On the US TV show “The Biggest Loser” (a wildly over-the-top but thoroughly entertaining weight loss contest), I remember week 2 as always being the sticky week. Contestants would lose half a stone or more in week 1 and then lose 2 pounds or less in week 2. In the show it was normally explained as “the body fighting back” or other similar pseudo-science.
When I first weighed in half way through the week I had a circa-7,500 calorie deficit and yet I had only lost 0.4lbs. 7,000kcal should be worth 2lbs so why had I only lost 0.4lbs? Was I having a Biggest Loser cliché week 2? Was my body “fighting back?” Seemed as good an explanation as any…
Well fortunately the debate is purely academic because the results turned up later in the week. Maybe the body (as if it has its own mind) grasped that it’ll be easier to let me have my own way! I’ve ultimately lost 2.8lbs, which is 0.3lbs ahead of target for the week. I also comfortably beat my (very tough) calorie deficit target so on both battlefronts it’s been a charmed week.
At this point it’s hard to read the data. Do I need a monstrous 16,000kcal deficit to lose 2.5lbs or more, or will that number deliver 3-4lbs next week? There isn’t enough information to draw confident conclusions at this point. However, my knee-jerk thought is that I should retain the same targets into next week so as to establish a larger data set. Also, obviously, it should mean another week of solid progress.
Overall a great week 2 and a useful extension of the “test and learn” phase.
Dr Martin James 