The biggest loser - realistic??

All the people on that show are really large people who need to lose over
100 pounds. Maybe they would lose faster than a smaller person who only
needed to lose 40-50 pounds.

Pat in TX

Seems to me they are burning a lot more calories than they take in,,,,,,they
must exercise 4 to 5 hrs a day,,,,,,500 push ups, 500 sit-ups, etc.
--
Started LC Sept 26/04
189/170.5/125
"Elana" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello,

I started to watch "The Biggest Loser" on NBC, because the topic is
so close to my heart. However, even though it is a reality show, is
it actually real? Some losses there are incredible - from 7-16 lb in
a week? AND, it's not the first weeks anymore. AND, they're not low
carbing (as far as I can tell), so water loss should not be
significant at this point. How can such a weight loss, even for a
200+ lb person, be considered healthy? Here we consider 4lb a week to
be steep. Is the show sending out a wrong message? If people in this
newsgroup would judge their success against the numbers on that show,
we'd all be considered failures.

I understand that most contenstants don't lose double digits every
week. But never the less, the average weightloss per week on that
show is still mind boggling.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Elana

Elana said:

What do you think?

i think you're taking a mindless tv show a bit too seriously.

[email hidden] (Elana) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hello,

I started to watch "The Biggest Loser" on NBC, because the topic is
so close to my heart. However, even though it is a reality show, is
it actually real? Some losses there are incredible - from 7-16 lb in
a week? AND, it's not the first weeks anymore. AND, they're not low
carbing (as far as I can tell), so water loss should not be
significant at this point. How can such a weight loss, even for a
200+ lb person, be considered healthy? Here we consider 4lb a week to
be steep. Is the show sending out a wrong message? If people in this
newsgroup would judge their success against the numbers on that show,
we'd all be considered failures.

I understand that most contenstants don't lose double digits every
week. But never the less, the average weightloss per week on that
show is still mind boggling.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Elana

Looks to me like their trainers run and exercise the pee wad right out
of them. Week one they lose, week two they dont, week three they lose
etc. Kind makes me think water weight one week and peed the rest off
the next week. It hasnt been consistant every week but they do look
like they sweat a lot too.
IMHO of course
Laureen

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Elana) said:

Hello,

I started to watch "The Biggest Loser" on NBC, because the topic is
so close to my heart. However, even though it is a reality show, is
it actually real? Some losses there are incredible - from 7-16 lb in
a week? AND, it's not the first weeks anymore. AND, they're not low
carbing (as far as I can tell), so water loss should not be
significant at this point. How can such a weight loss, even for a
200+ lb person, be considered healthy? Here we consider 4lb a week to
be steep. Is the show sending out a wrong message? If people in this
newsgroup would judge their success against the numbers on that show,
we'd all be considered failures.

I understand that most contenstants don't lose double digits every
week. But never the less, the average weightloss per week on that
show is still mind boggling.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Elana

I think the workout regimens are extreme. I was in an extreme situation
once. I had a 90 hour a week, extremely physical job, and I lost about 40
pounds in 8 weeks. That's only 5 pounds a week, but I was eating a LOT. I
imagine I would have lost even more if my diet had been strict too, like
the people on the show. Of course, when I got back to the real world I
gained it all back pretty quickly.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

I don't think all of them were that large to start - therer were several
that wer aroun 215-225 to start and for some of them to lose 100 pounds off
of 215 would make them way too thin. I personally think they are losing way
too much for something other than the first week or two. A healthy loss on
any diet is about 2-3 pounds per week.I'm wondering if they are losing that
much is it possible that they are losing muscle too.

I am 5'6 1/2". The charts say I should be somewhere around 150. I don't
think I would want to be 125. That is very unrealistic. I haven't been
that thin since about 7th grade and I was never overweight until after I got
married. I am aiming at 150 - when I get close - I may readjust the goal.
Diane

"Pat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

All the people on that show are really large people who need to lose over
100 pounds. Maybe they would lose faster than a smaller person who only
needed to lose 40-50 pounds.

Pat in TX

I think the weight losses are real and not unusual for people of their
size who are following the programs they are on. The diets, which the
show spends almost no time on, were both described as low carb at the
beginning of the show. Exactly what their definition of that is, or
exactly what they are eating, remains a mystery on the show.

As for the excercise, I've posted before that I think it's medically
irresponsible to put obese and in some cases morbidly obese people on
excercise that is so extreme. The worst was to have a race to climb
the stairs in a 73 story building. The girl had a panic attack half
way up and wound up taken away in an ambulance with a BP of 214.
Jillian, their heartless uncaring trainer from hell, looks shocked when
she hears what happened. Next show, she's back having them do 500 sit
ups, push ups, squats, ..... and more, and that's 500 of each!
Besides the girl's emergency room visit, you have 2 people with ankle
injuries and 1 with a knee injury.

And I agree that it sets the wrong expectations of how to achieve
effective weight loss or what is required. I could see a lot of people
concluding that if this type of hell is what it takes, why bother?
And I always think how so many of us on here have lost even more just
doing LC with some moderate excercise, or even no excercise at all.

And I know some moron will feel the need to respond with "If you don't
like it, then don't watch it!". But I think this is a fair
discussion. At the rate these reality shows are evolving, eventually
someone will wind up seriously injured or dead in the name of ratings.
The worst show episode I ever heard of was in the UK, where these shows
originated. They took contestants on what they believed was a real
hunting trip, then staged having a plant fake shooting someone and
killing them in front of the contestants. I guess that's where we're
headed here too.

"Elana" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello,

I started to watch "The Biggest Loser" on NBC, because the topic is
so close to my heart. However, even though it is a reality show, is
it actually real? Some losses there are incredible - from 7-16 lb in
a week? AND, it's not the first weeks anymore. AND, they're not low
carbing (as far as I can tell), so water loss should not be
significant at this point. How can such a weight loss, even for a
200+ lb person, be considered healthy? Here we consider 4lb a week to
be steep. Is the show sending out a wrong message? If people in this
newsgroup would judge their success against the numbers on that show,
we'd all be considered failures.

I understand that most contenstants don't lose double digits every
week. But never the less, the average weightloss per week on that
show is still mind boggling.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Elana

I thinik you should get on a low-carb diet and exercise program that you can
live with, if you want to control weight.

When you watch television, you are not exercising.

Nobody here is going to put you down. Just go and do what you need to do to
make it work for you, okay?