyou:

    There's also the money and fame incentive. As nice as it is to lose weight... how much harder would one try if a cash prize and fame were part of it?
  • JenniferVegas
    JenniferVegas Posts: 25 Member
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    Although it would be SOOO nice to lose weight that fast, it's not realistic. I believe that if you lose weight at a steady pace you will tend to keep it off for the long term. You have to change your lifestyle and the way you think about food and exercise. At least that is what I am trying to do for myself. I guess we will see how that goes. :)

    I'm a bit worried about losing too fast. While the contestants DO look better (much better), there's a large amount of flabby skin. I'm sticking to 1 1/2 pound to 2 pounds a week since I don't want Batwings. Of course, being in Vegas it might be fun to jump off the Stratosphere and glide though the strip. =)

    But yeah, slow and steady is grate. I've been overweight for so long, what's an extra 6 months or so? I'm less miserable, I learn more realistic habits, and I'm not as likely to gain it back.
  • JenniferVegas
    JenniferVegas Posts: 25 Member
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    Then, she said something that totally SHOCKED me. She would only train with me for a month and I was paying her $105 week which is $425 month. So I trained with her and lost a good amount of weight. She said that she won't train with me again until I can lose 20 lbs by myself. She wants me to find my own "formula" and then she'll work out again with me. I'm so grateful to her that she just didn't "take the money". So far, I've lost 18 lbs without her. It's been hard but very rewarding. In fact, I probably won't see her until after the Summer, so that she can REALLY see the change that I did for myself.

    Stick in there! You can DO THIS!

    Wow. That's very honorable. =) I bet you're looking forward to surprising her!
  • writtenINthestars
    writtenINthestars Posts: 1,933 Member
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    They aren't working, they're working out 6 hours min a day, and having their food provided.

    It's impressive but not realistic for the every day working American.
  • beccarockslife
    beccarockslife Posts: 816 Member
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    They do have a very calorie controlled diet 1200 and bob said on an old episode the other day that they all had to hit 6000 calorie burn.

    By maths that's nearly 10lb a week.
  • funfitfoodie
    funfitfoodie Posts: 630 Member
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    They have 'biggest loser resorts' and I found this rough schedule:

    I assume breakfast is in there somewhere as well?!

    6.00am - Stretch class
    8.00am - Guided hike (2 1/2hrs)
    11.15am - Kick boxing
    12.30pm - Lunch
    1.15pm - Nutrition Lecture
    2.30pm - Circuit training
    3.30pm - Cardio Intervals
    4.30pm - Water aerobics
    5.30pm - Dinner
    6.15pm - Nutrition Lecture
  • ChristieisReady
    ChristieisReady Posts: 708 Member
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    If you had a chef and spent all day working out, you could do it too.
  • willimh
    willimh Posts: 227 Member
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    I love the biggest loser. I wish I could talk to a contestant 1 on 1. You have to admit, they look amazing.

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