"The Biggest Loser" weight loss is insane!

[cookiebaby 0]

They really must work out eight hours a day (at least). To lose ten pounds, you have to burn an extra 35,000 calories in one week. I get that it is easy to get off ten when you start but one guy lost 100 pounds in eight weeks. If only I could sleep while riding my exercise bike.

[lellow 1,713]

A guy on the Biggest Loser here in Australia dropped almost 30lbs in one week! I can't imagine all of it would be fat, surely?

[KimmyQ 0]

I know, I love the Biggest Loser! I actually sent in an application & home video to try out for the show but got no reply so I decided to have the surgery. Yes they do work out like 8 hours a day at the Biggest Loser Ranch!

[karen_karen 0]

you have to put everything in consideration when you see a 30 lb weightloss in one week. think about how they are eating lot better and they are kinda detoxing there bodies of all the crap foods and sodas in there body. they basically poop all the crap they had stored in there and make there liver healthier. also when they are sweating they are pretty much detoxing their bodies of all the harmful crap in there. to me it makes me wonder how much crap and how unhealthy could they have been to be able to drop that much weight in one week.

[cookiebaby 0]

Obviously, if a person weighs over 300 pounds, then 20 pounds is not unheard of in the first week. When you go from Big Macs to grilled chicken and veggies, that should happen. I'm saying how crazy it is that they can pull this off week after week.

I'm just going nuts because I had surgery four weeks ago and I lost 15 pounds in the first week and then nada nada nada. I probably ate worse than I think before the surgery - fried foods, fats, etc. Now, nothing fried touches my lips, no sugar, etc. I just want to know when the losing starts again. I have been on diets where I lost a bunch the first week and then kept losing at least a little each week. Yikes - frustration! The worst part is that my doc is very careful about fills so I don't know when I will hit that sweet spot. Should I have had gastric bypass?

[Jachut 487]

You store a lot of Water in your fat, and fat people have a LOT of Water in their bodies. That's why they can lose so fast. They also require enormous energy to support and move their weight around and cutting down to 1500 a day is a BIG cut. Especially when you're exercising so much.

But it actually places the liver and kidneys under considerable strain, dont forget these guys are under constant medical supervision.

In other words, dont try this at home kiddies.

[lellow 1,713]

For the weight loss to stop at around 4 weeks is actually so common that if you have a look at some threads, you'll see a LOT of people complain about the same thing. It's because when you were only liquids only, your body went into starvation mode, started burning muscle as well as fat, and your metabolism slowed.

Now you're eating better (and hopefully exercising) not only is your body building muscle again (which weighs more than fat), but you're also combatting a slow metabolism, which wants to hang on to every single kj.

Eat well (try to get around 1200 calories a day to stop your body from going into starvation mode) and exercise to kick start that metabolism again. Your weight loss will crank up again.

As for the biggest loser, this guy lost 20lbs one week, 30lbs the second week and the third week he lost 15lbs. He must have been eating a LOT of crap before going in to lose that much (65lbs) in 3 weeks!!

[cookiebaby 0]

I know I did go a little crazy a couple weeks before my surgery. Ate at McDonalds which I normally only do about once a year and had at least three coconut candy bars in addition to other meals I usually didn't eat but knew I wouldn't see again.

I have a little problem with the exercise right now. I need a knee replacement so regular exercise is out. I do ride my recumbant bike - just waiting for the incision to heal completely so I can get in the Water. Physical therapist and doc wanted me using crutches or a cane and walking much is a no no. I have still gone on some walks with my dogs - just can't wait to get my heart pumping by swimming or doing Water aerobics.

[Jachut 487]

Have you noticed that although several of them have had massive weight loss in a very short time, they dont actually look much different? Weird.

[cookiebaby 0]

I think we get so used to seeing them each week that we don't realize how much they have changed. The poor older man is going to need some major surgery on his stomach but he really started out that way with all the overlaps. I get too involved - yelling at the TV - stupid blue team, why did you kick off your best guy.

