LOSING WEIGHT ... and the even bigger challenge of keeping it off

[Moondance]

Danny Cahill stood, slightly dazed, in a blizzard of confetti as the audience screamed and his family ran on stage. He had just won Season 8 of NBC’s reality television show "The Biggest Loser." When he got on the scale that evening, Dec. 8, 2009, he weighed just 191 pounds, down from 430. Dressed in a T-shirt and knee-length shorts, he was lean, athletic and as handsome as a model.

 

“I’ve got my life back,” he declared. “I mean, I feel like a million bucks.”

 

But in the years since, more than 100 pounds have crept back onto his 5-foot-11 frame despite his best efforts. In fact, most of that season’s 16 contestants have regained much if not all the weight they lost so arduously. Some are even heavier now.

 

Their experiences, while a bitter personal disappointment, have been a gift to science. A study of Season 8’s contestants has yielded surprising new discoveries about the physiology of obesity that help explain why so many people struggle unsuccessfully to keep off the weight they lose.

 

Dr. Kevin Hall, a scientist at a federal research center, had the idea to follow the “Biggest Loser” contestants for six years after that victorious night. The project was the first to measure what happened to people over as long as six years after they had lost large amounts of weight with intensive dieting and exercise.

 

The results, the researchers said, were stunning. They showed just how hard the body fights back against weight loss.

 

“It is frightening and amazing,” said Dr. Hall, an expert on metabolism at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. “I am just blown away.”

 

It has to do with resting metabolism, which determines how many calories a person burns when at rest. When the show began, the contestants, though hugely overweight, had normal metabolisms for their size, meaning they were burning a normal number of calories for people of their weight. When it ended, their metabolisms had slowed radically and their bodies were not burning enough calories to maintain their thinner sizes.

 

Researchers knew that just about anyone who deliberately loses weight — even if they start at a normal weight or even underweight — will have a slower metabolism when the diet ends. So they were not surprised to see that “The Biggest Loser” contestants had slow metabolisms when the show ended.

 

What shocked the researchers was what happened next: As the years went by and the numbers on the scale climbed, the contestants’ metabolisms did not recover. They became even slower, and the pounds kept piling on. It was as if their bodies were intensifying their effort to pull the contestants back to their original weight.

 

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.

 

...The experience [of the "Biggest Loser" contestants] shows that the body will fight back for years. And that, said Dr. Michael Schwartz, an obesity and diabetes researcher who is a professor of medicine at the University of Washington, is “new and important [information].”

... Dr. David Ludwig, the director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, who was not involved in the research, said the findings showed the need for new approaches to weight control. He cautioned that the study was limited by its small size and the lack of a control group of obese people who did not lose weight. But, he added, the findings made sense.

 

This is excerpted from a longer article; here's the link to the full text: http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/weightloss/after-%e2%80%98the-biggest-loser%e2%80%99-their-bodies-fought-to-regain-weight/ar-BBsvGHe?ocid=spartandhp

[+ WmClarke]

Fascinating! And a little depressing.

[Moondance]

Fascinating! And a little depressing.

Daunting, right?

 

I have noticed a lot of people here mention their struggles with weight, or insecurities about it, so I thought it would be interesting information to post. I knew before, in a general way, about the body trying to resist weight loss, but the new findings about someone's metabolism continuing to slow years after a big weight loss caught my eye.

 

Can't help wondering if this is something aggravated by dramatic weight loss in a very short amount of time.

[+ WmClarke]

Yeah, definitely daunting.

 

I've got the exercise thing down, but the food thing is more difficult for me. And this just makes it seem hopeless/pointless.

 

On the other hand, fuck it. I'll just keep working at it and make what progress I can.

[whipped guy]

Here's my two cents for what it is worth:

 

It all proves that "dieting" as opposed to a "proper diet" combined with exercise is what is needed to keep off the weight!

 

By a proper diet one must eat healthily by in part by avoiding unhealthy things such as trans fats, keeping up with healthy fatty acids such as omega 3's, following a Mediterranean type eating style, and having an emphasis on protein which helps to build and maintain muscle mass. This added to an exercise program than combines both aerobics and muscle building or maintaining muscle is the other portion of the key to success. An increase in muscle mass increases a person's rate of metabolism.

 

In a nutshell, that is the key to success. Diet alone or the improper diet which simply counts calories will never work as the body indeed with fight you at every turn. As such you must trick your body into being cooperative by literally changing it!

[+ purplekow]

I am one of those people who has struggled with weight. With a change to a more carefully monitored eating pattern, I lost 60 pounds two years ago, and in the last year, I have maintained that more sensible diet and I have not changed my activity pattern, and i have lost a few more pounds.

