What We Can Learn From The Biggest Loser Study

By Kevin DiDonato MS, CES


Discouraging, un-motivating, and unsuccessful.

These are just a few of the words people are feeling after reading the latest study going around the internet on the Biggest Loser.

Most people, you may be included, are raising the white flag…cancelling gym memberships…and even cancelling on their trainers.

All because of one study that shows that after weight loss, in this case extreme weight loss, participants had a much slower metabolic rate—and it slowed even more as the years went by.

But:

Don’t let this one study fool you into thinking that you need to give up!  In fact, this study should motivate you even more to losing the weight you want to lose and living the lifestyle you have always wanted!

Let me explain…

Successful Weight Loss

The study, which showed the majority of contestants gained their weight back (if not more than before), has some surprises inside it.

Yes, from the outside, it looks pretty devastating—that no matter what you do, you’re always going to be overweight or gain your weight back after you go off a diet.

However, this is not totally true!

Yes, your metabolic rate will slow after losing weight—which does make it harder to maintain your current weight and not gain weight back.

However, if you’re still doing what you need to do—eating right and exercising—then you should still be able to maintain your weight loss.

And for those people who have lost a lot of weight and seen a slowdown in their metabolic rate…

…sorry to say, but you’re going to have to work that much harder to keep you weight loss results!

I know it doesn’t seem fair…

But, it’s what needs to happen!  It doesn’t mean that you can’t indulge…or that you need to exercise for hours on end..

It just means that you need to be extra diligent on your diet and work that much harder at the gym to maintain your results.

So, how can you do this?

First, you need to focus on your diet.   You need to be sure you’re eating the right amount of calories to sustain your body and keep you where you’re at.

This could be lower than normal, but again, if your metabolism is slower, eating fewer calories may actually help keep you at your target weight.

Next up, you need to exercise!  As you know, exercise helps you to expend extra calories.

Most people can get away with doing a well-planned out strength training program combined with a cardiovascular program.

However, someone with a slower metabolism may benefit from including some bouts of HIIT training in order to blast a few more calories AND create a afterburn effect (extended calorie burn).

Including all components (strength training, cardiovascular, and HIIT) could result in greater long-term benefits.

Take Home Message

The results of a new study shows that people from the Biggest Loser TV show may have a slower metabolism than other people.

And this has caused some concern for those looking to lose weight.

First, people believe that if they lose weight and their metabolism slows, it will be harder to lose weight and maintain their current weight loss.

However, for those who have lost weight, you need to understand that working hard at the gym and being diligent on your diet are keys to keeping the weight off.

So, if you’re eating right and exercising daily then there should be very little concern when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off.