No doubt a massive financial incentive adds to weight-loss motivation, and it takes motivation to exercise for four to six hours at boot-camp intensity on a calorie-restricted diet. Contestants on "The Biggest Loser" TV show lose weight using the same strategy that works at home. You create a calorie deficit by reducing calorie intake and increasing calorie burning through activity. Even without a crew of nutritionists and trainers, these success strategies can help you lose weight.
Context
The "Biggest Loser" provides glimpses of weight loss in a medically supervised context. The contestants are morbidly obese. These factors affect the intensity of the program and the rapid results. Although drastic calorie restriction isn't safe for home weight loss, some techniques from "The Biggest Loser" can help you achieve your own goals -- in consultation with your doctor. Twin brothers from the 2008 show both lost their excess weight, even though one brother was eliminated and completed his transformation at home.
Intensive Exercise
After years of being told to exercise in their "fat-burning" zone by taking walks and performing low-impact aerobics at moderate intensity, people seeking to lose weight now see by the example of "The Biggest Loser" that vigorous exercise that makes you sweat results in fast weight loss. The prolonged, intensive cardio and circuit-training workouts the contestants engage in increase metabolism. The weight training helps preserve lean tissue to maintain metabolism on the calorie-restricted diet. "The Biggest Loser" exercise program increases in intensity during the course of the program to provide a continuous challenge.
Amount of Exercise
Contestants on "The Biggest Loser" exercise daily under the supervision of personal trainers for four to six hours. For an obese person on a low-calorie diet, this causes a substantial calorie deficit. The heavier you are, the more calories you burn during exercise because of the energy required to lift your own body weight. For this reason, obese people on medically supervised low-calorie diets and intensive exercise program lose weight much more rapidly than a person who is closer to a healthy weight.
The Diet
"The Biggest Loser Diet" pyramid includes four servings of fruits and vegetables, three 1-cup servings of lean protein, two servings of whole grains and one extra -- such as a fat serving or alcohol. Small, frequent meals and 48 to 64 oz. of water daily prevent hunger. The "Biggest Loser" diet reduces calorie intake as a contestant loses weight. This tactic helps maintain weight loss. Restricting calorie intake, sodium and starch in conjunction with heavy-duty exercise contributes to shedding excess water weight. This helps the contestants lose weight so fast. The protein and fiber in the diet fuel the workouts and promote fat burning.
References
- American Council on Exercise: Biggest Loser's Couple Ongoing Weight Challenge
- Medline Plus: The "Biggest Loser" Expounds on the Benefits of Losing Pounds; Shanna Potash; Winter 2008
- NBC: Bob Harper's 15-Station Circuit Workout
- Good Housekeeping: Biggest Loser Winning Workout and Meal Plan; Joanna Powell
- American Dietetic Association: The Biggest Loser The Weight Loss Program to Transform Your Body, Health and Life
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