I lost 242 lbs in 6 months!

[ShaneGraves]

Hi, my name is Shane. Glad to meet you. I was a participant on the tv show Extreme Weight Loss, losing 242 lbs in 6 months. I've been maintaining my weight loss for 2 years, but it takes work. I'm finding maintenance more difficult than losing my weight.

Chef Rocco Dispirito gave me my first Fitbit, but regrettably, I didn't use it. Now that I'm in maintenance, I've gotten into a Fitbit Blaze and I'm loving it.

I glad to see Fitbit has a support community. Accountability and motivation are invaluable tools for weight loss and maintenance. Please say Hi, and tell me your weight loss and maintenance story.

[WendyB]

Welcome to the forums!

I watch the show and do not recall your name. But Congrats on losing the weight! That's awesome!

I'm sure you will find many stories here and many discussions to contribute to.

I really look foreword to seeing you contribute and getting to know you!

[EmjayH]

Congrats on the weight loss. Although I must confess I don't support those weight loss shows. They seem to extreme to me. I've lost about 28 kg in the last 5and a half months. Another 25 to go. I'm happy to keep chipping away at it slowly and steadily 

[ShaneGraves]

It is a lot of weight to lose really fast, but it was a totally healthy experience for me mentally and physically. There was constant medical observation the entire time. The medical staff CU Anschutz Health and Wellness took real good care of me. I was really falling apart, 468 lbs with a long list of medical issues. I'm happy to say I'm free and clear of all those issues now. It can be done, it just needs to be done right.

Glad to hear from you!

[ShaneGraves]

Hi Wendy. I'm Extreme Weight Loss Season 5 Episode 4 Love Can't Weight Shane and Marissa. 

I'm excited to be here and share.

Glad to hear from you.

[Esya]

@ShaneGraves

How is it to watch that back for you?

[ShaneGraves]

To be perfectly honest, funny! I'll say this, there's very little reality to reality tv. I'm very grateful for the opportunity and the life changing weight loss, but the story is more of a novelty to me. Thanks for asking Esya.

[Esya]

@ShaneGraves

Congratz on the weight loss and glad to see you are doing so well.

[Dominique]

The good thing about having a reality TV celebrity on board is it’s easy to find info on them . As I like to play with numbers, I found (here) you were 6" 5 tall and 40-yo. Using the Mifflin St Jeor equation, your calculated BMR at 467 lbs would have been 3146 calories and your TDEE at the lowest activity level (sedentary) would have been 3775 calories. At high activity level (which I guess would have been what they put you through for the show), it would have been 5426 calories. Now 242 lbs in 26 weeks is 9.3 lbs per week. Using the standard rule of 3500 calories = 1 lb, this would have corresponded to a weekly deficit of 32,577 calories, or 4854 on a daily basis. It’s obvious these equations apply primarily to the average population rather than to extreme cases, but it’s still hard to understand how the energy balance would have worked, especially since the 3500 calories = 1 lb rule cannot be valid for very long in an extremely fast weight loss.

Do you currently track your intake and if so, what are your maintenance calories? For a moderately active 42-yo/6"5/225 male, Mifflin St Jeor predicts a BMR of 2038 and a TDEE of 3159, but my guess is actual numbers would be lower than that because of metabolic adaptation, which I don’t think can be totally reversed even after two years.

[EmjayH]

Dominique always asked the best questions. I'd be interested to know what calories you stick to now as well

[ShaneGraves]

Dominique, Hi. A very well structured comment and interesting question.

First, a question/guess for you. I would guess your are an engineer or work in a related field?

On your comment - The problem is these ready reference materials available online. Those equations, charts and calculators are extremely generalized and, in my opinion, antiquated. They don't actually represent the average population. You have to take take them with a grain of salt. My initial and final numbers were measured using a true resting metabolic rate observation, bodpod and DEXA scan. This is what it takes to get anywhere near a persons real numbers. And, those numbers fluctuate all the time. 

On your question - I'm usually between 2300 to 2500 kcals.

I do not believe in metabolic adaptation in the sense that or affects metabolism differently or strangely after a big weight loss. It definitely has not been a factor for me.

I'm a certified personal trainer, yoga instructor, life coach and nutritional advisor. So, not for nothing...

Glad to hear from you!

