Biggest Loser Nutritionist Shares Helen's Food Journals

Helen beforeIf you tuned in to the show last night, you saw Jerry win the at home prize while Helen became Season 7's Biggest Loser.

Successful weight loss requires dietary modification, cardio and weight bearing exercise, as well as addressing the psychological aspects of emotional eating (which affect most of us on some level).

Many of you have written to ask what the contestants are eating, to fuel their vigorous exercise and to help them achieve their weight loss success.  Today, I'd like to share the before and after food journal's of Helen, Season 7's Biggest Loser.  Last fall, I met with Helen before the season started.  She shared with me her typical daily intake at that time, which contributed to her starting weight of 257 pounds.


 

Helen Typical Daily Intake – Before BL

Often skipped bkft   When she did have breakfast, she might have  
2 eggs
4 - 5 pieces bacon
2 slices toast
Bkft    640 calories

If bkft skipped;
Lunch out or large lunch; such as a large salad with soup, dinner rolls and butter

Or a steak and cheese sandwich with cheese – large 12 inch sandwich
1050 calories       86 grams fat 

Dinner –
fried breaded pork chops (2)
large helping potatoes with butter
regular cola
slice cheesecake
1350 calories

Before  - Two meals per day  no snacks  this particular day had; no veg or fruit
Lunch and dinner total 2400 (prob twice what she needs plus overall very low quality calories; 


Helen after

 

Helen Typical Daily Intake - After BL

Breakfast
Cup of oatmeal
3 egg whites
if power workout in the morning - add 2 strips of turkey bacon
440 calories

Snack
Half a cup of nonfat Greek yogurt with berries
90 calories

Lunch
3 to 5 oz grilled chicken breast  4 oz
2 cups salad
1 cup steamed asparagus
Med apple or piece of fruit
salad dressing = balsamic vinegar
350 calories


Snack
Carrot sticks  5 medium baby carrots  with hummus, 5 T   160 calories
or
3 tablespoons avocado guacamole  with 18 baked tortilla chips       190 calories

Dinner
Salmon        5 ounces
Portobello mushroom cap steamed  2 ounces
Steam the cap in Teflon pan with lid that fits; steam about 5 min.
Sauteed peppers and onions, add to top of mushroom with little bit of non-fat mozzarella
Grill salmon with slice of orange and fresh dill 
260 calories
1330 daily total  (which is roughly Helen's current calorie budget)

Cheryl Forberg

Cheryl Forberg

biggest_loser_logoCheryl Forberg, R.D., is one of the few professional chefs in the country who is also a registered dietitian. As nutritionist for NBC's "The Biggest Loser" for 12 seasons, she developed delicious, healthy recipes that help contestants make fundamental lifestyle changes.

A James Beard award-winning recipe developer, Cheryl has contributed to titles in the "Biggest Loser" book series, as well as authored Positively Ageless: A 28-Day Plan for a Younger, Slimmer, Sexier You (Rodale 2008), which showcases her expertise in weight loss and anti-aging nutrition. A graduate of UC Berkeley and a former research dietitian at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Cheryl is in demand as a lecturer and teacher, and travels throughout the United States giving nutrition classes and demonstrations.

Her latest book is Flavor First.

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