Questions about a new study

[hrh]

Hello This is my first post, but my mother and I are now on day 55 of my Whole30 (we decided to keep going). I'm not sure which part of the forum to post this in though....

 

We woke up this morning and both of us had received this article in the New York Times regarding a study concerning The Biggest Loser contestants: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?_r=0

 

I discarded much of what I read due to the fact that these contestants were exercising 7 hours/day and eating 800 calories/day and basically not learning how to incorporate healthy nutritional eating habits and exercise into normal daily life. It didn't surprise me that so many gained weight back.

 

The parts that interested me though had to do with the overall decreased metabolism and leptin levels. Paraphrasing, in spite of their weight loss, their resting metabolisms slowed drastically compared to other people at the same weight levels and their leptin levels were also similarly affected, only returning to half their normal levels even years later. And this was a long term result.

 

I was wondering if these results may be correlated with the way they lost weight? And hopefully not just a generalized rule of weight loss? Does the method of the Whole 30 lifestyle allow for these issues to correct themselves naturally or should we be thinking about preparing for these eventualities before we do our reintroductions?

 

I know that the Whole 30 is a lifestyle change and not just a way to lose weight but for my mom her weight has directly affected her overall health to a point that is life threatening. We started this to change our relationship with food but also as part of an overall change that would result in her getting back to a healthier weight and away from all the health problems she has incurred as a result. I have been so proud of everything she has accomplished these last 55 days (lower blood pressure, lower glucose levels, controlled eating habits, exercising almost daily, and a good amount of weight loss) and we have been preparing for hitting a plateau at some point and the need to incorporate more exercise as well as the possibility of completely removing certain food groups forever (like sugar and grains) but this seems like more than just a plateau. A study like this worries me as the implications seem to be a permanent change. I don't want my mom to become discouraged but I do want us to mentally plan for this Sisyphus scenario if this is truly an aspect of long term weight maintenance that we will have to combat. 

 

 

 

[jmcbn]

I discarded much of what I read due to the fact that these contestants were exercising 7 hours/day and eating 800 calories/day and basically not learning how to incorporate healthy nutritional eating habits and exercise into normal daily life. It didn't surprise me that so many gained weight back.

 

 

I was wondering if these results may be correlated with the way they lost weight? And hopefully not just a generalized rule of weight loss? Does the method of the Whole 30 lifestyle allow for these issues to correct themselves naturally or should we be thinking about preparing for these eventualities before we do our reintroductions?

 

Chronic cardio & restrictive eating will absolutely effect the metabolism & hormones, yes.

Whole30 is designed specifically with getting the hormones back into whack in mind, and nowhere does it encourage the restriction of calorific intake - in fact we don't talk calories at all here, and whilst we encourage healthy movement, we also encourage rest & recovery.

This is why so many of the people we see here need more than the 30 days to undo the damage of their previous lifestyles.

Slow & steady wins the race.

[tmhampton1]

The interesting thing to me about this study is the disparity in what they are doing. Nothing about eating 800 calories of not whole nutritious food and working out for 7 hours a day is healthy. The body never has time to rest and you aren't even eating enough. Of course your metabolism is going to slow down...your body thinks you are going to continually starve it. 

 

With W30, you actually eat whole nutritious food in amounts that will sustain bodily function until the next meal. Then you eat more. Your body realizes that you aren't going to starve it, but are actually feeding it healthy food on a regular basis. We are able to get rid of the cravings and not live addicted to our FitBit and the number of calories in vs. out. Our bodies have an amazing capacity for self preservation and unless you start to let it know that there will be food, the second you let up it will store fat. 

[SugarcubeOD]

There is NOTHING about this (excerpt from the article below) that is healthy... I personally think that the creators of this program should be sued for endangerment... this is human abuse plain and simple

 

His routine went like this: Wake up at 5 a.m. and run on a treadmill for 45 minutes. Have breakfast — typically one egg and two egg whites, half a grapefruit and a piece of sprouted grain toast. Run on the treadmill for another 45 minutes. Rest for 40 minutes; bike ride nine miles to a gym. Work out for two and a half hours. Shower, ride home, eat lunch — typically a grilled skinless chicken breast, a cup of broccoli and 10 spears of asparagus. Rest for an hour. Drive to the gym for another round of exercise.

[hrh]

Thank you for the replies! Waking up to this article was somewhat depressing as it seemed to imply that the results were typical of any weight loss, not specific to the manner in which the contestants had lost weight and when talking to my mom about it I could hear that "What's the point" edge creeping in.

 

It was disconcerting to say the least that the researchers had found these long term reductions in metabolism and leptin 6 years after these contestants had been on the Biggest Loser show. Glad to know that the healthy manner in which the Whole 30 approaches eating should stabilize these factors naturally over time. We can do slow and steady! I probably should also turn off my NYT's notifications too ;P

[SugarcubeOD]

It is no wonder that the body of a person who works out for 7 hours a day and eats 800 calories of processed (subway??) crap is going to rebel on a long term basis.  These people do not eat fat... they eat prepacked '100 calorie' snacks and drink Gatorade and take caffeine pills to keep themselves pushing forward against every cell in their being that suggests that this is not healthy.  It makes me cringe to think of how disappointing it must be to do all that work on no fuel to get down to that finale show weight and then to end up worse off than when they started because they basically beat their poor body into submission... I find it sad... I'd rather be a little fluffy and healthy than ever EVER do to my body what these people do... it's torture!