[emili]

That is an awesome accomplishment. I used to watch the show and I must confess I often wondered about the real in reality. The Powells seem like good people, so at least the sweat and tears weren't mixed in with high drama. Kudos for keeping it off, I am sure not all contestants faired as well...

Hope to see you posting and be sure to check out the community on the app- I am sure you can make awesome contributions.

[Dominique]

No, I’m not an engineer, nor do I work in a technical field. I’m not a trainer/coach/instructor either (but I like to experiment things on myself). I like science-based explanations to things, however. For instance, although there are a million things that can influence changes in body weight, I believe calories are king (whether you call it energy balance, calories in vs. calories out, the first law of thermodynamics etc.). 242 pounds is a lot of energy, so it must have taken extreme measures to make it vanish from your body in six months. Just like it takes would-be sumo wrestlers quite some time and some over-eating to reach the kind of weight at which they can compete in their sport.

I’m surprised you don’t consume more calories, given your size and age. I’m about 15 years older than you, 24 cm shorter, 40 kg lighter and I eat between 2500 and 3000 calories (admittedly, I’m quite active). To me, this would suggest some metabolic adaptation took place after your weight loss.

I think the equation for BMR on which Fitbit, MyFitnessPal etc. are based must be in the right order of magnitude for most of the population. Otherwise no one would have any success with them. I wish there would be an inexpensive and convenient way to find out about one’s real metabolism, without having to spend time in a lab.  

[GershonSurge]

@ShaneGraves,

Congratulations on your weight loss and welcome to the forum.

Like @Dominique, I'm an advocate of the calorie equation. Yet, I can't ignore cases like yours where it seems to be violated. Maybe there is another mechanism in play. Hypothetically, the body may decide that an overweight person who is doing a ton of exercise will have a better chance of survival if it gets rid of excess fat. Maybe it would decide not to absorb much fat from foods anymore, or it might somehow process body fat without burning it.

When I was in survival school, I lost 21 pounds in 14 days, so I know what you did is possible. I gained it back in 7 days while at Airborne training. Both weight changes seem to violate the calorie equation. In my opinion, which is backed only by anecdotal evidence, there is something about extreme exercise that changes things. Knowing the mechanism isn't important. Knowing that it works for some percentage of the population is.

[ShaneGraves]

@GershonSurge, @Dominique Calories in Calories out is a rule of thumb. A reasonable place to begin. Fitbit, MFP and most of the BMR calculators openly admit that it is extremely generalized (Fitbit did so in person when I met with them in NY, explaining that this is why they offer the ability to monitor many different variables). Many point it out in a disclaimer.

The science on this stuff is all over the place. Some of the latest papers call the stomach the second brain. Saying there is some cognitive reasoning behind its actions. Logic and probability fly out the window when we are dealing with human behavioral problems, but the science behind Caloric intake should be written in stone...Medically, we haven't progressed enough to have a true understanding of how this all works.

When you track the results of a group of overweight and obese folks your number set will clearly show that it just isn't quite that simple. Of course, it's more accurate when your intervals don't fluctuate much, but throw some random, rapidly changing variables in there and it gets wild.

I specialize in working with overweight and obese people. I have a program that, if strictly adhered to, has gotten results every time. Nothing crazy, just exercise and diet, the same thing I did to get my results.

[A_Lurker]

@ShaneGraves- welcome.  I'm basically on the same journey, with a top weight of over 400 pounds and a goal weight as yet undetermined.  After (for me) a relatively fast start (~100 pounds in the first year) I'm now slowing it down on purpose.  Previous weight losses for me where I lose weight too fast resulted in illnesses.  My immune system wouldn't be strong and a minor illness would end in a hospital stay (fairly serious ones).  Now I'm focusing on better food habits (although my quality was always pretty good, quantities too high) and better exercise habits (decades of being sedentary - this will be the thing I have to keep an eye on forever).

[ShaneGraves]

@A_Lurker congratulations, a 100 lbs in a year is a remarkable achievement! I'm sorry to hear that you've suffered with immune system issues. I'm sure it's exhausting and, in the least, trying. This was a concern for me too. I caught the flu and it took longer than normal to recover. That's when I discovered 'super foods', so I'm glad to hear you're looking at your nutrition. Your story is very inspiring and it just goes to show, you can't let life's speed bumps stop you from progressing towards your goals.