The guy above is Eric Chopin, winner of 2006 reality TV show, The Biggest Loser season 3. He had lost almost 100 kgs during the tenure of the show. If you want to lose weight too, and searching for ways, this article will discuss all the popular options available.

The energy balance

To understand weight reduction process better, let us spend a moment on the energy balance. The food we take gives us calories (energy) which are burnt (utilised) for every physiological and metabolic function. If the calorie intake and calorie output remains equal, then we have an even energy balance. If the calories we burn are less than the calorie we eat then we have a positive energy balance, i.e. excess calories. The excess calories are converted to fat and stored in our body. In order to reduce weight we need a negative energy balance, means higher calorie expenditure than we eat. In that case the difference in calorie will come from stored fat.







The bus analogy

The food we consume travels through the curvy passage of our food pipe can be compared with a bus that moves through the road from terminus (Mouth) to destination (No prize for guessing where!) The passengers pay the bus money whereas the food gives us calories during the course of the travel.

An even energy balance would be when the cost of running the bus is equal to the money earned from the passengers. No profit, no loss.

A positive energy balance is when the money earned is more than running cost. Money is saved like fat. Every bus owners dream, but every obese person dreads this situation.

A negative energy balance is when money earned is less than running cost. Money that is previously saved has to be given away in order to run the bus. This is what we need to achieve, a massive and sustained loss in the business!

Now we will see how a negative energy balance can be induced in each station as the bus travels.

Mouth: The starting point

If you can reduce the number of passengers, the earnings will be low.

This is achieved by diet restriction. Also, in olden days surgeries were performed to wire the jaws together temporarily to drastically reduce the food intake! Appetite suppressing drugs also work in this aspect.

Restricting the no. of seats in the bus: restrictive surgeries

If the seats in the bus reduce, so will the profit. For this stomach size is reduced. This can be achieved in several ways, like actual surgical shortening of stomach, placing a band around the stomach, or putting a balloon inside the stomach to occupy the space inside.

Malabsorptive surgeries: Taking a shorter route

Suppose a bus suddenly decides to take a bypass route. What will happen? The passengers who were supposed to get down in between will no longer pay. The earning will take a beat. Same thing is achieved with malabsorptive procedures, where a surgically created ‘shortcut’ prevents the food to be absorbed. One of the common surgeries is biliopancreatic diversion.

Increasing the without ticket passengers

Interesting proposition, isn’t it? Simply means eat food, but don’t take the calories. It can be done in two ways. First, eating the foods which do not yield much of calories, e.g. green leafy veggies, cucumber, tomatoes, etc. Second, the use of means which interfere with the normal digestive mechanism, which is commonly done using medication.

Exercise: Increasing the cost to the company

Imagine you exchange the economic engine of a mini bus with the engine of AC Volvo. What will happen? The riding will be smooth, there will be more power, but .. the fuel efficiency will decrease drastically. The same thing happens when one starts exercising. The excess calories spent during exercise helps to create a negative energy balance that results in loss of weight.

Rob’em off

So you made a huge profit in your bus business. Have a lot of money stored in your locker, and one fine morning you are robbed off all the cash. This is analogous liposuction and related cosmetic surgeries, where excess body fat is removed from the body.

If you can’t make it, fake it!

Suppose the bus is doing great business, but you do not want to pay tax for it, what will you do? You will fake a loss. This is done with weight reduction too. Where people fool others (or themselves) with the reduction of body water, instead of fat mass. That is plain and simple dehydration, which will be eventually gained. The ways to do so are by steam bath, using drugs which increase urination, drinking an abysmally small quantity of water, etc. Remember, tax evasion can land you in jail whereas water depletion will land you in hospital.

There are more things..

Every now and then you will hear about a new, amazing weight reduction technique that claims to give the best results. Fad diets, bizarre practices, variety of drugs, all feed into the multibillion-dollar weight loss industry. Just remember, it all boils down to creating a negative energy balance. And if you are considering a drastic method of weight loss, contact your doctor beforehand.

About the author

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)

BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)

Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Contact: +91 8967549104

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience. A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities. He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio taping from the best faculties around the world.

Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.