How Big Losers Burn Fat

The December issue of Men's Health magazine has a great article by Jeff Csatari called "How Big Losers Burn Fat".   Through his recent interviews with Biggest Loser Cast and Experts, Jeff highlighted the secrets that help the show's contestants shed the pounds and rediscover their waistlines (and muscles!).

                                                            

 

Find a good reason to lose. It took some time, but Ed Brantley finally realized he had a food addiction. "The cravings would come and I would be like, 'hey, let's get high,'" says Brantley. "I was literally hooked on the euphoria of eating." It didn't help that he and his wife, Heba, had a full social calendar with many an opportunity to wine and dine. "If we want to have children, and we do, we knew we had to change our lifestyle and take control of this," he says.

                                                           

Never skip a cheese stick. After six seasons with the show, nutritionist Cheryl Forberg, R.D., says the two most common mistakes made by nearly all the contestants who've passed through the ranch are skipping meals, particularly breakfast, and not consuming enough calcium. "They feel they don't have time to plan ahead, but skipping meals can lead to grabbing fast food and overeating because you're starving," she says. To keep their metabolism revving high, Biggest Loser contestants are trained to eat five or six times a day -- breakfast, lunch, and dinner, small meals made up of high-water-volume vegetables and fruits, whole grains and lean protein, plus two or three snacks. "Most people don't get enough dairy products in their diet," Forberg says. "Men need 1,000 milligrams of calcium. You can achieve that through three servings of milk, yogurt, and/or cheese a day. We encourage a low-fat cheese stick with a piece of fruit for between-meal snacks."

                                                 

Weigh your filet. The first thing Brady Vilcan did when he returned home from the ranch was buy a food scale. "Portion size can get away from you in a heartbeat," he says. "If you want to lose weight, you have to know what a serving is and how many calories are in it." Do you really need to order that 16-ounce filet when the 8-ouncer will fill you up? Each Biggest Loser contestant's daily calorie limit is calculated using a formula that considers starting weight, body-fat percentage, activity level, and goal weight. For Vilcan, it's between 1,750 and 2,000 calories, depending on how much he's exercising. "Realizing how much exercise it takes to expend the calories in food really puts things into perspective," he says. "I mean, look at these cheese fries from Outback Steakhouse. They're 2,900 calories. No friggin' way am I gonna eat that."

                                             

Start with weights, finish with cardio. Strength training with weights creates an afterburn effect that keeps your body churning through calories at a higher rate, even at rest. And it's widely known that muscle is more metabolically active than fat. So Biggest Loser contestants pump weights about 2 hours a day. "In the beginning we focused a lot on weightlifting to build up the muscle," says Brantley. "Then we switched to more cardio to shed the pounds." The key with cardio is to find something you enjoy doing to beat boredom. "I hated the elliptical; it was too easy, I didn't feel like I was doing anything. Now the spinning cycle, that's fun, and it is a real workout. I'll do 2 hours a day on that."

Read the rest of the story here............December 2008 Men's Health magazine

Comments

[Jesse]

I agree with the cheese stick recommendation. I've maintained a twenty pound weight loss including low fat dairy daily. Of course my favorite cheese pick doesn't come in a stick but I use portion control and cut off slices from a block of Cabot's 50% Reduced Fat cheddar.

[SuzyJones]

Discipline is really important in losing weight. And of course we have to be conscious in what we are eating.

[Tay]

I need help...Right now Im 254 pounds, 5'8" and 31 years, 3 kids and very depressed...I want to loose weight but it almost impossible...I need to control the way I eat but how???

[Marina]

