When you lose weight quickly without exercising or on a diet that fits your body, you may lose not only fat but muscle too. As a result, metabolism slows down and weight gain is even greater! Researchers have looked into this subject by following candidates from the American program "The biggest loser" for 6 years as relayed by the magazine Business Insider.
There are many slimming methods, from the simple diet found on the internet to reality programs featuring intensive training camps. Whether it is one or the other, the goal of a person who wants to lose weight is ultimately to obtain a healthy weight and ensure a stable figure on the scale that can last in time.
What happens to the candidates of the program "The biggest loser"?
The American show The biggest loser is a reality TV program that focuses on overweight or obese candidates who want to lose weight through a diet and intensive physical training. The goal being to lose the maximum weight to win the first place, a financial reward to the key.
For 30 weeks, candidates must follow a restrictive diet at about 1200 calories a day and practice at least 90 minutes of intense exercise daily, 6 days a week. After the end of the program, participants are left on their own without supervision or advice on how to maintain their diet and exercise program.
The popularity of the show and its surprising results attracted the interest of a team of researchers. 11 American endocrinologists from 3 medical institutes in different parts of the United States studied 14 candidates who participated in this competition.
The participants started the program with an average weight of about 300 Pounds and finished with an average weight of about 91 kg. Six years later, the six men and eight women were weighed again and the discovery was intriguing. The researchers found that the candidates had almost three found a weight approaching 250 pounds. In fact, only one participant had not gained weight. As for body fat, its average percentage was around 49% at the beginning of the show, to 28% then to go up to 45% 6 years after the end of the shoot.
On the other hand, candidates were able to burn an average of 2,607 calories per day during the competition, to reach about 2,000 calories per day at the end. Six years later, the burning of calories had slowed down again to 1,900 per day.
The experts found that the phenomenal weight loss that many attended was hard to maintain!
The relapse is imminent!
This study has allowed scientists to conclude that these intensive programs are ultimately not as effective and that it is difficult to maintain the weight achieved over time. The effect is immediate but unfortunately does not last. Moreover, using money as a source of motivation is a method that has also been controversial.
Why this weight recovery? When the body finds a reduction in calories, some hormones warn the brain of the need to store fat to cope with this sudden and unexpected restriction. The functioning of metabolism has also been put in the spotlight as it has been observed that a strict diet slows the metabolism thus preventing the body from burning fat.
In a New York Times article, Dr. Michael Schwartz, a researcher on obesity and diabetes, said that definitive thinning is virtually a biological impossibility for people with significant excess weight. He added that although participants forced their bodies to lose weight during the program, most seemed to succumb to powerful hormonal and metabolic forces that they were no longer able to control.
After these revelations, the experts agreed to confirm that lifestyle changes should be maintained for a prolonged period of time, at least one year, to increase energy expenditure and prevent weight gain....
