I have been working on a blog about the trials, tribulations, and challenges of dating urban professional women, but with the uproar this week about the study in the Journal Obesity regarding of The Biggest Loser reality TV show, and the many articles commenting on same, I thought it best to address the issue immediately. You can find that study at www.obesityjournal.org, and it is entitled “Persistent Metabolic Adaptation 6 Years After ‘The Biggest Loser’ Competition”, Kevin Hall et. al., Volume 00, Number 00 Month 2016. In this blog, I will also be referencing a couple of New York Times articles, the first being “After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight” May 2, 2016, and the second being “Short Answers to Hard Questions About Weight Loss”, May 5, 2016. Lastly, I will be referring, in this blog or the next, to a foxnews.com article, dated April 29, 2016, entitled “‘Having Weight Loss Surgery was a Huge Mistake’: One Woman’s Story of Addition”.  This blog is only part 1, of potentially a multiple part blog, since there are so many issues to discuss, and I cannot fully address the topic in just one blog entry.

So what did the study say — basically, that after 6 years from when they appeared on “The Biggest Loser” TV show, most of the participants had regained all the weight they had lost on the show. As I have said previously, I find this shows, and shows like this, exploitative, and in the long term, not beneficial to the participants. This study unfortunately, proves me correct.  And I do have a unique perspective on this issue, since I have lost as much or more weight than all The Biggest Loser contestants, yet I have been able to keep off 90% or more of my weight loss, over a 5-6 year period, which is the same time period as the study participants. Should you need proof, see the above pictures.

Yet, there are many of the same issues I struggle with daily, as brought up in the study, and where I have succeed is a testament to the way I lost the weight, and my vigilance, hard work, and strategies, post-weight loss, that have helped me to keep off the weight, which I will discuss below. I am proud of what I have, and continue to achieve, but the point of this blog entry is to provide hope to those who struggle with their weight, that they can achieve and sustain their weight loss, even without surgery or drugs, which are being pushed by many.

First off, remember that “The Biggest Loser” is a reality TV show, and quick dramatic changes make good TV. So the contestant are essentially sequestered during the series, eating few calories, exercising ridiculous amounts of hours a day, and not living their normal life. So it should not be surprising that they are not prepared, after the show ends, to have a lifestyle that helps them to maintain this quick weight loss. My approach, has been to modify my daily lifestyle to add more exercise (cardio and weight training), reduce calorie intake, and employ better eating strategies, so that I lost only lose 1-2 lbs a week, and the lifestyle has been  sustainable after I reached my weight loss goal. In previous blogs I have gone into the particulars of what needs to be done, so in this blog I will focus on the maintenance side, what I have experienced, and what has worked for me.

What the study points out is that after significant weight loss, the body fights back by changes in one’s resting metabolic rate (RMR), basically, how your body burns calories when you are not active. What happens after significant weight loss is that the body slows down, with a much slower RMR, so it then become easier to gain weight.  What I can tell you from my experience, that it is very easy for me to gain a lot of weight in a short time. For the last 4-5 years, I have been able to keep off 95% or more of my weight loss, however, I was thrown off last year (hence the current 90% figure), when I had shoulder surgery, and ended up losing a lot of lean muscle mass since I could not do weight training for almost a year, even though I was putting in 2 hours of cadio a day, 7 days a week. So here is one tip to sustaining weight loss, weight training, and his is particularly true as you get older. It is only until I restarted weight training (which I admittedly hate) that I have been able to start and make inroads to getting back to that 95% or getter figure.

Another thing from the study, and  also mentioned in the May 2nd New York Times article, is that RMR triggers hunger, cravings and binges. This is something I still experience, and am constantly battling. So what do I do?  For one, if I feel feel really hungry, I try to fill up on vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, “tomatoes”), fruits (blackberries, blue berries), lean proteins (like peanuts or jerk turkey), and low calories carbohydrates (like air popped pop corn, whole wheat bread) — basically, I try to find items that I can eat in bulk, but that are not too fattening. I also weigh myself every day, do not drink sweetened drinks (artificial or natural), and stay away from alcohol.

The May 5th New York Times article downplayed the effectiveness of weight training to help lose and maintain weight, but I must disagree. After my surgery, I lost a tremendous amount of lean muscle mass, and that helps explain why I put on some extra weight, and have struggled to lose that extra weight. So hit the weights. Also, it is important, to take into consideration, when choosing a cadio activity, that is can be duplicated almost every day, and it will not cause you injuries. For that reason, my go-to cardio exercise every morning is the recumbent bike, which unlike the upright bike, does not hurt one’s buttocks and is low impact. Similarly, the elliptical is my machine of choice for my night exercise, In contrast, impact of running outdoors, or on a treadmill, can cause injuries, which can be a set back to your ability to burn calories, and your ability to counter a reduced RMR.

Quick story, in law school I started running, ended up running and completing the NYC Marathon, and lost about 40 lbs which I had put on my first year in law school. That reduced weight was my target when I started losing weight in 2009. What happened is that I injured myself running, and long story short, that was the start of me gaining over 200 lbs in the subsequent years. That is why now, I chose as my go-to exercise, the recumbent bike, which is low impact, and repeatable every day, rain or shine.  And my suggestion to you, and chose a cardio exercise that is equally repeatable and low impact.

Well, I am running to of time this evening, but wanted to leave you with another strategy I use before I publish this part of the blog, namely, that I fast for a 24 hour period at least once a week. One thing discussed in the study and in the New York time articles, is that you can change up your metabolism through fasting. So what I try to do, is not eat anything after Friday lunch, and do not eat again until I have my Saturday workout out and weigh-in (which establishes my weight for the week).  What I gain from this is a sense of control over my eating, and a way to try and burn more fat during my workout. But if I am out on a date, or really feel hungry, I will not fast, but that is an tool that I do use.

So in parting, hang in there, and keep in mind that you can also overcome your body’s weight loss defenses, since the benefits are so great.