 

sorry... can't really step off my soap box because it makes me crazy... 

[laura_juggles]

Oh, SugarcubeOD, how I share your soapbox! Back in the days when I counted calories and weighed almost 370lbs, going to the gym for 45 minutes to an hour, 4 days a week. And I was eating roughly 1,800 calories a day. Weight came off fairly quickly, but I never felt terrible. Someone made a comment once about how people lose weight faster than I was on The Biggest Loser and I said that that show was going to kill someone someday because it's so unhealthy. 

 

I'm no Skinny Minnie now, but I am healthy and fit and happily teaching group fitness classes.

 

I'm honestly amazed that someone hasn't gotten seriously seriously ill on that show. 

[Catthegrape]

Thanks for your post hrh! I had actually logged in to post the same question. Melissa is not answering any questions right now because she's writing her book, but I would really love it if she and Dallas could get a study of this phenomenon in the Whole30 community and post results,particularly regarding the leptin markers and the before and after calorie burn. I myself am now coming to terms with the fact that due to previous dieting, i probably already have this dynamic set up in my body. So although I've already been looking for nonscale victories, I will continue to try to make this my primary focus and not be ruled by the scale (which is currently locked in the garden shed-did that on day one) although I know like so many others, I will be crushed if that needle hasn't moved at the end. I looked back at the list of all the reasons I want to lose weight and there is only one that has to do with a number on a scale. All of the others, health, vitality, resolution of medical issues, improved mood, improved self esteem, sleep etc... I asked myself "If you felt this way, would it matter what you weigh?" No. The number on the scale is somehow correlated in my head with those things, but the truth is, those are the results I want and crave, not a number. If I feel great and feel great about myself, isn't that what I'm trying to achieve? That being said, I want to at least reach 220 on the scale so I can ride a horse! At 5'11", I dream about getting down to 180. I am letting go of that dream. It's the wrong dream. It's all of the other stuff on my list that the number represents. That's what I really want. Have your mom review her list and continue to check things off that list as her health improves, which no doubt it will. My list used to be titled "all the reasons I want to lose weight". I scratched that out and wrote "get healthy" instead. Tiger blood, I will find you!!!!

[SugarcubeOD]

Well to be fair, people have gotten seriously mentally ill after being on that show... I can't remember the girl's name but she risked being sued by breaking the confidentiality agreement to out the show on the seriously ridiculous practices and she spent a large amount of time with debilitating anxiety after the show... so... people ARE getting sick but everyone wants a quick fix and these contestants get that with the 8 hours of exercise and starvation diets but what they soon find out is there IS no quick fix and everything you do has an equal and opposite reaction so if you do something extreme, the equal and opposite reaction is also extreme... such as gaining all the weight and more back, ending up mentally ill, physically ill and worse off than before... it's sad....

[hrh]

Oh, I had no illusions that the practices on that show are healthy even pre Whole30! I definitely would worry about the long term effects of such rapid weight loss and lack of any education on healthy eating practices. The contestants seemed surprised at what happened when they went back to snacking on chips and drinking beer!

 

@Catthegrape
I totally agree! She stays away from the scale at home but she has doctors appointments every other week or so, which is great because we've seen the tangible results of lowered blood sugar and blood pressure but they also weigh her every time so there's no getting away from that. Regardless its been great to hear how happy she is when she gets these improved results as it shows her that this whole lifestyle is actually working and benefiting her! It's like every 2 weeks she gets this positive feedback that keeps her on track. And I think we had a really good talk about this article and how it seems somewhat misleading in its results. I've been trying to find an actual copy of the study listed in the article but haven't but reading into the article a bit more I'm charting the results up to a very small and specific study group. I would be much more interested as well in the results of a larger widespread study concerning long term results of all different types of weight loss across the board, I have a suspicion that they wouldn't be so uniform.

[MeadowLily]

The leptin/metabolism study was on the national news tonight.  Anyone that's released a 100 or more will tell you that you can't go back to your former ways.  It doesn't matter what method you use, if you do what you've always done...you'll get what you've always gotten.

 

Don't pay too much attention to it because it is depressing and discouraging.  Many might throw the towel in and give up because of it...  Oooo, why bother now. 

 

So embrace the gentle way.  The gentle way can be just as effective without lots of pain for the foreseeable future.  The number one reason these people are rebounding with every single pound is because they implemented a brutally strict 'diet' right out of the chute.  Every part of a person's being rebels fairly quickly when all the 'dieting' is said and done.

 

You'll have a better shot at getting there and staying there for the rest of your life....if you'll gooo  oooo

soooo sloooowly.  Go ahead and think long term success.  Try this gentle change for the permanent WIN.

 

Do not get on the scale one time.  Not one single time.  Do not look. It brings on more discouragement and heartache.  You will get there when you get there.  Our clothes tell us everything we need to know.  It is enough.   

 

When you do get there...there's no such thing as the Finish Line when it comes to your overall health and well being.  You keep on going.

 

Climbing out of all that depressing dieting talk is transcendent.