How to Have Biggest Loser Results

How do the contestants on The Biggest Loser do it? First of all, they are cut off from society. No phones, internet, or cable TV. They do not have to go to work, take care of the kids, or run errands. All they have to do is lose weight.

 

Food

The women are on a 1,200 calorie per day diet, and an 1,800 calorie per day diet for the men. There is no butter, white flour, or white sugar in the kitchen. They eat 3 meals and 2 snacks per day, and do not go more than 4 hours without eating. They are allowed one cheat day, where they women can max out at 2,000 calories and the men at 3,000. This is still a huge difference as many of them eat a couple thousand calories at one sitting before going on the show.

Exercise

All contestants work out at least 4 hours per day. 4 hours! They do a combination of cardio and weight training, and have different classes during the day, such as kickboxing. Many contestants are in the gym without the trainers, putting in extra time. Stretching is also an important component of their exercise regimen, and helps to prevent injuries. You may also notice them icing their joints and muscles after a tough workout.  

Education

The contestants on the show learn about nutrition and how to handle their emotions. Many people use food as a way to deal with emotions, so they will not keep the weight off without resolving deep emotional problems and learning how to deal with difficulties.  

How can you do it at home?

It is not realistic for most of us to exercise 4+ hours per day. That being said, we can all find an hour. Instead of watching TV, going online, or sitting on the sofa, get up and get out! 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening is a good way to sneak in an hour of exercise every day. If you have not had an exercise routine recently, start with walking or (if you are able) jogging. Add some weight training. If you do not have access to weights, use your body weight. Do pushups, sit-ups, and squats. Just make sure you always stretch after a workout.

Eat better. Cut out the bad food and replace it with healthful choices. Swap out a beef burrito for a black bean taco, white pasta for wheat or veggie pasta, or sugary cereal with oatmeal. Eat a salad before lunch and dinner. The veggies are great for you and will help fill you up before diving in to your higher calorie entrée. Although I am a big fan of Weight Watchers, you don’t have to count points or calories to lose weight. Some people (like me) thrive on control and work best this way. Others can simply just make better choices and be happy with the results. 

Don't forget the water! Aim to drink half your weight in ounces per day, and increase your water intake when you exercise. 

What's The Best Diet?

Frankly speaking, the best diet is not a diet. It is a lifestyle change. Usually we gain weight because we are eating too much junk and not getting enough exercise. Ugh, the E word. We'll address that later.


When I was a young(er) adult, I could eat what I wanted with little to no repercussion. I didn't have to exercise (although I was active), count calories, watch portions, etc. Then I made a career change and took an office job. I went from being on my feet 40 hours per week to sitting at a desk most of the time. I gained about 5 pounds in the first few months and plateaued out. I didn’t try to lose weight as I still felt happy with my size. All that changed when I got married. 

Having a husband around who loved food led to eating more, eating out, and eating more often. I gained about 20-25 pounds in less than a year. Yikes! I had already made the switch to a vegetarian lifestyle, but was filling the void left by the absence of meat with carbohydrates. Not the good ones, either… Pasta, pizza, breads…. I decided I needed to lose weight and, like most, wanted to do it immediately. I tried only eating carbs in the morning, and filling the rest of the day with veggies. Fail. Lemonade diet? Fail. Atkins? Being a vegetarian already set me up for failure for this one. Counting calories? Fail. I tried almost everything short of prepackaged food programs.

One day I saw a Weight Watchers commercial and decided to give it a try. I signed up online because I could not picture myself going to meetings. If you are unfamiliar with this program, it is pretty simple. You can eat whatever you want. Each food is assigned a point value based on its protein, carbohydrate, fat, and fiber content. Each day you can eat X amount of points, with bonus weekly points to use on days you go over your allotment. The first few days were hard. I had to enter all my foods into my online tracker. Once I had my favorites programmed, it was very easy. The site keeps track of your daily and weekly points, as well as rewarding you with activity points for exercising. I lost 6 pounds the first week, and continued to lose weight at a healthy rate over the next few weeks. Soon, I got really good at knowing a food’s point value before even having to track it. I cancelled my online membership and now carry a small notepad so I can track my daily points.

I cannot stress enough how much I LOVE this program! It is designed to teach you HOW to eat. You quickly realize you can have pancakes for breakfast and pizza for lunch, but dinner is going to be lacking (fruits and most vegetables are 0 points and considered “free foods” so you’ll never starve yourself). I learned that my problem is portion control, and Weight Watchers really helped me learn how to properly portion my meals. I would strongly recommend this plan to anyone having trouble losing weight.