I wonder if Hurley will begin to lose weight.

[AceOfDiamonds]

This isn't exactly a spoiler, just idle speculation of what could happen to Hurley in general, that's why I posted this topic here.

Hurley's obviously overweight, most likely because of one of two factors:

A: He's genetically inclined to be overweight. His body is genetically "wired" to consume more caloric intake than his body can effectively burn. (The "Well, His Whole Family Is Fat Too" argument.)

B: He's not genetically inclined to being overweight, but due to enviornmental or unrelated factors, he just chooses to eat foods that are unhealthy for him. (The "This Is What Happens When You Supersize Your McDonalds" argument.)

Regardless, any reason why you're overweight burns down to two things:

An unhealthy diet and lack of exercise.

Now that Hurley's in this enviornment, though, food is going to become scarce, and what little food they can scavenge will likely be "healthier" than what Hurley's used to (we're talking berries and fish here, not french fries and hamburgers.)

The bottom line is, regardless of why Hurley's overweight, he's going to be losing weight. If it's genetics and not enviornmental factors that led him to become overweight, the weight won't burn as fast. But that only changes the rate in which he'd lose weight. And for that matter, he'll be losing weight at a rate much faster than the skinnier characters. Hurley would need to eat more in order to maintain his "usual" caloric intake. Unless a McDonalds suddenly opens up on the island, that's just not happening.

I could see Hurley losing significant amounts of weight within two to three weeks of being on the island. If the producers show us otherwise, it's only because they're bending the rules to make life easier on the actor. This doesn't mean that Hurley should suddenly become as razor-thin as the others, nor does it mean that Hurley's suddenly going to become a muscleman. But it'd be interesting to see Hurley gradually lose weight every week the show is aired.

[Kirium]

I actually thought of that last night as well. He'd definitely lose weight and in the beginning it would come off pretty fast.

Should be interesting to see what the producers do. I did notice in the preview for next week he says to Jack "There's no more food dude."

[toonaspie]

we hardly ever get to see obese characters with big roles in shows like these, this should prove to be interesting

now I wonder if there's gonna be a Hurley episode

[Latuki Max]

I wonder if Hurley has a secret... I mean most of the characters do and they've hinted at it. The only hint we've got about Hurley had to do with his age...

...oh wait. That's a spoiler, I suppose.

[nastyned]

I think they should be able to find plenty to eat on a tropical island. Fruit, lobster, crabs, oysters, clams, fish, etc.

But "lardo" as somebody referred to him in part 2 really should start shedding weight fast if this is supposed to be realistic.

[NeejaHalycon]

It's entirely possible that losing weight was in the actor's contract. The producers would probably provide a personal trainer to help, but he could be required to lose weight or get fired.

[nastyned]

"get fired" -- which here means get eaten.

[cccourt]

Hurley will HAVE to lose weight. First: you can't get fat on sushi. Second: if the sight of blood makes him sick, can you imagine what the sight of the dead polar bear will do to him?

The real mystery here is whether he will have gastric bypass. If he goes "out", well...this show can be a career launcher. I think a lot of these characters are on for the duration...and I would definitely vote Hurley in for the long haul!!:rollin

[MyZackyMacky]

Do you think they might us CGI in regard to Hurley? It's entirely possible that they would shave off pounds, visually, if they need to.

My guess is the guy is going to lose weight and if it's not fast enough, they will "shave" him with computers or, he's one of the next few victims.

[JacksGirlfriend]

I would imagine in the audition process they were looking for an overweight actor eager to shed pounds. And I imagine they'll do everything to help him. He'll definitely have to lose weight for it to be realistic. Does anyone know if he's really that big or is it possible they've made him slightly bigger than he really is so we can see a dramatic change in the next month or so?

Age: Let me guess - he's probably supposed to be a teenager. I hadn't thought about his age but alot of overweight kids look older than they are. At 5'1", 96 pounds I always had the opposite problem.

JacksGirlfriend

[Beckers1]

I was thinking he was 18-19 or maybe in his early twenties. It's his use of "Dude" that makes me think he's pretty young.
I had to laugh when he looked at the "sushi' offered to him by Kim and said that he was starving but he wasn't that hungry. I can relate. :lol

[sing4themoment]

Ye haha, hurley HAS to lose it!!! I really want him to stay on the show cuz hes one of my fav characters!

[AVRILFANTOO]

I hope Hurley doesn't lose any weight. He's fine just the way he is and it works well with his character.

He's the comic relief on the show - absolutely hilarious.

I fell over laughing when the asian dude offered him some squid or something and Hurley said "Dude, I'm starving but I'm no where near THAT hungry". I laughed so hard tears were about to come out!

I also laughed when he passed out during the surgery Jack did.

The guy is absolutely funny. :lol

[JacksGirlfriend]

I really like him too and love him just the way he is. Unfortunately considering their situation, unless they can find a herd of cattle (a possibility I guess) and make their own steaks, a man in his position would have to lose weight.

[OneIrishRover]

Hurley must die then

[MsAllegro]

Speaking as one of those biologically overweight types, I can say that the time period the forseeable future of the show is supposed to cover isn't nearly long enough to see a drastic loss from him. Starvation makes your metabolism slow down (which is why starvation dieting is stupid) and if it's slow to begin with, it will slow to a virtual crawl, meaning that even with activity and light eating, Hurley isn't likely to lose more than a pound or two a week, which wouldn't be visible for the near duration of the show.

