Eep, looks like Bianca was just saying she didn't have time to do the Biggest Loser type exercise of hours a day, not that she couldn't at all.

Its not realistic for anyone who works full time, let alone while attending school, to do that much exercise. I have a hard time fitting in everything I do in a day.

The amount of exercise they do per day is not feasible for the normal person who needs to make money to survive. This is not an excuse or a slight to people that don't do what Biggest Loser contestants do, but if you replaced your 40 hour per week job (or more for those with more than one job or more demanding jobs) with nothing but focusing on your weight, than you can do it too. So quit your job and spend that time working out. Then take all the extra money you have (after quitting your job) and spend it on nutritionists and trainers. Love that idea.

I know I sound bitter, but it is just realism. There is a reason that models and actresses have the figures they do. They get paid to do it.

If someone paid me to stay in shape, I would take that job in a heartbeat... and have the body to show for it.

i always found this show too be unrealistic, and possibly unfair,i may be totaly of the ball here(only watched it a couple of times) but if i remeber right they dont go by bodyfat lost and go by % of weight lost? well i know its about losing weight but it dosent send out a healthy message really...

yes too much weight is bad, but surly at the rate these guys are losing surly there dropping a ton of muscle with it? cant be good in the long run since thats what helps lose fat?!

Yeah they're dropping weight way too quickly and not building any muscle. They become what's called "skinny fat." And we all know that muscle burns fat, so I have no idea why the trainers on that show don't put an emphasis on that. It sends an unrealistic message.

Obese people can drop weight quickly without worrying so much about losing muscle. They have to lose muscle if they're ever going to reach a normal weight for the simple reason that a hefty portion of all that weight they gained on their way into obesity was lean body mass.

Lots of interesting answers, the science though is that it doesn't happen in a week, you are watching the culmination of weeks of filming and good editing, the reasoning behind commercials. The math says that in order to lose 20lbs in one week you need a deficit of 70,000 calories. Not possible! Be inspired by their desire to change and their determination to succeed, but don't get caught up in the scale.

You have to consider that they have absolutely nothing else to do but eat healthy and exercise. Obviously, this doesn't apply to the average person. On that show, they are exercising a good 5 hours per day. Given the very high weight of the people on the show, they could easily be burning 500 calories per hour (or much more depending on the activity; my top estimate would be 800-1000 calories/hour). So, if you burn an average of 500 calories/hour for 5 hours, that's 2500 calories per day. Now, at their weight, they could probably eat about 2,500-3,000 calories to MAINTAIN their weight. So, assume that their diets on the show are about 1,500-2,000. So, they have a 1,000 calorie deficit in their diet. 1,000 (diet deficit) + 2,500 (exercise) = 3,500 calorie deficit/day. So, that is one pound per day leading to 7 pounds/week. Now, sometimes they exercise even more and eat even less (or weigh more), which could lead to even more weight loss.

This isn't even including the fact that was mentioned before which is that one week on the show may not be one week in real time. If they actually have two weeks, 14 pounds/"one week" show could be possible, etc. Unless you can dedicate several hours per day to exercise like they can, you won't be able to lose weight that quickly. However, it is better to lose weight slower! Your muscles will have more time to develop, and your skin will have more time to adjust to your new size (hopefully decreasing saggy skin/stretch marks).

One thing to note, however, is that exercise is the key for them, and could be for you. If you lose weight by cutting calories and don't add any exercise, your muscles will be eaten by your body (dramatic, but true). You need to at least have a little toning or some form of activity to help push you into burning the fat instead of the muscle (if you absolutely can't exercise, eating a slightly higher protein ratio than the standard 10-15% will also help to maintain muscle mass; suggestions on this forum are about 30%, and that seems reasonable to me since you can still have a good 30% from carbohydrate which the body likes to fuel your brain and nerve function). So, if you are looking to speed up weight loss, adding exercise is way healthier and more efficient than cutting your calories extremely low (remember that strength training builds muscle which increases your metabolism at all times and cardiovascular training can vamp up the metabolism for up to 12 hours after the activity).