I have somewhat of a confession to make. Years back, I was a dedicated viewer of "The Biggest Loser" series. Week after week, I would watch the contestants workout tirelessly, diet diligently and see them shed hundreds of pounds over the course of about 9 months. The finale always amazed me to see the extreme weight loss they achieved, and it seemed that they all had a fresh start on life. The show inspired me, and also at times annoyed me because many of my clients would ask me why they weren't seeing similar types of results in a pretty short time.

Sadly, I would often hear and see that many of the contestants regained most (if not all or more) of the weight they had worked so hard to lose. I assumed that it was due to them going back to their "real lives" in regard to the daily stresses of life: work, kids, food temptations, etc. However I came across a recent New York Times article that shed light on a few other factors that could be significant reasons that these "Losers" returned overweight.

The article is entitled After 'The Biggest Loser' Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight. It explained the results of a study that followed Season 8's contestants that yielded surprising discoveries about the physiology of obesity; and may help explain why many people struggle to keep off the weight they lose.

It has been six years since Season 8. The results in a nut shell showed how hard the body fights back against weight loss. The head researcher, Kevin Hall, called the findings "frightening and amazing." It is based in resting metabolism which determines how many calories a person burns at rest. When the show began, the contestants had normal metabolisms for people of their size. When it ended, their metabolism slowed so radically that their bodies weren't burning enough calories to maintain their thinner size.

Naturally when a person loses weight, his/her metabolism slows due to less body mass. So, initially this was not a surprise. However, as the years went by, and the weight was coming back, the metabolisms didn't recover and even slowed more. The article states "it was as if their bodies were intensifying their effort to pull the contestants back to their original weight." They burned between 300 and 800 less calories per day than other people of their size. Day after day of this gap certainly explains weight gain. Another key finding in the study was a very low or complete lack of Leptin which is a hormone that controls hunger. This will result in ravenous food cravings. This unfortunate combination creates an almost no win situation especially in extreme diet/exercise situations.

These findings made me very sad for the contestants who worked so hard to lose their obese bodies just to regain it back along with feeling the shame and scrutiny of others. While the article didn't expressly state this, I feel there was an implication that I agree with. In my opinion and personal experience with clients, extreme behaviors whether it be hours and hours of exercise and/or radical dieting will cause your body to retaliate. The human body is extremely smart and knows when it is trying to be tricked or manipulated. If you eat very little food, it clearly knows it and will hold onto every calorie for dear life. If you workout for hours and hours (especially while eating very little food) it will do the same. And once you return to normal levels of eating and moving, it won't simply "bounce back" and let the calories go, in what I feel is a protective mechanism from the trauma it experienced in the months of extreme behavior.

But don't throw your hands up in the air in defeat just yet! Moderation, moderation, moderation people! I know that in our society we want everything fast and immediate gratification. But that is simply not the way the body works. It needs time to adjust to gradual changes or it will backfire. Sadly, these poor participants are once again proof of this fact. Moderate and gradual changes in diet and activity are much more likely in long term success in a healthy manner. There truly is no quick fix. Sorry to break it to you once again.