I think that in the case of the Biggest Loser contestants, the extreme diet and the intense exercise very much resembles a starvation situation. In times of depravation he slow down in metabolism in humans is similar to the slowing down that bears go through in hibernation. Slower weight loss probably does not have as dramatic and prolonged effect, but, even on this kind of diet, it is clear that the basal metabolic rate can take as long as two years to recover.

With no other changes in function, a slowdown of 100 calories/day of basal metabolic rate, which is on average about 1300 to 1500 calories/day and which is dependent on many factors including age, weight and height, is enough to cause a weight gain of 12 pounds a year. A slowdown to 800 calories/day, a value stated for one contestant, might lead to a weight gain of 60 pounds in a year.

This change in basal rate is one of the reason that fad diets are almost always a failure. Once the dieter goes back to eating as he die before, the slowdown in metabolic rate will lead to weight gain and the effects usually lasts for a period of time which is greater than the time needed to gain back the lost weight. As a result you get the yoyo diet effect of a gain of weight passed the starting weight. That extra weight gain is somewhere between 5 and 10% of lost weight.

[+ sync]

[whipped guy]

Yeah, definitely daunting.

 

I've got the exercise thing down, but the food thing is more difficult for me. And this just makes it seem hopeless/pointless.

 

On the other hand, fuck it. I'll just keep working at it and make what progress I can.

As a PS to my above post all I can add is don't give up on the diet portion! Once you get used to a healthy style of eating you will never be able to go back. It might sound puritanical or what ever, but it's true. I have friends who have lost and kept the weight off. One person even lost over 100 pounds and has kept it off for years! He regrets not doing it sooner! He is younger than I, has always been out and about, and as such now has guys lined up as opposed to spending his time lusting about what could be... No need to hire escorts in his life!

 

The exercise thing is usually the main obstacle. Slowly changing one's diet usually makes things fall into place.

[+ ArVaGuy]

I've lost over 50 pounds in the last few years. It's been a slow, steady, progression with diet and moderate exercise. My doctor has been pleased with the results and I'm only six pounds from the goal weight he set for me.

 

Walking has been my preferred exercise and I'm fortunate to live only a couple of miles from work. My round trip daily walk clocks in at just about five miles. I'd rather walk than take DC Metro any day. The best part is the walk home after work. My head clears all the office bs by the time I arrive home. Even better are the errands that get done to Whole Foods, the dry cleaners, and the bank.

[Moondance]

I've got the exercise thing down, but the food thing is more difficult for me.

This is also true for several people who go to my gym. They are there religiously (put in an hour of cardio, or take a class, or do a private training session almost daily) without any significant change in their appearance. Discussing this with them, it's always the same story--they're gotten in the habit of exercise, but struggle with maintaining a proper diet.

 

Conversely, I'm sure there are loads of people who never set foot in a gym but will diet and lose weight (at least temporarily) with minimal (if any) exercise to enhance their effort.

I'll just keep working at it and make what progress I can.

Which, to me, makes sense. When I see those people at the gym who have gotten in the habit of regular exercise, even if they haven't (yet!) gotten control of their diet, I have to think that they're better off than if the challenge with one led them to give up on the other.

...A proper diet...[together with] an exercise program that combines both aerobics and muscle building or maintaining muscle is the other portion of the key to success.

Your mention of strength training/muscle building (or muscle maintenance) is so important, and an element that I think a lot of people don't know about even is they have a general awareness of the value of exercise and a healthy diet. After a certain age, if you are losing weight without engaging in any sort of strength training, you are losing muscle as well as fat.

 

Of course, those "Biggest Loser" contestants did a LOT of exercising (including strength training) while on the show. I'd be interested to know how their exercise routines (as well as their eating) evolved in subsequent months and years. And because their situation is unique--as PK says...

... the extreme diet and the intense exercise very much resembles a starvation situation...

... we are left wondering if the further slowing of the metabolisms of the study particpants (years after their big weight loss) may have been caused by (or may be more dramatic because of) the extremes to which they subjected themselves.

[+ WmClarke]

Yeah, definitely daunting.

 

I've got the exercise thing down, but the food thing is more difficult for me. And this just makes it seem hopeless/pointless.

 

On the other hand, fuck it. I'll just keep working at it and make what progress I can.

 

As a PS to my above post all I can add is don't give up on the diet portion! Once you get used to a healthy style of eating you will never be able to go back. It might sound puritanical or what ever, but it's true. I have friends who have lost and kept the weight off. One person even lost over 100 pounds and has kept it off for years! He regrets not doing it sooner! He is younger than I, has always been out and about, and as such now has guys lined up as opposed to spending his time lusting about what could be... No need to hire escorts in his life!

