Contestants of ‘The Biggest Loser’ Were Allegedly Told to Throw Up to Lose Weight

Ever wondered how contestants in shows like The Biggest Loser would lose a lot—I mean A LOT—of weight in a short span of time? Apparently, it’s more than just the strenuous exercise that they do on the show. Contestants are now coming forward, saying that they were constantly given drugs to lose the weight.

These testimonies came after a study came out on why the show’s contestants gain weight again. It was found that it was because of a slowed metabolism caused by starvation.

An unnamed source tells The New York Post that then trainer, now host Bob Harper would provide contestants with drugs like Adderall and Ephedra, which is reportedly an FDA-banned drug.

Season two contestant Suzanne Mendonca also shared her experience in the show. “People would take amphetamines, water pills, diuretics, and throw up in the bathroom,” she says. “They would take their spin bikes into the steam room to work up a sweat. I vomited every single day. Bob Harper tells people to throw up: ‘Good,’ he says. ‘You’ll lose more calories.'”

Another contestant, Mark Yesitis, also shared that he had his gall bladder removed after joining the show.

Meanwhile, a representative of Bob released a statement saying, “These allegations are absolutely false and are in direct conflict with my lifelong devotion to health and fitness. Safety is paramount in my training regimen and, while demanding, my approach has always focused on the overall well-being of contestants as they lose significant weight and educate themselves, for the first time, on living a healthy lifestyle.”

But with this many testimonies, who’s to say what’s really happening and what is not? And now that Bob is hosting the show, will it also happen with future contestants? Likely, if proven true. We just hope this gets settled before something worse happens.

[The Cut]

Photo courtesy of The Biggest Loser’s Instagram

source: preen.inquirer.net

Weight loss, exercise may boost fertility odds for women with PCOS

Women who suffer from a leading cause of infertility may increase their odds of conception if they exercise and lose weight, a US study suggests.

Researchers compared pregnancy outcomes for 150 women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition that occurs when the female body makes higher than normal amounts of testosterone and androgens, sex hormones associated with male traits.

Among three groups of women, those who exercised lost the most weight and had more live births than those who didn’t.

Women with PCOS often experience irregular menstrual cycles, weight gain, excess hair on the face and body and infertility. They may take birth control pills to boost female hormones and regulate ovulation for several months before trying to get pregnant. This is thought to improve their odds of success once they stop taking contraceptives and start trying to conceive.

For the first four months of the study, one third of the women took birth control pills for that purpose, while a second group was directed to exercise and follow a low-calorie diet. A third group got both of these interventions.

After that initial phase, women taking contraceptives stopped. At this point all of the women went through four cycles of medically induced ovulation, designed to help them get pregnant.

Among 49 women in the initial birth control group, five had babies. That compared with 13 babies for the 50 women assigned to diet and exercise at the start of the study and 12 infants for women who got a combination of both interventions.

The study was too small to show a statistically meaningful difference in pregnancy outcomes between the two groups who dieted and exercised, the authors acknowledge in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

But the results suggest that exercise and weight loss might play a bigger role in conception than just regulating ovulation with birth control pills before trying to conceive, said lead study author Dr. Richard Legro of Pennsylvania State College of Medicine in Hershey.

“Based on our study, women with PCOS who are obese would derive the greatest improvement in their quality of life and reproductive parameters (body hair, androgen levels, polycystic ovaries and control of menstrual bleeding) with maintenance of their metabolic health through the combination of oral contraceptives with lifestyle modification and weight loss,” Legro said by email.

All of the women in the study were overweight or obese, which is linked to fertility problems regardless of whether women have PCOS.

Women who exercised during the study lost significantly more weight than the group assigned only to birth control pills.

At the same time, the women only taking contraceptives were more likely to develop a condition known as metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions including high blood sugar that have been linked to fertility challenges as well as heightened risk for problems such heart disease and diabetes.

As many as one in 10 women of childbearing age may have PCOS, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. The cause is unknown, but the condition is thought to be influenced by many factors, including genetics, with PCOS more likely in women who have an afflicted mother or sister.

