You finally did it.
You committed to a nutrition program and you can’t wait to be 15 lbs (or more) lighter. You have been at it for a couple of weeks and the scale has moved a bit, clothes are a bit looser but damn it… Why isn’t it faster? Should I just drop my calories lower?
Should I lose weight faster?
What if I started working out 2x per day? My coach has me working at x calories, why shouldn’t I just go lower? I can gut it out. I want more, faster.
More results, and faster are something we all want. Is that the best for us?
The answer is… Kinda.
During a recent challenge, we had some clients who were losing weight but wanted to amp it up. They figured they were losing weight at a certain set of calories, and why not just drop the number of calories lower and go faster?
I call this the Biggest Loser approach. This is named after the TV show that started in 2004.
When the creators of the TV show were looking into weight loss they were told that a healthy rate of weight loss was 2lbs per week. They knew that this wouldn’t make good television and that the audience wouldn’t pay attention to that, so they pushed to have participants lose almost 2 lbs per day.
The results were tremendous for contestants and ratings. Contestants lost a lot of weight, but the no longer hidden story is that of the first 14 contestants all but one regained the weight and more.
The problem is that they were in a closed environment with strict rules. If you go from 350 lbs to 175 lbs you need to learn to eat like someone at 175. You need to learn new habits, and you need to learn the triggers that caused you to gain unwanted weight in the first place.
What the contestants had learned to do was to be miserable for a period of time in order to reach a goal. This is a different set of behaviors than what is required to remain at the newfound healthy weight.
The contestants had old habits, old coping mechanisms, restrictive rules, and an unhealthy relationship with food. They didn’t know how to plan meals that were providing a balance of nutrients to fuel their bodies. They didn’t know how to deal with social engagements. They didn’t know how to eat healthily while traveling. They didn’t understand hunger cues for their new bodies, and they didn’t have someone to help them figure it out.
What the biggest losers needed was individualized follow-up, coaching, and support. They didn’t need a dietician to plan meals for them. They needed a coach to help them implement the skills that would keep them healthy in the long run.
If you want to avoid the “biggest loser” pitfall and would like to get started with our nutrition coaching. Schedule a free consultation below.