 

The exercise thing is usually the main obstacle. Slowly changing one's diet usually makes things fall into place.

Oh, I'm not giving up on the eating habits portion of the equation. I've lost--and kept off--100 pounds.

 

It's just those last approx 70 pounds I want to lose.

[wisconsinguy]

WG gives some sensible/ wise advice. I was a fat baby, fat child and decades as an adult. I have been through every diet on the market. I went through bariatric surgery and went from 301 lbs to 118 lbs in less than a year. Began running during this time as well. No problem doing 10 miles a day. Had the surgery reversed due to GI bleeding. For myself, this is my final take on what I refer to as my first addiction, food.

It is simply a matter of intake vs output. It has been brought up re: the metabolism issue. This has been out there for years. Remember the hype of "set point?" Same principle...your body will work really hard to keep the weight it gains. I try and eat a high protein diet. The carbs I eat, I try and do really dense/complex ones such as beans. I love to walk, and I give credit just to that to help me keep off a few pounds. Being the hard core addict I was, I have learned to experience some physical and mental discomfort from not eating what I want. Sometimes I just want to order a large pizza with a couple of cokes. I will struggle with the tossup of wants and needs in relationship to food till I croak. But, most days, I can manage. Now that spring is here, I'll just go for another walk!!!

[bigvalboy]

Here's my two cents for what it is worth:

 

It all proves that "dieting" as opposed to a "proper diet" combined with exercise is what is needed to keep off the weight!

 

By a proper diet one must eat healthily by in part by avoiding unhealthy things such as trans fats, keeping up with healthy fatty acids such as omega 3's, following a Mediterranean type eating style, and having an emphasis on protein which helps to build and maintain muscle mass. This added to an exercise program than combines both aerobics and muscle building or maintaining muscle is the other portion of the key to success. An increase in muscle mass increases a person's rate of metabolism.

 

In a nutshell, that is the key to success. Diet alone or the improper diet which simply counts calories will never work as the body indeed with fight you at every turn. As such you must trick your body into being cooperative by literally changing it!

 

WG gives some sensible/ wise advice. I was a fat baby, fat child and decades as an adult. I have been through every diet on the market. I went through bariatric surgery and went from 301 lbs to 118 lbs in less than a year. Began running during this time as well. No problem doing 10 miles a day. Had the surgery reversed due to GI bleeding. For myself, this is my final take on what I refer to as my first addiction, food.

It is simply a matter of intake vs output. It has been brought up re: the metabolism issue. This has been out there for years. Remember the hype of "set point?" Same principle...your body will work really hard to keep the weight it gains. I try and eat a high protein diet. The carbs I eat, I try and do really dense/complex ones such as beans. I love to walk, and I give credit just to that to help me keep off a few pounds. Being the hard core addict I was, I have learned to experience some physical and mental discomfort from not eating what I want. Sometimes I just want to order a large pizza with a couple of cokes. I will struggle with the tossup of wants and needs in relationship to food till I croak. But, most days, I can manage. Now that spring is here, I'll just go for another walk!!!

 

Well said....

[jjkrkwood]

Well said....

 

 

Its all way too confusing and so much Trouble. Just bring on the chicken nuggets and popcorn shrimp. And don't forget a few sides....

[whipped guy]

Oh, I'm not giving up on the eating habits portion of the equation. I've lost--and kept off--100 pounds.

 

It's just those last approx 70 pounds I want to lose.

Way to go bro! Well in that sense you perfectly mirror the friend referenced above who lost well over 100 pounds! A few years ago I recall him telling me that he went to a family gathering at a banquet hall where they were serving prime rib. He called the waiter over, handed him a twentyfive dollar tip and said that he wanted three servings!!!! The waiter was glad to comply and my friend devoured all three quite readily. That was before he saw the light and got his act together. I jokingly said once that I wanted to treat him to an all you can eat buffet to see what he was capable of consuming!

 

In any event, I had no idea of what you had achieved to date. As such you are to be commended. Here's to you loosing those final 70 pounds!!!!!

WG gives some sensible/ wise advice. I was a fat baby, fat child and decades as an adult. I have been through every diet on the market. I went through bariatric surgery and went from 301 lbs to 118 lbs in less than a year. Began running during this time as well. No problem doing 10 miles a day. Had the surgery reversed due to GI bleeding. For myself, this is my final take on what I refer to as my first addiction, food.

