As you lose weight metabolism slows down.

So I just saw this article in the NYT that revisited contestants on The Biggest Loser. Almost all of them have gained most if not all of their weight back and then some. The science behind it is that the human body does what it can to hold on to or gain back the weight it once had by slowing down your metabolism rate and nearly everyone gains back the weight they lose on a long enough time scale. One contestant would currently have to eat 800 calories less a day than the average male his size. Ultimately the findings are that we are fighting our own biology when we try to lose a lot of weight.

So thoughts on this?
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

I guess it works like an addiction, at some point you just have to keep the dosis high and higher because the body adapts and 'thinks' its normal ...

The reduction in metabolic rate occurs because the calorie deficit that dieters depend upon to eliminate fat also eliminates muscle tissue, and muscle tissue makes a substantial contribution to basal metabolic rate.

I can't claim to be an expert on weight loss, but I remember reading that the solutions are:

• Aim for gradual weight loss by maintaining only a small daily calorie deficit, i.e. ~200 calories.
• Scale back on "cardio" type exercise in favor of muscle-building exercise.

If the person has already lost way too much muscle mass to maintain a decent metabolism, then I guess it may actually be necessary to eat a few hundred calories above the "break even" daily intake while regaining muscle mass, then switch back to small calorie deficit once the muscles have been restored.

Either grow some self control and better habits or stop whining.

Everybody is tired of it.

Title is misleading.

The article states that this is only in cases of extreme diet and exercise like in the contestants of the biggest loser.

This isn't the case for your average eating healthy and 80 minutes of exercise per week.

It is an interesting article, but the men and women that appear on that show are losing weight based on very unconventional means. It may be more beneficial to study someone that lost a lot of weight through normal means over the course of a few years and see how well they are able to keep the weight off.

I lost 50lbs 5 years ago and kept it good until I got married. I gained it back and I'm back where I started but this time struggling more for my metabolism is really slow. But with a good diet, healthy and balanced I've been able to go down few pounds and more as the year goes. Exercise is key, changing work outs and mixing up things as the body gets used to the same regime.

@thegerg: You are showing how little you know about how medical conditions affect weight, and the apathetic attitude does not help your argument.

@thegerg: If the psychology of eating were that simple, for example, we would probably see many less overweight or heavier folks in the United States.

@thegerg: Your argument that all that matters in weight management is the amount of calories ingested is a severe oversimplification. It is like using a blunt tool when a precise tool is better.

Let's review

All I'm saying is that the only way one gains weight is if they eat more calories than they use.

Yes, that was all that you were saying. Therefore, you meant nothing else. You could mean something else, but that is what you typed.

Given that the people in that show are supposed to lose as much weight as possible as fast as possible, yeah I am not surprised they gained most of it back. A small gradual weight loss is the way to go. Never get your body into thinking it has to preserve resources.

@thegerg: @BranKetra:

Are you both fat?

So its best to never let your body get big in the first place. That way your body won't get the desire to go back to a bigger weight. If that's what i'm understanding.

ad block will not allow me to read article.

**** them ads

I'm going to say this exactly one time, but do not make this personal.

@thegerg: I think the point that Bran is trying to make is that while yes, weight is fundamentally a function of caloric intake versus intended output, because metabolisms can function differently for different people you can have two people who live the same lifestyle from a diet/excersize perspective who get two wildly different results, so statements like "BS excuses" suggest indifference to this reality.

-Byshop

@Byshop: "I'm going to say this exactly one time, but do not make this personal."

What?

Accusing other forum members of being fat for their position in this discussion is absolutely out of bounds. Keep it about the topic, not about each other.

-Byshop

@Byshop:

1st off, how is that accusing?

-PSP107

@thegerg: true but a lighter weight your body doesn't need to burn as many calories as it does at a higher weight.

So if I weighed 200lbs....and and break even weight wise eating 2400 calories a day, I could gain weight eating the same calories at 160lbs.

@thegerg:

Let me ask. Does genes play a role?

@thegerg: Excuse me. The idea that all that matters in weight management is caloric intake and use is a severe oversimplification. Now that is clarified, I hope the accusation that I am lying does not return, and we can focus on the topic.

Yes, it does suggest indifference to that fact, and that is what I was saying. Again, there is much more to weight management than caloric intake and use, and this is especially true with people who are required to take medication that affects their metabolic rates or hormones. The explicit statement that people are simply making excuses instead of simply burning more calories than ingested is an extraordinary oversimplification.

It is one thing to express a thorough, yet concise statement, another it is quite another to speak curtly.

@thegerg:

Some people say if your parents were fat, then there is a high chance the children would be too.

Yeah, the body kind of regulates itself. That's not to say you can't make it out of whack or anything, but if you're fat, your body knows it and will try to burn it off through various means. If you're skinny, it realizes it, and will start storing calories as fat.

Age is also a factor; havent read the article yet, but if they're revisiting people that were in their 20s while on the show, and are in their 30s now, that also plays a factor.

Furthermore, when on the show, these people are working out like 10 hours a day, eating a starvation diet (fewer calories than you burn), and so forth. They go off the show, and the stresses, temptations, and lack of exterior control (trainers, dietitians, doctors, etc) all factor in.

Weight loss is incredibly tough, I feel sorry for anyone that loses pounds and puts them on. It's no wonder so many people give up.

@thegerg: well yeah bottom line is the only way you gain weight is take in more calories than you burn.

The Biggest Loser is extreme on two fronts: (a) the amount of exercise (with trainers); and (b) the diet (with the use of chefs etc.)

This can't possibly be maintained in the real world where people work. However, maintaining a healthy diet, managing caloric intake, and regular exercise, will help maintain a steady level. These contestants that increased their weight after the show were not able to maintain, or find that regimen best suited for them.

@thegerg: Good Lord, I hope you get over whatever it is that causes you to be so rude.

@thegerg: I do not imagine that you have ever acted as a professional caretaker, or associated yourself with any. If you did, I would expect more than curtness and oversimplifications furthered by attempts to justify rude briefness of all things. Have a nice day.

@thegerg: Being incorrect is not a lie, but being curt is arrogance.

Simple facts do this discussion no good if they ignore the big picture and the context of topic.

Its super easy to criticize fat people because its culturally acceptable. There are variety of factors that influence someone's weight whether it be on the excess or the reduce side of the problem. It is a fact that food causes weight gain however the types of food and the lifestyle of the person have a greater impact. So, simplifying it as eating too much food or being lazy is a convenient copout to the problem.

Tried a lot of shit, water fasting by far the most effective.

@Pedro: "Its super easy to criticize fat people because its culturally acceptable."

?

That statement directly contradicts objectively verifiable claims made in the article.

"Metabolic rate" isn't some fanciful concept that overweight people invented to justify being overweight. It's a formally- and scientifically-defined attribute that can be assessed with reproducible measurements. And, in the case of the article's subjects, those objective measurements verified that their metabolism was abnormally low.

Danny Cahill

...

METABOLIC RATE: Now burns 800 fewer calories a day than would be expected for a man his size.

Seriously, there are probably people out there who eat fewer calories per day than you do and who exercise more per day than you do, but who are nonetheless prone to weight gain on account of low metabolism.