Biggest Loser Winner Rachel Frederickson, In the depths of it’s 16th season, The Biggest Loser has been the most successful weight loss show to date. Fans see contestants drop impressive numbers each week, and by the finales of a season, it is not unusual for at least half of the contestants to have dropped 80 pounds or more. With such a great weight loss success, one would think contestants would have an easy time living their lives at a healthier weight.
This, however, is not always the case. As with any amount of weight loss, it is very easy for a person to regain some, or all, of the weight they had lost. This is especially true for a great quantity of former Biggest Loser contestants. Many go back to the comfort of home, and either go back into their old ways, or work hard to maintain and possibly lose a little extra, but then find that life gets in the way and their health is put on the back burner.
Strikingly enough, some former contestants have turned to bariatric surgery to help re-lose the weight they had put back on, according to several interviews conducted by USNews. Working out 5 to 6 hours a days, along with calorie restrictions, makes it near to impossible to maintain the large amount of weight loss that a contestant achieved on The Biggest Loser ranch.
In a study conducted by The Obesity Society on the effects the Biggest Loser plan has on contestants’ metabolisms, it was concluded that, “Calorie restriction along with vigorous exercise in BLC participants resulted in preservation of FFM and greater metabolic adaption compared to RYGB subjects despite comparable weight loss. Metabolic adaptation was related to the degree of energy imbalance and the changes in circulating leptin.” In short, losing weight on a plan similar to The Biggest Loser’s weight loss plan, does wreak havoc on one’s metabolism.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are some contestants who have been able to maintain, continue to improve their health, and even one from a recent season who seemed to lose too much weight, causing long time Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels to question the direction in which the show was going. Season 15 winner Rachel Frederickson had lost 155 pounds which equated to 59.62% of her body weight. The dramatic weight loss caused concern for Jillian Michaels, saying that Frederickson had “lost too much weight,” she told HuffPostLive.
Other former contestants, such as Vinny Hickerson, have had great success being back home. Though he weighs the same amount he did at the finale, he has lost numerous inches, lost more fat, and gained a lot of muscle, according to his recent interview with The Tennessean.
While what the Biggest Loser does for many contestants in positive ways, there are also a changes the show could implement about helping contestants reach their optimal health, as well as helping them maintain their health long after the cameras have turned off.