While the findings confirm some earlier research linking metabolic changes achieved though lifestyle improvements to better reproductive function, weight loss can still be a tricky prescription, noted Dr. Gordon Wright Bates Jr., a specialist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Women with PCOS who come to a weight-loss clinic at his university can struggle to achieve significant changes even when they are making the effort to conceive, Bates, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.

“Although the study adds considerable evidence to support lifestyle modifications and weight loss to optimize reproductive potential and the response to treatment, both of these remain elusive for many patients,” Bates said. —Reuters

Eating slowly may cut meal size

NEW YORK - People may consume fewer calories over the course of a meal when they eat slowly, a new study suggests. But it's not clear if that strategy works as well for people who are overweight or obese as it does for their slimmer peers.

Past studies have come to mixed conclusions on whether how fast people eat affects how much they end up eating, Meena Shah said. She led the new research at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

"In addition most of the previous studies have not compared the effect of eating speed on energy intake in normal weight or overweight and obese subjects," Shah told Reuters Health in an email.


Her team's study included 35 normal weight people and 35 who were overweight or obese.

All of the participants were asked to eat the same vegetarian pasta meal on two different occasions. The first time around, people were asked to eat either quickly or slowly, based on a random assignment. A few days later, they were given the opposite instructions.

On fast eating days, the researchers asked participants to eat as quickly as possible without feeling uncomfortable - as though they had time constraints. They told them to take large bites, chew quickly, not put utensils down and not pause between bites.

On the slow eating days, they told people to eat as if they had no time constraints. They instructed them to take small bites, chew thoroughly and put their fork or spoon down and pause between bites.

The researchers secretly measured how much food participants ate by weighing their plates after meals.

Normal weight participants consumed 88 fewer calories during the meal when they ate slowly, on average—805 calories compared to 893 calories during the faster meal. That was a clear change.

Overweight and obese people consumed 58 fewer calories during the slow meal—667 calories versus 725 calories. But that difference could have been due to chance, according to findings published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Shah believes the overweight and obese participants may have eaten less because they felt self-conscious during the study.

Participants in both groups drank more water when they ate slowly and felt less hungry at the end of the meal.

"This study provides new data that supports the hypothesis that how you eat may have an effect on appetite and influence body weight," James Hollis told Reuters Health in an email.

Hollis, from Iowa State University in Ames, was not part of the new research.

"This is an interesting study and any method that reduces food intake by 8-10 percent at a single meal would be useful," he said. But more studies are needed to show whether eating slowly could help people manage their weight, Hollis said.

His own recent report published in the same journal found people tended to eat less when they were instructed to chew more before swallowing

"It has not been adequately determined how slow is slow enough or what is the minimum reduction in eating speed required to have an effect on food intake," Hollis said.

He said it's also not clear if all of the techniques - chewing slowly and more times and taking more pauses during meals—have the same effect on how much people eat.

"I would recommend slowing the speed of eating because it may reduce the amount of food consumed as well as lead to a greater degree of fullness or less hunger later on. It is not necessary to time the meal, though," Shah said.

"Eating in my opinion should be an enjoyable experience without having to check the time," she said. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Art Smith shares weight-loss tips in latest book

NEW YORK - Celebrity chef Art Smith, who shed 100 pounds (45 kg) after being diagnosed with diabetes three years ago, shares his weight-loss tips and healthy recipes in his newest cookbook, "Art Smith's Healthy Comfort."

Smith, known for his Southern-inspired cuisine, has six restaurants dotted around the United States, including Table Fifty-Two in Chicago and New York's Joanne Trattoria, which is a joint venture with the parents of pop star Lady Gaga.

Before opening his own restaurant the Florida native spent 10 years as the personal chef of media mogul and actress Oprah Winfrey. He has also cooked for President Barack Obama and other world leaders.

Smith, 53, spoke to Reuters about healthy living, losing a television job and cooking for former South African President Nelson Mandela.  









Q: There are so many diet cookbooks out there. Why did you decide to do one?

A: With this book, it was first one that the publisher allowed us to include calories counts in. Before they wouldn't do it ... That showed how people have changed. When they asked me to write another book I said I don't want to do a diet book. I want to show people more of a lifestyle, and how I eat and how I would like to eat. And what I did was that I put together a lot of delicious, healthy recipes.

Q: What were your food nemeses?

