The Biggest Loser Diet is a low-calorie diet based on The Biggest Loser 4-3-2-1 pyramid. That’s four daily servings of fruits and vegetables, three servings of lean protein, two of whole grains, and one extra 200-calorie serving of the dieter’s choice. Physical activity plays an important role in The Biggest Loser Diet.
Tufts University obesity clinician and researcher Michael Dansinger, MD, and a team of dietitians and trainers developed the 12-week program. The diet relies on small, frequent meals and snacks full of fiber and protein designed to meet nutritional needs and fend off hunger.
The diet is described in detail in a series of Biggest Loser books, including:
- Biggest Loser 30-Day Jump Start;
- Biggest Loser Complete Calorie Counter;
- Biggest Loser Cookbook;
- Biggest Loser Family Cookbook;
- Biggest Lower Fitness Program;
- Biggest Loser Success Secrets; and
- Biggest Loser Sample Swaps.
Books range in price from about $8.00 to $22.00 and are widely available from bookstores.
Biggest Loser Club
The online Biggest Loser Club is where the Biggest Loser Diet and The Biggest Loser weight loss challenge reality television show meet. According to the website, “The Biggest Loser Club gives you online access to the diet & fitness program used by the contestants — personalized to fit your goals and lifestyle. The Biggest Loser online weight loss program gives you all the tools, expert help, and community support you need to succeed.”
The Biggest Loser Club offers recipes, meal ideas, exercise demonstrations, and articles. Club members can set personalized goals based on their weight and height. They can get advice from experts and support from peers. Through interactive tools they can track and assess their exercise programs and food habits. Membership costs three to five dollars per month.
How the Biggest Loser Diet Works
Dieters are urged to read food labels and choose unprocessed foods with no added fat, sugar, or salt. Whole fruits and vegetables are preferred over juice or dried fruit. Unrefined or minimally refined grains are important to the diet. Bread should have at least two grams of fiber per serving. A breakfast cereal that fits in this diet will have at least five grams of fiber per serving with no more than five grams of sugar. Protein comes from lean meat, fish, vegetable proteins, and low-fat dairy products.
The Biggest Loser Diet encourages participants to eat their food raw or prepared simply without extra fats. The recommended daily caloric intake for the Biggest Loser Diet consists of 45 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein, and 25 percent fat.
Dieters keep daily food logs, watch their portion size, and drink 48-64 ounces of water a day. Every-other-day workouts start at 30 minutes and build up to 60 and perhaps even 90 minutes. Frequent meals and snacks are scheduled to help dieters avoid hunger, which can lead to binge eating.
Biggest Loser meal plans are designed for 1,200-, 1,500-, and 1,800-calorie diets. Your calorie level determines your portion size. There’s a simple formula for determining daily calorie level: To get your starting calorie level, multiply your current weight by seven. If, for example, you weigh 200 pounds, you start out at 1,400 calories a day. To continue losing weight after your initial weight loss, you have to recalculate the calorie level using the new weight or increase daily exercise.
Biggest Loser Diet Daily Food Plan
Most people who follow The Biggest Loser Diet rely on foods that are easily found in grocery stores. However, you can buy The Biggest Loser’s prepared heat-and-eat meals. A five-day meal plan, which includes 21 meals and 7 snacks, costs $21.95 per day. The five-day meal plan has 15 meals and 5 snacks for $23.95 a day.
A typical Biggest Loser meal plan for a day may look like this:
- Breakfast: 1/2 serving protein, 1 serving whole grain, 1 serving fruit;
- Snack: 1/2 serving protein, 1 serving fruit;
- Lunch: 1 serving protein, 1/2 serving whole grain, 1 serving vegetable;
- Snack: 1/2 serving protein, 1 serving fruit;
- Dinner: 1/2 serving protein, 1/2 serving whole grain, 2 servings vegetable.
Filling out the plan with specific foods, your meals for one day may look like this:
- Breakfast: 3/4 cup oatmeal prepared with water with 2 links of turkey sausage and 1 cup of strawberries;
- Snack: 1/2 cup of fat-free cottage cheese with 1/2 cup of blueberries and 1 tablespoon of sliced almonds.
- Lunch: Salad of 4 ounces canned salmon packed in water, 1 cup Romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup sliced cucumber, and 1/4 cup chopped scallions topped with 2 tablespoons of light vinaigrette dressing;
- Snack 1/2 cup fat-free yogurt with 1/2 cup salsa;
- Dinner: 1 turkey burger without a bun, 3/4 cup of roasted or steamed broccoli, 3/4 cup of brown rice, and 1 cup of raw spinach salad with 1 tablespoon light Italian dressing.
Weight Maintenance Tips from the Biggest Loser Diet
- Eat a healthy breakfast every day;
- Eat fruit and/or vegetables with every meal;
- Have lean protein with all meals and snacks;
- Stay active; and
- Plan your meals, snacks, and exercise.
Thoughts from the Experts
Nutrition experts tend to view The Biggest Loser Diet as sensible, straightforward, and easy to follow. The many choices of exercise and food broaden the appeal of the diet and keep it fresh. The diet becomes a plan for lifelong weight maintenance and healthy eating rather than a quick weight loss scheme.
One possible concern is that the carbohydrate percentage may not be high enough for people who exercise intensely. They may need to increase their intake of carbs.
Another concern centers on the daily calorie levels. Using The Big Loser Diet formula described in this article, dieters could be faced with a recommended daily caloric intake under 1,200 calories. Doctors and nutritionists agree that a diet under 1,200 calories a day is not healthy and does not support weight loss. Dieters can avoid this problem by not going under the 1,200-calorie daily minimum recommended by the medical experts.