Kid burned 3500 calories per day!

deniseg31
deniseg31 Posts: 667 Member
edited October 6 in Fitness and Exercise
Wondering if anybody watched this last night....

So, my hubby and I were watching "I USED TO BE FAT" on MTV last night. There was this 18 year-old kid, Jose, who was desparate to lose weight. He started out at 314 lbs. and I was in shock :noway: when his trainer said that their goal was to burn 3500 calories per day to reach their goal of 240 in 90 days! Well, he surpassed his goal by a lot!

He weighed in at 198 on his 90th day! Total loss of 116 lbs.

Whether he burned all those calories or not (which he probably did due to the results) that just seems like an incredible amount of calories to burn in a week let alone a single day! I guess it's doable if it's someboy without a job or children to watch over but that sounds crazy. I'm still in shock!

Just wondering if anybody else watched this last night.

Here's a link to some of their shows...

http://www.mtv.com/shows/i_used_to_be_fat/series.jhtml
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Replies

  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    I haven't seen that episode yet but I think that's the daily calorie burn they go for on The Biggest Loser.

    Yeah I mean, I think the key is that you just basically have to dedicate your whole life to burning calories until you're done.
  • deniseg31
    deniseg31 Posts: 667 Member
    I haven't seen that episode yet but I think that's the daily calorie burn they go for on The Biggest Loser.

    Yeah I mean, I think the key is that you just basically have to dedicate your whole life to burning calories until you're done.

    Pretty amazing! The crazy screws in my head are a'turnin and I wonder if I could do burn at least 2000 if I'm ever given the chance to do so...hmmmm.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    I saw it too. The kid was looking pretty solid when they visited him a couple months later.
  • Plingie
    Plingie Posts: 8 Member
    What concerns me about this is what happens when they are at goal weight and have to work/go to school etc and don't have time to work out as much?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,031 Member
    I've burned a 1,000 in kickboxing when I went hard. So it's doable, but IMO, the kid will probably gain the weight back pretty fast. Dropping that much weight in 3 months is awful hard on the body.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • camillehardeman
    camillehardeman Posts: 46
    This is why I hate shows like biggest loser, I used to be fat, etc. NOBODY CAN MAINTAIN THAT! (and you shouldn't, really!). That's a lot of stress on your body and it isn't something you can keep up when you go back to the "real world". It also reinforces my most hated attitude about dieting: that you should just suffer for a few weeks/months, lose weight, and go back to your old bad habits. You have to make changes that you can continue throughout your whole life!
  • kekl
    kekl Posts: 382 Member
    I don't know if it would be good for you to lose that much weight that fast... I wonder how many of the people on that show have gained some or all of that weight back... Just my two cents. :/
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,337 Member
    I haven't burned that much in exercise in a day, but have done about 2000. It was doing a long bike ride. If I went cross country skiing doing a trail I often do, but repeating it 3 or maybe 4 times I would likely burn that much or perhaps even more. I may try it if we ever get snow this winter.
  • marbear1397
    marbear1397 Posts: 30
    Haha I totally watched that last night! I like watching that show because its just amazing what they accomplish.
  • REBEE17
    REBEE17 Posts: 101 Member
    I've burned over 2000 a day a few times...hiking for hours with very minimal breaks. It's fun and doesn't feel like a workout. I wore my Polar F6 to gauge it.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    It should be possible to get really high burns, especially at a weight that high to start with.

    I really don't think it's healthy though, I find it hard to believe that sort of weight loss in that time frame will be sustainable for the majority of people.
  • MiniMichelle
    MiniMichelle Posts: 801 Member
    I was in shock when i watched it last night too. However he looked pretty good a couple months later- looks like his dad was getting healthier too. He looked to have a good support system, hopefully he can keep it up.
  • M3CH4N1C
    M3CH4N1C Posts: 157
    Of the 116 lbs. I bet at least 20% was lean muscle. Thats not good for the loose skin effect
  • Ang_37
    Ang_37 Posts: 58
    I love that show, but I didn't watch it. I hope there's re-runs.... lol
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    Even if he DID maintain the weight, wouldn't losing over 100 lbs in 90 days be waaaay too fast for your skin to keep up?
  • rainbowtothesrarz
    rainbowtothesrarz Posts: 6 Member
    I work out and can burn 1000 -2000+ a day when I do workout for hours.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    well, being 314 pounds you burn a heck of a lot more calories doing even basic things...for example...compared to me, a 4'11 ~100 pound female...

    running 10 min mile: 499 calories per hour. Time to burn 3500 calories = 7 hours running.
    circuit training: 352 calories per hour. Time to burn 3500 calories ~10 hours

    For a 314 pound male:
    running 10 min mile: 1424 calories per hour. Time to burn 3500 calories= ~2.5 hours running.
    circuit training: 1139 calories per hour. Time to burn 3500 calories= ~ 3.07 hours.
  • stubbysticks
    stubbysticks Posts: 1,275 Member
    It's really not that farfetched. I weigh about 240 & on a typical workout day I burn around 3400 calories. And I wear an activity monitor like the BL contestants do to measure calorie burn.

    A "typical workout day" for me means I worked at home - meaning I was basically catatonic the majority of the day sitting in front of my computer except for walking to the kitchen to feed my face - I lifted weights for 45-60 min, then ran for about 30 min. That's it.