I am 38 yrs. old with 4 kids (youngest 7 yrs. old and oldest is 18). #1. I found myself eating what the kids didn't like or couldn't finish because I didn't want to throw food away. #2. I work graveyard shift and found that buying fast food for meals was quick and easy. #3. My house was always stocked with soda #4. b/c I was tired all the time I quit being active and found myself sleeping every chance i got and my days off from work I was just sitting on the couch watching t.v. the only activity I was doing was cleaning the house and cooking. I weighed 225# in Oct. '08 wearing a size 16/18 and I am 5'9 and was depressed about my weight. After watching Biggest Loser with Ali winning I got motivated and went to my local goodwill stores and bought exercise equipt. and my job has a weight room and instead of eating at lunch time I workout for the hour and I pack good healthy snacks for me when I get the munchies at work and after my workout at work I will eat breakfast (fruit cup, oatmeal, toast w/jam). I cut out all soda and alcohol and drank only water (ice) for one month. I quit buying fast food and while at work I plan my meals in advance and make a shopping list and buy with healthier choices. I cut my meals in 1/2 for example: instead of giving my self 4 heaping tblsp. sizes of mash potatoes and gravy I will give myself 1 generous size tblsp. helping of mash potatoes and 1 tsp. serv. of gravy. I also cut red meat out of my diet for awhile and ate more turkey, white meat and fish. I bought and watched healthy cook shows/books. I now give my kids, hubby and myself only what we can eat and not what our eyes want to eat. I quit going to all you can eat buffets! I excercise now for about 2 hrs. a day which includes walking my hilly neighborhood or walking the trail for about 30-60mins every other day and I work out with 3# weights and I boxercise (i am after a slim sexy look and not big and bulky). I also do situps 6 sets of 30 now b4 I did only 3 sets of 10 and worked my way up (i lookup exercises on the internet and incorporated the ones I liked into my workout program). I also dancercise in my home or go out with my hubby dancing. The key is to find exercises that you enjoy doing that don't feel like work and you will want to get up and exercise because it is something you enjoy doing and NOT have to do. You have to eat right along with exercising or you will not see any progress and don't weigh your self until the end of every week or two weeks. It is slow to start but once you start to see the weight come off it is all well worth it and makes you want to get up and keep motivated. I now weigh 194# and I am wearing a size 10 my goal is to drop 40-45#s more and be at my ideal weight of 150# and wear a size 8. This is not easy you have to really want it and it is hard to start when a person is depressed but once you start and keep it going your body will start responding and you will start to feel better and feel more active and once you start to see and feel the weight coming off you will start to feel happy and then there is will power and motivation to keep doing it. Good Luck! Hope some of my exercise and diet habits will work for you or give you ideas.

[Tina]

When I started I weighed in at 298lbs, and was in at least a 26/28. I was depressed and found no motivation to lose. Well as life went on I realized all the activities that I couldn't do, I realized all the places that I could not fit in, and how I was paying double for clothes. Now a year in a half later, I have lost 75lbs all with the help of a variety of sources (Weight Watchers, and Slimfast), I lost 40lbs by being consistent on Slimfast and 35lbs with Weight Watchers. I stop going to Weight Watchers 6 months ago and learn to maintain portion size, at home.Drink plenty of water, and exercise regularly. I picked up a gym membership and work out 6 days a week, and line dance 3-4 times a week. The gym has help me to tighten all the skin from the weight loss and also build up muscles. I have learned to do what ever it is that can be used as a form of exercise, but no matter what keep moving. You have to start with small steps walking around the house, cleaning the garden, mowing the yard, walking your neighborhood, what ever may work for you just keep going and get started, for a happier and energized life, the results will be great and just to know I accomplished some thing is worth it. It is a struggle day to day, so when you fall get up and keep going. I never deprived myself of the things I liked and that is what I liked about Weight Watchers, however I have changed from eating the reguired 3-5 vegetables to maybe 7-10 servings daily and cut out whites, so what ever works for you please make an effort and if you have tried every diet in the world so did I until I found the one for me, in the end fresh fruits, vegetables,lean meat, crystal light, and pure H2O has not let me down.

[Dave S.]

I'am proud of what they all lost on the show - But this past season was not as good as other's - Brady and Vicky are 2 nasty people who i could not stand!I'm glad they didn't win - i wish they would have been voted off early. I wanted Michelle and Coleen to be at the top.

[c]

Hello Cheryl, I have a question about this blog entry. I've never heard about the recommendation to start workouts with weights before cardio. It sounds very logical, though. So, this is supposed to help you burn more calories during and after your workout? Should you start off with weights straight away or do some kind of a cardio warm-up first?

Thanks so much, I love your blog.

[Kim Nixon]

I've now lost 50 pounds. I started small working out doing half-jacks (a modified jumping jack) and high-knees (marching in place) during commerical breaks during the Biggest Loser. % commerical breaks is roughly 15 minutes. Now it is a year later ans I run 3-5 miles easily and run a 10k every now and then. You ahve to meet your body where it is each day as a 45 year old woman I have injuries that flare from time to time--the trick is consistancy--keep moving what you can. Find a successful strategy for lunch or breakfast, or simply add in more fresh fruit. You need to retrain your plate--yes this does work. If you think Fast Food is easy--youa re kidding yourself there is nothing easy about paying out your hard earned money for yucky food, sittign in line at the drive-thru burning up fuel. Planning works. Apples cut up the night before and pair this with a low-fat cheese stick for that 2-3pm slump--this will help manage appetite until dinner. Youc an do this--we all can do this. Just sart somewhere and build small successes.