Okay so I was just watching this on mtv.com.

I know not to believe everything you see...

But seriously.

She was 5'7 and 253 lbs when she started.

After 111 days, which = just a little under 4 months, she got down to 163.

Which means she lost 90 lbs in

15.84 weeks, or

That is an average of about 5.67 lbs a week.

Is that even safe?

Now I have lost 90 pounds before. I went from about 280 and got down to about 190. It took me about 2 years. I wasnt completely on plan the whole time and fell off the wagon quite a few times and also wound up having to take a break for about 3 months for a medical reason, etc. But I did keep getting back on track and getting it done.

I wound up having to go on a medication for a while and unfortunately I did gain the weight back. I felt hungry all the time and was really depressed. It was a really bad time in my life but I am getting past that now.

I have tryed to get back on plan off and on the last 2 years but moving to a colder climate didnt help. It snows all the time and I am from Cali. I wasnt used to this. And when my walking goes out the window so does my food. I would lose 10 pounds and then something would come up and Id get off plan and off the walking and gain again.

But I have buckled down and done it before so I know I can do it again.

So this year I am 36. I told myself this is it. I am so ready mentally for this now. I am just so ready for this weight to be gone this time for once and for all. I am just going to get it done again.

I have been about 75% on plan for 2 months. I have lost about 15 pounds.

I am walking 60 - 90 minutes a day, an average of 6 days a week.

I know it takes time so I can deal with that. I am just trying to stay focused on the big goal and to take it one day at a time. And If a bad day creeps up just let it go and start fresh the next day.

I do try to keep my cals as high as I can. I remember before when I was steadily losing. When I was on plan. I was walking 80 minutes a day and averaging 1700 cals a day.

One day a week I would eat out whatever I wanted and wouldn't count at all.

I steadily lost about 9 pounds a month doing it that way.

But then I watch something like this show and all I can think is maybe I am doing something wrong?

Is it really possible and safe to lose 5-6 lbs a week?

Sometimes I think maybe I should do 1500 or 1600 cals a day, every day, but then I worry what if I do get to 190 and then I cant lose more cause I went to low too soon.

Know what I mean?

What does every one think of Gabriella?

I know she was "medically supervised" and all. How much was she eating? Calorie wise. I would love to get down to 163! And in less then 4 months?!?

Years ago I knew a gal I worked with. she was very short, like maybe 4'9. She was quite heavy and she started going to the gym and she was down 25 lbs in a month.

Do you lose more weight at the gym then with walking??

I watched every episode of that show! I was addicted. LOL
I don't know how safe it was.. but the trainers had those kids working out like 6hrs a day...and when the kids were following correctly they were eating what the trainers told them too. So I do beleive she lost all that weight in the 90 days. I do not think its realistic however for us to lose that kind of weight in that amount of time. It was summer, they had no other obligations (school, work,kids, etc..) and there full focus was on weight loss.

I wonder how much it helps to have a youthful metabolism. How old is she?

I don't know about her specifically, but most of these kids are highschool graduation age, so 16-19 probably

That's what they do at the Biggest Loser too. Their kitchens are stocked with healthy food, they have two of the best trainers in the world beating them up every day, and it's their only job to work out, eat healthy, and lose weight.

As much as I enjoy watching those shows and marveling at their results, it's television. It's entertainment. It's not real life.

They did a reunion on either Today or GMA and all of them regained a bit of weight (some more than others). This is also true for a lot of the Biggest Loser people.

I watched a couple of girls on that show and a lot of them went into with the mentality "I'll sacrifice my summer and everything will be okay". I was in their shoes when I was graduating HS before college too. I regained the weight and more so I'd be more interested in seeing how well they are maintaining.

Exactly. It's not about the losing weight so much as keeping it off, too. These kids want to lose weight before they go off to college. What happens when they are exposed to dorm food, live a block from a pizza joint, and don't have a trainer breathing down their necks??

Losing weight sensibly is a learning process and a gradual lifestyle transformation.

Which is not entertaining to watch, hasn't got a lot of dramatic potential, and besides, doesn't feed into people's dreams of a Cinderella-like transformation.

Watching people lose weight sensibly is like watching people earn money gradually by working at regular jobs instead of watching them winning a game show or hitting a lucky number in the lottery.

These shows say it happens fast, through a tremendous effort of will, during which we have a stunning epiphany about ourselves & our psyches. Also, that we need parental guidance from well-paid experts; that is, you can partly outsource the effort, which saves you from all the effort of learning how to eat & train all by yourself. Instead you just pay an expert. Or try to get on a TV show with free access to experts.

It so is. I would lose tons of weight every summer between semesters when I was in high school - just from getting more sleep, swimming, and not eating high school dorm/cafeteria junk. I would go through phases of eating popcorn and Slimfast for a few days, but I'd still eat out with friends every now and then. I wasn't starving or over-exercising (I would swim most days, occasionally walk, and take an aerobics class maybe three times a week) and it was easy to lose a pound a day for a month and then "slow down" to four pounds a week. I didn't gain it back in the school year because of how I lost it, I gained it back because I never slept and lived on pizza, coke, and nasty cafeteria food.

Being young is a HUGE advantage and I wish I had understood more about keeping weight off when I was younger.

I'm losing weight slowly. It gives me time to readjust my eating habits.
I am counting my calories.
I think if you lost weight that fast, you cannot learn how to change your eating habits that rapidly.
Then you gain a lot back.

Or to spin that another way, you have to be rich enough to have a trainer and a chef and be in a position to drop every other aspect of your life (school, job, childcare, caregiving for sick relatives, etc.) for 6-8 weeks.

I'm pretty sure I was reading somewhere that the '111 days' they describe in the is actually longer and they just do some editing for the show... probally to make it seem more magical and mesmerizing.
Anyhow, I think those kids do have some things working in there favour, Ie. age and the fact that there being filmed and have access to the trainer and all. Its a little less realistic when you throw in all of lives many twists and turns. I do know though that was I was about 19-20 I went from 185-150 in about 8 weeks... and I wasn't starving by any means and usually on plan 90% of the time just exercising a lot!

Thanks for the responses ladies!

MzHopeful: Did you watch Tanner? I was kind of laughing cause that was so realistic! lol