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After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

nytimes.com

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Re: After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

#71

Post by garyrob »

simonbarker87 wrote: post #25
dempseye wrote: post #2

> The difficulty in keeping weight off reflects biology, not a pathological lack of willpower affecting two-thirds of the U.S.A. Fifty years ago, two-thirds of the USA were not obese. Biology has not changed in that time. What has?

Fat cells never go away once you've got them. Fat cells also really don't want to be empty. When you loose weight the fat is broken up in to H2O and CO2 (you literally breath and pee fat away) but the fat cell generally holds onto the water for a while and then, along with a load of other fat cells, will expel that water in one go(which is why you tend to keep a stable weight for a few days and then find you've lost…

You are supplying potentially very interesting information... could you please point to sources?

Re: After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

#72

Post by dempseye »

koolba wrote: post #20

From the article (emphasis mine): > Mr. Cahill was one of the worst off. As he regained more than 100 pounds, his metabolism slowed so much that, just to maintain his current weight of 295 pounds, he now has to eat 800 calories a day less than a typical man his size. Anything more turns to fat. Presenting the numbers like this seems intentionally confusing. Casually reading this seems like he's eating 800 calories a…

Using the USDA supertracker here (https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/) with the following data/assumptions:

Weight: 295 lbs Age: 46 Height: 5 feet 10 inches (average height for US male) Work activity: sedentary Leisure activity: sedentary

The normal maintenance calories come out at 3117. Less 800 is 2317.

That is still enough to eat well and feel full, in my experience.

Re: After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

#73

Post by gypsy_boots »

DenisM wrote: post #56

I encourage everyone to read the "physiology" chapter at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipose_tissue TLDR: Blood sugar spikes above certain level are toxic, so the body responds with an emergency action of stashing the sugar wherever possible, including muscle, liver, and fat tissue. The former two are rather limited in their capacity, while the latter is unlimited. Ongoing elevated levels of sugars in the bloodstre…

Which is similarly why a diet high in carbohydrates can lead to your body storing more fat. It's easier for your body to turn the carbohydrates into energy than it is to turn the fat into energy. So when it gets both, it stores the fat for leaner times (less energy abundance) and turns the carbs into glucose for energy. It seems like the more we learn about high fat low carb diets, the more it seems that our body was built to use fat as its main energy source.

Re: After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

#74

Post by bb85 »

dempseye wrote: post #60
bb85 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't explain it though, as how much you weight and how happy you are with it should influence how you eat. Obviously a kid and an adult, a sedentary female and an international athletes have different needs. When you have tooth problems, you go through a lot to have it fixed. When your hair looks bad you get a haircut. Some obese people change their lifestyle and lose that weight. So what about those who can'…

> how much you weight and how happy you are with it should influence how you eat. I'm pretty sure constant hunger would trump those considerations for you and most people.

I've experimented quite a bit with how I eat, and gone through extended periods of fasting. To me, the "real" hunger, the debilitating one, only lasts so long. It feels like once your body is entirely relying on itself for food, it just goes away.

The "other" hunger seems to come with boredom or other emotional variations though.

Unfortunately I have never done those thing more than a couple weeks at a time, but I can talk about the opposite. My "natural" weight (where I end up if I only eat when I'm hungry) is too low, and even if I'm super lean at that weight I don't have enough muscle, and end up having back / knee problems.

I have to pay attention every day to eat a little bit more than I feel like. It is a big effort, and sometimes I'm just not up to it, but I'm not sure how it compares to dealing with hunger.

Re: After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

#75

Post by rickdale »

vinceguidry wrote: post #69

I managed to lose 40 pounds last year, using intermittent fasting. That impressed people, but what's impressed me is how easy it was to keep it off. I expected to have to do a lot more work than I have, I really seemed to have found a new 'set point', where I can simply let my body self-regulate eating and I won't gain weight. Sometimes it even goes down. I think a person's state of mind plays a huge role. I used IF…

I'll concur with this. I have been practicing one meal/day for almost 3 years now. I think it took my body over a year to really adjust to all the benefits. Now I realize I have some big eating days, some small eating days, I mostly crave healthy stuff and I let the rest take care of itself.

Re: After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

#76

Post by 49para »

simonbarker87 wrote: post #25
dempseye wrote: post #2

> The difficulty in keeping weight off reflects biology, not a pathological lack of willpower affecting two-thirds of the U.S.A. Fifty years ago, two-thirds of the USA were not obese. Biology has not changed in that time. What has?

Fat cells never go away once you've got them. Fat cells also really don't want to be empty. When you loose weight the fat is broken up in to H2O and CO2 (you literally breath and pee fat away) but the fat cell generally holds onto the water for a while and then, along with a load of other fat cells, will expel that water in one go(which is why you tend to keep a stable weight for a few days and then find you've lost…

Why is it that fat cells never go away but your muscles will start catabolizing as soon as you stop drinking protein shakes ?

Are there any studies on this or is it more bro-science ?

Re: After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

#77

Post by JoeAltmaier »

49para wrote: post #76
simonbarker87 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fat cells never go away once you've got them. Fat cells also really don't want to be empty. When you loose weight the fat is broken up in to H2O and CO2 (you literally breath and pee fat away) but the fat cell generally holds onto the water for a while and then, along with a load of other fat cells, will expel that water in one go(which is why you tend to keep a stable weight for a few days and then find you've lost…

Why is it that fat cells never go away but your muscles will start catabolizing as soon as you stop drinking protein shakes ? Are there any studies on this or is it more bro-science ?

Because, survival. Muscle is expensive - your body wants only enough to survive. Fat is life - your body wants all the stores it can afford.

Re: After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

#78

Post by sickbeard »

Kenji wrote: post #40
varelse wrote: post #15

Extreme diligence seems to be the only way to fight this. If I stop exercising, the pounds pack on within weeks. If I insure I burn at least 3000 calories a day (usually much more), I can maintain my weight indefinitely. But I walk to work and I exercise for 1-2 hours daily. Most people cannot or will not do this. Add in the extreme carbohydrate and fat-laden diets most readily available to America and it's a perfect…

I'm not sure if it's that simple. My body maintains a low but healthy weight no matter what I do. I can avoid sports for years and eat as much as I want, to the point of feeling uncomfortably full, without increasing weight. It seems likely that in some or even most obese people, a regulation system has been broken.

since you are atypical, maybe yours is the one thats malfunctioning

Re: After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

#79

Post by parsnipsumthing »

It's worth noting that the amounts by which their metabolism was lowered are not as shocking as they seem at first.

The 300 calories a day difference in calories burned is very limiting if your BMR is 1800. But for some of these contestants their BMR, even at the lower weights, might be 2000 calories per day. And if they do moderate exercise, they can burn up to 1000 calories more than this. If you are expending 3000 calories per day then a 300 calorie difference is minimal.

Re: After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

#80

Post by Hockenbrizzle »

Man this is so frustrating because I have a family member who is like this. I would really like to help them, but they just don't seem to get it.

I think the problem is that these people want instant results. That's not how the body works. If you want to become a runner, you start running often and because you love it. You don't force yourself to start doing intense, one-and-done sessions in an attempt to get to your goal and then go back to your old lifestyle once you achieve it. You have to learn to play the long game and be patient.

I really believe that if these folks worked on a farm for several years, it would do much more to help them with their weight problems than these TV shows do.

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