A: When I was diagnosed with adult diabetes, the doctor said, 'Control your diet or I have to put you on medication.' So I went on medication rather than address the diet. I did that for a year or so but I wasn't getting better. One of the biggest problems with my diet was that I would use sugar and caffeine to keep my energy level high.

I am a bit of a high-strung person. I would be drinking six packs of diet sodas everyday and eating huge amounts of food at night because I hadn't eaten anything else during the day.

Q: So your diabetes came at a crossroads in your life?

A: At 49, I saw myself in a not very good place with my health. I've cooked for billionaires, celebrities and all kinds of people. I was used to cooking food more on the healthy side for them. I have been doing it for years. Whatever diet they brought to me, I did it for them. I never liked diets. I don't think they will work.

The word diet and the word gourmet really bother me because they segregate people from the table and from food. One is like 'I'm not going to eat enough' and the other one is too fancy to eat. I felt like I wanted to bridge the two together because I want to show people that they could have their health and feel comfortable about it.

Q: Do you think your weight loss affected your image?

A: I literally lost a television show with a major cable news network because of my weight loss, because they wanted a heavy-set chef just eating food across America, and I wouldn't do that. I'm not going to be one of the types who is going to eat 50 doughnuts. That's not the type of message I want to put out there.

Q: You have cooked for former South African President Nelson Mandela. What did you make for him?

A: I cooked for Mr Mandela three times. The first time I cooked for him, Miss Oprah said, 'Mr. Mandela will come and visit.' I don't get star-struck but I was pretty star struck. I called his chef and asked him what he liked. He said he liked oxtail and he liked biriyani (an Indian rice dish).

Then Oprah called me and I was such a mess. At 35,000 feet or wherever they were in Oprah's jet, she said Madiba (his clan name) just wanted to tell you the oxtail was pretty stellar. "Did we pack any on the jet?" I just feel grateful that I had the opportunities to cook for him and he enjoyed it.

Unfried Chicken with Roasted Brussels Sprouts (serves 4)

For the chicken:

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon Louisiana Hot Sauce or other hot sauce

4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut in half

1-1/2 cups multigrain or whole wheat panko bread crumbs

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

1-1/2 teaspoons onion powder

1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika

For the Brussels sprouts:

16 Brussels sprouts, cut in half

1-1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the garnish:

1 lemon, quartered

To prepare the chicken: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a mixing bowl, mix the buttermilk and hot sauce. Submerge the chicken pieces in the buttermilk and soak in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour but no more than 24 hours. In a gallon-size plastic bag, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, black pepper, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika. Seal the bag and shake until well mixed.

Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and transfer directly to the bag with the bread crumb mixture. Shake the bag until the chicken breasts are evenly coated with the bread crumbs. Remove the chicken breasts from the bag and lay flat on a nonstick baking sheet. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Bake the chicken for 20 to 25 minutes or until just cooked through.

To prepare the Brussels sprouts: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place Brussels sprouts in a medium mixing bowl, toss with the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Spread the Brussels sprouts in a medium ovenproof baking dish and roast for 20 minutes or until caramelized and tender.

Divide the chicken and Brussels sprouts among 4 serving plates, and squeeze the lemon over the chicken.

Per serving: 427 calories; 12 g fat; 3 g sat fat; 79 mg chol; 349 mg sodium; 45 g carb; 6 g sugar; 9 g fiber; 40 g protein; 185 mg calcium. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Four dimensions training

Now we at Workout Loft introduce four dimensions in training where the whole body is treated in dynamic oscillations that resemble waves with mountain (high point) and valley (low point). Thus for each exercise is the entire chain of muscles activated.

The muscle is a highly complex system, which responds to external forces adapted to the situation, depending on the movement of experience. Then the muscles in the elastic loops respond and not just act. The long landing phase when “Fallen”, the body must be decelerated and controlled. This transition in the muscle cells – from the stretch in the contraction – is the area in which to control the movement force is most needed. Doing so, the muscles respond very fast.

As we add new dimension of instability to the weight training muscles are forced to respond fast and through it the effectiveness of workout is maximized.

It is also scientifically proven that adding new component of instability in weight training forces muscles to work faster, harder and respond faster which translates in leaner and stronger you.

source: workoutloft.com