It is simply a matter of intake vs output. It has been brought up re: the metabolism issue. This has been out there for years. Remember the hype of "set point?" Same principle...your body will work really hard to keep the weight it gains. I try and eat a high protein diet. The carbs I eat, I try and do really dense/complex ones such as beans. I love to walk, and I give credit just to that to help me keep off a few pounds. Being the hard core addict I was, I have learned to experience some physical and mental discomfort from not eating what I want. Sometimes I just want to order a large pizza with a couple of cokes. I will struggle with the tossup of wants and needs in relationship to food till I croak. But, most days, I can manage. Now that spring is here, I'll just go for another walk!!!

Hey WG2, now it's my turn to say that you have offered some great advice. If nothing else walking is a great exercise! Even when I hop on the treadmill I set it for a fast walk which borders on a slow jog. As such, it is easy on your body by not being overly traumatic to your lower extremities and feet, yet gets the job done! Also, your mention of complex carbs such as beans which also contain lots of protein is great advice as well! I would bet that beans are one of the best options out there, be they garbanzo, cannellini, great northern or otherwise!

 

At one time I knew this guy who had this fascination with Cheetos. Go figure!!! He has since learned a better way and looks better, feels better, and has been smiling ever since!

[bigvalboy]

Its all way too confusing and so much Trouble. Just bring on the chicken nuggets and popcorn shrimp. And don't forget a few sides....

 

I agree...I order whatever the fuck I want....then.....add a diet coke to the order. It doesn't amount to a hill of beans, but mentally it makes me feel better.

 

http://glhsreflection.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/diet-soda2.jpg

[jjkrkwood]

I agree...I order whatever the fuck I want....then.....add a diet coke to the order. It doesn't amount to a hill of beans, but mentally it makes me feel better.

 

http://glhsreflection.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/diet-soda2.jpg

 

 

Actually it does. Wise choice if you enjoy soda to cut out the sugar and order Diet, although all the other unpronounceable chemicals will most likely Kill you.

[wisconsinguy]

Way to go bro! Well in that sense you perfectly mirror the friend referenced above who lost well over 100 pounds! A few years ago I recall him telling me that he went to a family gathering at a banquet hall where they were serving prime rib. He called the waiter over, handed him a twentyfive dollar tip and said that he wanted three servings!!!! The waiter was glad to comply and my friend devoured all three quite readily. That was before he saw the light and got his act together. I jokingly said once that I wanted to treat him to an all you can eat buffet to see what he was capable of consuming!

 

In any event, I had no idea of what you had achieved to date. As such you are to be commended. Here's to you loosing those final 70 pounds!!!!!

 

Hey WG2, now it's my turn to say that you have offered some great advice. If nothing else walking is a great exercise! Even when I hop on the treadmill I set it for a fast walk which borders on a slow jog. As such, it is easy on your body by not being overly traumatic to your lower extremities and feet, yet gets the job done! Also, your mention of complex carbs such as beans which also contain lots of protein is great advice as well! I would bet that beans are one of the best options out there, be they garbanzo, cannellini, great northern or otherwise!

 

At one time I knew this guy who had this fascination with Cheetos. Go figure!!! He has since learned a better way and looks better, feels better, and has been smiling ever since!

Given the right circumstances, I have been known to partake in a few Cheetos. And given those circumstances again, with the right company and atmosphere, I think I could partake again along with other "treats." WG2

[jjkrkwood]

Given the right circumstances, I have been known to partake in a few Cheetos. And given those circumstances again, with the right company and atmosphere, I think I could partake again along with other "treats." WG2

 

 

a FEW Cheetos ? When I start, I cant Stop....

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i6beFLviGCk/VFPeuP_IKoI/AAAAAAAABpo/wVEJ7n_q8k8/s1600/orange%2Bfingers.jpg

[Lookin]

Can't help wondering if this is something aggravated by dramatic weight loss in a very short amount of time.

For me, 'dramatic' is anything more than five pounds and 'short amount of time' is anything less than a year. I've done those yo-yo diets and always ended up gaining it all back, plus some.

 

Fifteen years ago, I peaked at 217 pounds (BMI of 31 - obese). I was working twelve hours a day at a desk, commuting another two hours, and falling into bed with a pint of Häagen-Dazs five days a week. On weekends, I sat around resting until the cycle began all over on Monday. Unhealthiest period of my life.

 

The one and only thing that worked for me was quitting my job and starting to move around on a regular basis. Without the need for daily 'treats' to offset the stress of work, my diet got better, but I did not obsess over it. If I wanted something, I ate it, and I made sure I enjoyed it. And maybe I hiked a little farther the next time. If I felt like it. I was not flogging myself to 'atone' for anything.