At least the show motivates me to try to exercise more.

[Fluffy_Gurl 3]

i think most of what they lose in the begining is Water. and if thats all you did all day yourd maybe lose that much too...but how many of them will acually be able to maintain when they get home?

[lellow 1,713]

My understanding of this, Jack, is that when you consume far fewer calories than you would normally burn at your Basal Metabolic Rate, that your body conserves energy by reducing your metabolic rate in an effort to survive starvation. It is why yo-yo dieting can reduce your metabolic rate and work against you in the long run.

As for ketoacidosis, I've personally don't believe I've never experienced it, having not been on a liquid diet for more than 2 days, but I understand it can be a byproduct of starvation when prolonged over 3 or more days. So perhaps in that strict term 'starvation' isn't the right word, but it's my layman's way to explaining it.

But I have no doubts that eating 600 calories or less a day (as you do when on a liquid diet) can cause your body to burn not only fat but muscle in an effort to provide energy for your body.

I also believe that bulding muscle can increase your metabolism, and therefore increase your metabolic rate. So after a spell of eating 600 calories per day, increasing your muscle mass and getting enough sleep (all other fatcors being stuff you can't change, such as how many children you've birthed, and how old you are) can be a way to kick start your weight loss.

[coloradobanding 5]

Obviously, if a person weighs over 300 pounds, then 20 pounds is not unheard of in the first week. When you go from Big Macs to grilled chicken and veggies, that should happen. I'm saying how crazy it is that they can pull this off week after week.

I'm just going nuts because I had surgery four weeks ago and I lost 15 pounds in the first week and then nada nada nada. I probably ate worse than I think before the surgery - fried foods, fats, etc. Now, nothing fried touches my lips, no sugar, etc. I just want to know when the losing starts again. I have been on diets where I lost a bunch the first week and then kept losing at least a little each week. Yikes - frustration! The worst part is that my doc is very careful about fills so I don't know when I will hit that sweet spot. Should I have had gastric bypass?

Whatever you do, don't compare the band with the bypass, they are so totally different. My boss had the bypass one week before me and she is losing at a much faster rate (fine by me). I was banded 1/19/09 and had the exact same problems as you have and others. I lost 16lbs on my pre-op diet (only 3 days) and had only lost 3 since. I had been gaining and losing 2-3lbs over and over and I was doing EVERYTHING EXACTLY as I should have, including a LOT of exercise. Well, I've been cursing that scale as I could NOT get to the 20lb mark. Then on Wednesday I decided that I'm going to move that scale. Worked out and did twice the walking I normally do (normally it's 24 blocks, so you can see how much I really walked, on top of 40 minutes on the ArcTrainer). Well, I gained 2 more lbs.. I kept doing what I should, and guess what...TODAY I lost that 2lbs plus 1.5 more, I'm FINALLY over the 20lb loss mark, and it feels great!

Basically I've only lost 4lbs since surgery, but that is what was expected. My Dr. said I should actually gain weight, but I didn't. Your body needs to heal and figure out what you're doing, once it does the scale will begin moving faster. Hang in there, you're doing Great!

[SpiritDriven71 1]

My understanding of this, Jack, is that when you consume far fewer calories than you would normally burn at your Basal Metabolic Rate, that your body conserves energy by reducing your metabolic rate in an effort to survive starvation. It is why yo-yo dieting can reduce your metabolic rate and work against you in the long run.

Yes, it's called Famine mode. I had this talk with my diabetes nutritionist. I plateaued on my diet. We actually added calories to my diet, I started loosing weight again, at a slower pace but weight started coming off again.

About 2 3 weeks ago on the show. Bob told the brown team to start eating more., for the same reasons. they were able to finally start dropping weight.

[rathsog 0]

I'm just amazed that the players can just walk away from their lives for whatever period of time. They can't all be independently wealthy, right?

Nonetheless, it's great fun to watch, even if it's a totally contrived situation.