    Edit: I did break a personal record last week on vacation because I got up early & ran for 25 minutes, then spent the rest of the day walking around Universal Studios. 4595 calories burned. I probably ate about a million tho.
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    i hate shows like that and biggest loser..... they are unrealistic, and unhealthy (which is why they have all those doctors on set - hello?)..... I mean I think they do teach healthy practices (i.e. eating right and getting active) but overall, to lose that much weight in a short amount of time, unrealistic and unhealthy - bottom line.
  • DesertSunsetRain
    DesertSunsetRain Posts: 194
    I watched it, it was crazy.

    Joey is super hot, I'd love for him to come be my trainer.
  • BobbyClerici
    BobbyClerici Posts: 813 Member
    These silly TV shows are an encyclopedia of what NOT to do.
    BEWARE!
  • christinehetz80
    christinehetz80 Posts: 490 Member
    I was JUST on my way home thinking about this. I've not watched those shows, but have a coworker that is obsessed with biggest loser and I told her I couldn't understand how they sanctioned losing that weight in such a short period of time. I'm not saying whether I believe those shows are good or bad...just that I would think in the long run it would be very difficult on the body to do that in such a short timeframe and how would you maintain it.
  • Alexdur85
    Alexdur85 Posts: 255 Member
    This is why I hate shows like biggest loser, I used to be fat, etc. NOBODY CAN MAINTAIN THAT! (and you shouldn't, really!). That's a lot of stress on your body and it isn't something you can keep up when you go back to the "real world". It also reinforces my most hated attitude about dieting: that you should just suffer for a few weeks/months, lose weight, and go back to your old bad habits. You have to make changes that you can continue throughout your whole life!

    On the biggest loser they do end up going home and back to their regular jobs and come back for a final weigh in.. That's where they learn what they can and can't do too much of.
  • christinehetz80
    christinehetz80 Posts: 490 Member
    Very good point!!!! Didn't think of that factor!!!!!
  • deniseg31
    deniseg31 Posts: 667 Member
    I saw it too. The kid was looking pretty solid when they visited him a couple months later.

    Yes he did look pretty good 2 months later. He looked like he had built a lot of muscle and I was alwo glad he got to spend some time with his father while working out.
  • FlyEaglesGuy
    FlyEaglesGuy Posts: 436 Member
    It should be possible to get really high burns, especially at a weight that high to start with.

    I really don't think it's healthy though, I find it hard to believe that sort of weight loss in that time frame will be sustainable for the majority of people.

    Excellent point. You have to remember, that people with higher body fat percentage burn calories at a higher rate.

    Fitness level plays a role in that.
  • stubbysticks
    stubbysticks Posts: 1,275 Member
    It's absolutely healthy to burn 3500 calories in a day when you're 300 lbs. I just looked back at what I was burning when I was in the 290s & I routinely exceeded 3500 calories per day. My average was almost 3300 & this was not with excessive exercise. I did cardio 3 times a week for 30-40 minutes each time, & strength training for about that same length of time 6 days a week, so I wasn't spending more than 90 minutes in the gym on any particular day. I also ate an average of 2150 calories per day.

    I would say it's not healthy to burn that much then eat 1200 calories a day. Excessive calorie deficits especially over a long period of time could be unhealthy.

    I feel like I'm the only person who's not shocked by that number, but maybe that's just because I have been over 300 lbs & it was normal for me to burn that amount. But I'm not that weight anymore & I still hit that sometimes with a reasonable level of exercise. Do all of you weigh 120 lbs or something? Not sure what I'm missing.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    I feel like I'm the only person who's not shocked by that number, but maybe that's just because I have been over 300 lbs & it was normal for me to burn that amount. But I'm not that weight anymore & I still hit that sometimes with a reasonable level of exercise. Do all of you weigh 120 lbs or something? Not sure what I'm missing.
    I think a lot of people are thinking only of exercise calories burned, and forgetting that a 300 pound male is going to burn over 2200 calories just lying in bed for 24 hours?

    (Unless the show really was saying that he burned 3500 *on top of* his normal calorie expenditures - I don't know, I never watched it).
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    I feel like I'm the only person who's not shocked by that number, but maybe that's just because I have been over 300 lbs & it was normal for me to burn that amount. But I'm not that weight anymore & I still hit that sometimes with a reasonable level of exercise. Do all of you weigh 120 lbs or something? Not sure what I'm missing.
    I think a lot of people are thinking only of exercise calories burned, and forgetting that a 300 pound male is going to burn over 2200 calories just lying in bed for 24 hours?

    (Unless the show really was saying that he burned 3500 *on top of* his normal calorie expenditures - I don't know, I never watched it).

    That's a really good question, I have no idea if that's BMR+exercise or just exercise....
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    It should be possible to get really high burns, especially at a weight that high to start with.

    I really don't think it's healthy though, I find it hard to believe that sort of weight loss in that time frame will be sustainable for the majority of people.

    Excellent point. You have to remember, that people with higher body fat percentage burn calories at a higher rate.

    Fitness level plays a role in that.

    Well...that's a good theory but actually more fat = less calories burned. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat and lower bf would be good even from a calorie perspective.
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