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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

#101

Post by Declanomous »

SeanBoocock wrote: post #39
IndianAstronaut wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you manage the 1 to 2 hours of daily exercise with a programmer lifestyle(assuming you are a programmer)?

Not the OP but the way I achieve that is by getting up at 5:30AM and running for 60+ minutes. I wasn't always such a morning person but routine exercise was important for me and so I adjusted my lifestyle to match.

I could never force myself to get up that early to run. Instead, I started going to the Y at 6 am to play pickup basketball for an hour or two. It was a lot easier for me to sustain. I'm not a morning person, and it was really helpful to know there were a bunch of guys who were counting on me to show up so they could play. I have trouble running in general though. I'm very competitive, and I find it much easier to exercise if I'm playing a sport.

That being said, I am the kind of person who generally has to try to actively maintain weight. I exercise for health benefits other than weight loss. Most casual or semi-casual rec sports are very friendly to people who are trying to lose weight though. Gyms and rec sports are probably two of the most welcoming places I've ever been. It can be almost cult-like at times.

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

#102

Post by skrebbel »

varelse wrote: post #99
hourislate wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exercise has nothing to do with weight loss. Caloric restriction also doesn't work without consuming the correct fats to satiate your appetite. As you age there is no amount of exercise that will allow you to maintain the amount you weigh in you 20's or 30's. It will all depend on your diet of the correct foods. I would suggest probably the best book ever written about why people get fat. Why We Get Fat: And What to…

"As you age there is no amount of exercise that will allow you to maintain the amount you weigh in you 20's or 30's." This seems overly general and anecdotally total BS. I still eat what I like just like I did in my 20s/30s. It's just that what I like is generally lots of vegetables and sufficient protein, with occasional vices slipped in because YOLO(tm). That said, without the exercise, I gain about a pound per wee…

An alternative would be that in the weeks where you don't exercise, you feel a little worse, and therefore submit to slightly more of them YOLO vices.

I mean, I have no idea which it is, but there's plenty of explanations for your observations other than the one you gave.

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

#104

Post by kefka »

Well, I'd say that the endocrine reason sounds like a valid one. I can at least be counted in that group.

Last December, I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes. After talking with a researcher about this (have worked with diabetes research school locally due to job), I came across a few things:

1. Damage is done to the pancreas at 140mg/dL 2. Too long at 140mg/dL or above can cause permanent damage to the pancreas. 3. Early estimates indicate that 110mg/dL is a lower limit of beginning damage to the pancreas

Ok. There's a lot of moving parts in food. Nutritionists will tell you all sorts of bunkum, other than mineral assays and tests have discovered. But there's a simple way here: keep blood sugar under 140mg/dL, no matter what.

Is that possible? To keep your blood sugar under 140mg/dL? Yes. The answer is "Don't eat foods that raise your blood sugar above 140mg/dL". That's interestingly easy. What it amounts to, is cutting out sugars and carbohydrates out of your diet, and extensively testing when you come across foods you're unsure of.

My research shows that all the standard sugars are bad for me (Sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose). I spike, and then fall. It also depends on what I'm eating with them. In those cases the rise and fall are longer.

Some complex carbohydrates I can handle. Potatoes are a nope, as are bread products. But spaghetti squash works with me well. I can handle it nicely, with a very low rise and fall.

I also end up eating a lot of fats, protein, and veggies. But I don't crave sugar at all. I've always liked meats, and this gives me the ability to continue that.

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

#105

Post by detaro »

mrfusion wrote: post #98

It's weird I was allowed to submit this if it was already submitted. Maybe a bug?

You submitted a different URL, the HN dupe check does exact URL matches and doesn't ignore query parameters (since some pages rely on them). Even if it did, shortened URLs etc would still trick it, so you have to check manually.

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

#106

Post by sageabilly »

wobbleblob wrote: post #100
sageabilly wrote: post #90

The results of this study, while interesting, seem flawed to me because losing 200+lbs in only 8 months' time is ridiculously fast. I would be more interested in a study following people who lost weight very slowly and steadily over time, and curious about their metabolisms and recidivism rates. I've lost 100lbs over the last three years and have had zero issue (so far, not saying I won't ever) with keeping at this w…

Maybe there's something different about the metabolism of people who manage to reach a weight of 450lbs in the first place. Without exercise and watching what you eat, almost everyone will gain weight, but most people never get anywhere close to the 300lbs+ range.

Maybe! I was 305 at my heaviest, but I was also a serious powerlifter and was at the gym 10-15 hours a week lifting, plus training for competitions. I often wonder if having that strength base made it easier, in some ways, to drop the weight than if I had been totally sedentary and had to start from zero with regards to exercising.

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

#107

Post by nicolas_t »

yoodenvranx wrote: post #47
nicolas_t wrote: post #36

And I'm in the second week of the Fast 5/2 diet. Not very encouraging to read this. Problem though is that I have to diet, my triglycerides are off the chart, my LDL cholesterol too and my fasting blood sugar are at the limit.... Hope I can keep my weight off somehow later.

Just start to write down every single calorie (and perhaps the macros) you consume during the day. This way it is pretty easy to see if you are on the right track. Most people re-gain weight after a diet because they fall back into their old habits. For this reason I don't like the idea of "making a diet". It kind of implies that you suffer for 8 weeks to lose some weight and then you can start eating unhealthy again…

Oh you're absolutely right. A big part of the problem I've identified is that often enough I eat not because I'm hungry but because I'm stressed. And in that case, I tend to eat chocolates. It's not a coincidence that I started to become overweight (by roughly 40 pounds) when my startup failed.

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

#108

Post by detaro »

GFischer wrote: post #103
mrfusion wrote: post #98

It's weird I was allowed to submit this if it was already submitted. Maybe a bug?

If you submit it and it was already submitted recently, it counts as an upvote (probably the case here).

No, since it created a submission for them, which it doesn't if it recognizes the dupe.

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

#109

Post by Retric »

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…

Each pound of fat ~= 3,500 calories up front, but also another 3,500 calories every ~4.8 years if you never moved. Keep active and it's significantly higher as your effectively walking around carrying weights 24/7.

Thus, you really need to eat far less to maintain a healthy weigh long term, and or become significantly more active.

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

#110

Post by GFischer »

detaro wrote: post #108
GFischer wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you submit it and it was already submitted recently, it counts as an upvote (probably the case here).

No, since it created a submission for them, which it doesn't if it recognizes the dupe.

Ah, ok, I stand corrected.
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