I’ve reached out for some help with the content on the site. I’m lucky to have an article written by Nutritionist Sara Vance, author of the book The Perfect Metabolism Plan. A regular guest on Fox 5 San Diego, you can see many of Sara’s segments on her media page. She also offers corporate nutrition, school programs, consultations, and affordable online eCourses. Download her free 40+ page Metabolism Jumpstart eBook here. If she looks and sounds familiar to you, she was the amazing host of The Metabolism Summit. Need a refresher? Click here.
Have you seen the press lately about The Biggest Loser Show? Articles like this one in the New York Times have been reporting that many contestants have gained back significant amounts of weight.
I am not surprised. Over 80% of people who lose weight on a diet – gain it back (and often then some). This is because most diets have several critical flaws. And because The Biggest Loser is kind of like a diet on steroids – the normal diet mistakes seem magnified.
But The Times article painted a pretty hopeless picture, saying that the reason that they gained back the weight is because the metabolism slows down when you lose a lot of weight. So the logical conclusion is – since it is impossible to maintain that amount of weight loss, why even try?
HOLD UP. Just hold up one second.
Lets look at that a little more closely. Yes, there is some truth to the fact that a 300 pound person’s metabolism is just naturally working harder than a 150 person’s metabolism. Think about it this way – if a 150 pound man is given a backpack with 150 pounds of rocks in it to carry around all day long, sure – his metabolism will have to work harder – to do everything. Walking up a flight of stairs would be more like hiking up a steep mountain. Everything he does while carrying that 150 backpack would take more effort and burn more energy. His heart will pump harder, his lungs will work harder, etc.
So I will concede that point.
However, we also have to consider the fact that the metabolism slows down not just because someone loses weight, but also how they lose the weight…