 

Losing weight never again became a contest, and the only changes I was interested in were those I could make for the rest of my life without feeling burdened or deprived. The scale came out maybe once a month. I'm now stable at 170 pounds (BMI of 24 - normal).

 

A lifelong change for me is something I do at least five days a week, and can stick to without waiting for the day I've 'succeeded' and can stop doing it. Feeling 'deprived' was the thing that caused all my previous attempts at losing weight to fail. As soon as I hit my target, I went right back to the behaviors that got me overweight in the first place.

 

And 'beating myself up' is also a thing of the past. For me, that only compounds the problem. If I'm going to eat a bag of chips, I'm going to make sure I enjoy the hell out of it. It's a lose-lose situation if I combine a poor nutritional choice with guilt. A friend of mine is forever complaining about how 'round' she is. She thinks it comes from sitting on her ass and drinking wine. So she feels bad about her choices. I keep telling her that she looks good as she is and that, if she's going to relax with a glass of wine, she should at least enjoy it.

 

As long as I'm up here on the soap box, I'll also share the opinion that way too much emphasis is placed on what we eat and not nearly enough on how we burn it off. When I was a kid, I could not wait to be excused from the dinner table so I could go outside and run around with my friends. During the summer, I kept my shorts by the bed so I could jump into them first thing, get down to breakfast, and out the front door. If anybody thinks kids are not going to get fat sitting around playing video games, they're nuts. http://vladsokolovsky.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/aaa/nuts-smiley.gif

 

http://www.lonely-rooyang.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/10chillov4.jpg

 

And, yes, I'm aware of the irony of sitting here posting about my need for exercise.

 

Off I go. http://www.mycharm.ru/data/cache/2015mar/11/06/43940_81153-48x48x.jpg

[whipped guy]

a FEW Cheetos ? When I start, I cant Stop....

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i6beFLviGCk/VFPeuP_IKoI/AAAAAAAABpo/wVEJ7n_q8k8/s1600/orange%2Bfingers.jpg

So now I know of two people addicted to the Cheetos thing. Well only one really as the other guy has seen the light and reformed his ways. However, something tells me that you will be a tough nut to crack. Somehow I might need more than a bullhide flogger (shown below in my sig pic) to convince you of the error of your ways!

[+ friendofsheila]

Danny Cahill stood, slightly dazed, in a blizzard of confetti as the audience screamed and his family ran on stage. He had just won Season 8 of NBC’s reality television show "The Biggest Loser." When he got on the scale that evening, Dec. 8, 2009, he weighed just 191 pounds, down from 430. Dressed in a T-shirt and knee-length shorts, he was lean, athletic and as handsome as a model.

 

Dude was damned cute at his best weight.

 

http://www.starpulse.com/news/media/NUP_138111_1581.jpg

[+ FreshFluff]

 

http://glhsreflection.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/diet-soda2.jpg

 

People always loves to quote experts who'd say, "People order a burger with the extra large diet Coke, so what difference does it make?"

 

The difference is still 200 calories, whether it's accompanied by a salad or an extra-large pizza. And if anything, the body is less likely to fight back against small changes (especially when they involve taking out pure sugar) than it is against big ones.

Edited May 2, 2016 by FreshFluff

[jjkrkwood]

So now I know of two people addicted to the Cheetos thing. Well only one really as the other guy has seen the light and reformed his ways. However, something tells me that you will be a tough nut to crack. Somehow I might need more than a bullhide flogger (shown below in my sig pic) to convince you of the error of your ways!

 

Whippy, the error of my ways always Taste SO GOOD ! :p:p

 

And FYI, Cheetos are even MORE delish when you dip them in Cheese Fondue made from Velveeta...

[+ FreshFluff]

The NYT does some good reporting here, but here's something that's always annoyed me about the NYT's style.

 

Why does it always have to over-weight the negative on health stories, even ones about developments that are clearly positive? Now that Cahill has regained the weight, they can say he "looks as handsome as a model" after he lost it. But if they had interviewed him right after the show, they would have written something like, "Cahill looks like a model at first glance. But look at him a moment longer and it's clear that, while he's glowing and happy, he looks a little deflated, more like a balloon that's had some air let out."

 

In fact, the problem is more general: NYT stories about any sort of change usually end with with some quote about how the status quo still stands. I'm too lazy to find examples, but I'm surprised that Twitter (other than Bernie supporters et al.) hasn't seized on this. Let's use weight maintenance as an example again. If a true magic diet pill is ever discovered, you can bet the NYT's story will end with a quote from some doctor who will say, "Fads come and go, but nothing will ever work like the old fashioned way."