i knew about the show all along since it first aired but i never really watched it or got into it at all until last night while watching a rerun of it and seeing how every week, on every weigh in people were losing massive amounts of weight anywhere from 12-24 lbs!! a week!! i set my monthly goals for 10 lbs and after seeing that show, im starting to re think if im being lazy and not losing as much as i could. now i know they exercise them alot! but if i did the same thing and killed myself at the gym everyday, would that happen?
They are on a low-calorie, fairly restrictive diet. But the main difference is - they work out for 5-8 hrs/day!
I think we could all lose faster if we had a) no work obligations b) no family obligations c) someone to crack a whip at us to work out d) no tricky social situations revolving around food and e) a fridge full of healthy foods and someone giving us ideas on how to prepare them, if not cooking for us outright. But that is, regrettably, not the real world. In the real world, we have families, work, school, kids, and social situations, and we are responsible for shopping and cooking, not to mention housekeeping. Our PRIMARY focus may be weight loss, but for most people, without being removed from their normal life completely and taken to a ranch where none of those problems exist, it is impossible to make it our ONLY focus. For some, it can't even be the primary focus - it has to take a backseat to other obligations.
10 pounds a month is AWESOME. Thats at the high end of the healthy weight loss rate. Great work!
You also have to remember that they know this is being aired. They must have been so scared to make a fool of themselves because of that. I was starving my body and walking for two hours a day for a long time. I only lost 3-4 pounds a week.
So really...that is completely unrealistic. And yes, 10 pounds a month is a WONDERFUL goal. As always, tv is being unrealistic and overbearing again. Pay it no mind. Also, remember that doing ANYTHING for you weight is something to pat yourself on the back for. You've down an amazing job. Don't let anything like that make you doubt yourself!!
you two have made a lot of sense.. that is not real life, i cant belive i didnt think of that before. if they put me in a ranch to lose weight, i would too lol. thank you both!
the biggest looser is good in the sense that its promoting weight loss...but unfortunately IMO it is very very detremental for those loosing weight. Some ppl unfortunately get unrealistic expectations that if you can't loose 10-20 lbs a week than you aren't doing it right. What you have to remember is like the previous post said. They are on an extrememly restrictive diet...exercising many hours a day...and don't have anything else to get in the way. Remember, we have to be realistic. First off..if you don't have doctor supervision (like they do on the show) that rapid weight loss can do some serious damage. So just relax. 10 lb weight loss in one month is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Give yourself kudos for that alone. Don't beat yourself up for not being like the show. After all, its hollywood...land of non-reality. Sorry alot of reality shows are "stages"...now i know its hard to "stage" weight loss...but all variables are eliminated for the contestants.
10 pounds a month is an awesome goal, (I wish I could manage that). Rapid weight loss (more than 2 pounds a week) can be dangerous. You are more likely to lose muscle and it puts extra strain on your heart (a muscle). You are also much more likely to end up with loose flabby skin and to yo yo back up after you lose it.
Losing at a more reasonable pace will give you a healthier, better looking body. It gives your skin a chance to shrink and fit the new you. Also, the process of eating healthy while losing weight can help to teach you life long habits for keeping the weight off.
Keep up the hard work and you will get the weight off!
Belive me, they will gain all back really soon, as fast it goes, as fast it comes back, so it`s better to loose it slowly, 3, 4 pounds a week no more than that (on my diet i`m supossed to loose 3).
TV is not reality
I think it's a danger--and it happens often--that people who lose weight fast by exercising hours and hours while eating too little calories will gain back the weight if they stop exercising altogether and go back to their old ways with food.
But hopefully, the people on Biggest Loser have an "after-care plan" or maintenance plan to keep them from reverting like that. Probably it involves regular, but more moderate exercise, along with watching food intake and weighing regularly. Why, that sounds like Maintenance!
JayEll, you raised an interesting point. I have seen several contestants, long after the show was done, who have actually gained some weight back after leaving the show. Mind you, it wasn't all of the weight that they originally had, but it was enough to be noticable. It's tough to maintain that kind of restrictive diet and exhaustive gym schedule out in the real world.
JayEll,
Ya I'm pretty sure its 12 weeks in the program and then they go home for two months on their own and when they get back they have the final weigh in.
Yes, KateRN--that's why they are under medical supervision, away from their regular lives on a ranch, etc.
Fortunately, one does not have to work out 4 hours a day to MAINTAIN weightloss. But one does have to do something! Going back to a nonexercising lifestyle would be--well, many of us have been there done that. Same with food--can't just eat with "wild abandon" after weight loss! At least not as a regular thing.
the biggest loser show got me depressed.
