[positively poots]

3500kcal in 1lb of fat, 1750kcal in 1lb of muscle, 1750kcal in 1lb of glycogen stores. A calorie deficiency of 3500kcal could mean a 1lb or a 2lb loss depending on where it's come from.

[FL_Chickie]

Originally Posted by freiamaya

I understand the variables of weight loss, but if you refer to Meg's (our moderator) advice on weight loss (see the fitness thread), she seems to be clear that weight loss is a matter of calories IN vs calories OUT. My point is that the results that are reported seem to be physically impossible to achieve. And, my example of Kia was purposeful in that she isn't hugely oveweight (i.e. 350 lbs) and is a female to boot. I just wonder how they can get these results, and what I have to do to get similar results.

Oh, I agree completely that weight loss is a matter of calories in vs. calories out...my point was that 1. it's hard to accurately measure calories out due to the number of variables we deal with on a daily basis and 2. weight loss isn't always a clear linear progression. If it was, you wouldn't see people doing everything "right" and not seeing a weight loss for two or three weeks, then suddenly drop a few pounds all at once. But I see that here quite a bit.

I do think that the results posted on the Biggest Loser would be pretty near impossible to achieve for people who are not exercising several hours per day and/or on a severely restricted-calorie diet, but hey...I could be wrong.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by freiamaya

I just wonder how they can get these results, and what I have to do to get similar results.

Eat only 1200-1500 calories of CLEAN (whole and/or unprocessed) foods and exercise up to 8 hours a day with a professional trainer, including both rigorous strength training and intense cardio sessions

And it IS calories in vs. calories out. You just can't always calculate exactly the number of calories going out because exercise affects different bodies so differently, and even different calculators give different calories-burned estimates. As I said, whatever calculator you used that estimated the number of calories burned during the 7.5 hours of exercising, there are plenty of other calculators that could have given you higher estimates, so maybe those other calculators are more accurate, making the calorie deficit match up just fine with the weight lost.

[Ray Kelly]

Hi guys,

I have been a trainer for 15 years and earlier this year trained the winner of the Australian series.

The results are unrealistic and there should be a disclaimer at the start of the show but it is nothing different to every other weight loss program on the market. They need to blow people away with results in order to stand out. On the positive side, the show does inspire thousands of people to get active and that has to be a good thing. The show has made bigger people feel more comfortable exercising in public.

I'm not sure whether it's happened in the US series but in the Aussie series some contestants water-loaded before the first weigh in just to make their results in the first week much greater.

Injuries. They all get them (well most of them at least) but I really can't believe these guys don't get more of them. Their injuires are managed closely by medical staff to make sure it doesn't get too bad. I certainly don't advise going from being sedentary to following their training program.

Like others have mentioned, Calories In vs Calories Out is a great model for but it's not exact. There is no way we can accurately measure how many calories we have going in to our body or how many we are burning. We can get close but never exact. Also different people process food at different rates. I've trained people that have had a weekly calorie deficit of 7700 and lost only a few grams, others have lost 2kg. Use this method as a guide and it will bring you results. But take it too seriously and it will drive you insane (just like weighing yourself each day.

If anyone is interested, I've recently put together a little video of a training camp I took the Aussie winner on in the lead up to the Final Weigh in. If you want to check it out you can find the link in my Profile


Ray