In fact, if the same conditions are present for everyone, we're more likely to see some serious and visible weight loss for the others, rather than him, especially Shannon, who is already underweight to begin with and for whom a few weeks of starvation could be deadly.

[Suil Liath]

Why does he have to lose weight? It depends on what food source they find, including plant material. If there are wild boars and high fat and sugar containing plant materials, Hurly would not necessarily slim down.

because eventually they will move from hunter gatherer to an agrarian society, assuming of course that there are plants they can cultivate.

this will elicit from me a long speech about obesity and diabetes in societies where Northern Europeans and their offshoots (the US) interferred with people's life styles with the introduction of sugar, beans, flour, and confining and restricting their activities on reserverations or preserves.

Naturally I agree: if none of the foregoing takes place and the group expends more calories surviving than it ingests, there will be a loss of weight. It is inevitable!

-Kit-

[jjabramizeme]

first off I love his character overweight or not and i definitely don't want to see him get "eaten," but the funny thing is Hurley would be incredibly sexy if he did lose some weight. I can tell by looking at his eyes. He has very "hot" eyes.

[JacksGirlfriend]

I agree - very nice eyes. Because I think he's a very nice man.

[jjabramizeme]

yep, there's a gentleness and warmth you can see in his eyes. it's what draws me to his character and makes me hope JJ is going to let him stick around ;)

[Beckers1]

I like him too.
He's very sweet and friendly. He tries to help where he can and he's handy to have around -- despite the fact he can't stand the site of blood.

Well, he did warn Jack! :lol

[Colonel Sanders luvs Lost]

It will be interesting to follow Hurley's progression the longer he is on the island. I hope he is not one of the major characters to go first.....

[nastyned]

Even if they find plentiful food, its not going to be twinkies, candy and pizza. Eating only natural food (fish, fruit and meat) and running around all day should cause Hurley to shed weight at a fantastic rate. In 40 days, Hurley should be down 40 pounds at least.

[dsera]

<high horse>

Did anyone ever stop to think that it's not "twinkies and candy" that is the reason for his weight? There are real reasons other than gluttony that people are obese. I think it's very stereotype to think he's just a fat hog. Maybe he has Hypothyroidism (thyroid disease) or Cushing syndrome.

Statistics tell me that at least 1/3 of the people reading this board are overweight. Way to make them feel good about themselves.

Sorry to be so bitchy but I have a friend who was thin as a rail and then developed cancer. The medication she was taking for her cancer caused some kind of malfunction in her thyroid and the weight she gained from the steroids is not coming back off. She mentally a mess. I see the looks people give her and it's not her faut.

</high horse>

[azteclady]

With utter respect to people who are overweight (whether 10 to a 100lbs or more) due to conditions beyond their control - genetics, disease, side-effects from medication, etc.:

In the Lost Island-verse, and from the point of view of 'selling' the story to audiences, it would make more sense for Hurley to lose weigh relatively fast than relatively slow.

Why? Because we've been programmed to think that with a better diet and regular exercise, losing weight is a 'given' and because it would strain most people's willingness to suspend disbelief if one of this group of survivors manages to maintain any extra body fat in circumstances of near starvation.

Near starvation because, as far as we (the audience) know, very few among these survivors actually know what they are doing as far as surviving in the wild, and it will take at least a few weeks for everyone to become proficient at fishing/hunting/gathering (and this last one *if* there's anyone within the group who can identify edible plants native to this particular island, wherever it may be).

And even if the learning curve is really steep, any sudden change in diet and drinking water quality will have secondary (and rarely pleasant) effects on the overall health of the survivors - not that I expect network television to care overmuch about this particular aspect.

Alternatively, the producers could decide to devote enough time to Hurley and the matter of his weight, in order to make us understand better the actual process - starvation leads to slower metabolism leads to keeping whatever reserves (stored fat) the body has leads to lower energy levels, etc.

Of course, the show could just never address the matter - only time will tell for sure.

My vote is for at least some (as in, noticeable to the naked eye) weight loss by season's end - those all important 40 days.

Beto

[zixyer]

I can't believe someone hasn't done the math yet.

So let's see, there are 3600 calories in one pound of fat. Assuming that Hurley gets in 1500 calories a day (which is not that many!) and burns about 2500 (which I think is about average, someone else can look this up), he would lose:

40 days * 1000 calories = 40,000 / 3600 = 11 pounds.

And if he ate ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for those forty days:

40 days * 2500 calories = 100,000 / 3600 = 28 pounds.

I think it's telling how easy people think it is to lose weight, that they assume that it's just a matter of course that Hurley will be substantially thinner in just a month. Losing weight is very hard and takes a long time.

[feenie1010]

The TV Guide with Lost as the article, says he won't be losing a lot of weight any time soon. Something about the survivors still finding food and eating still.

I can't find my copy to give the exact phrase, but it's there.

[dsera]

You can view the entire thing here:

lostmultimedia.beyondgrey.com/articles.htm (http://lostmultimedia.beyondgrey.com/articles.htm)

[Colonel Sanders luvs Lost]

I think the show will adress this issue sooner or later. If it is a health issue, Hurley will probably confide this to someone. Or maybe a stockpile of food is found....

[Chance Gardener]

I was going through some of the promo pics for the next episode and in one of the pics, it looks as if Hurley is wearing a fat belt. This would be an easier way to show someone losing weight by making them look even heavier than they really are and then removing the artificial weight as needed.

This has the added benefit of not adding real physical stresses to the actor to lose a dramatic amount of weight to "demonstrate" going hungry. Dropping 30-40 lbs in a even six months can be a stress for some bodies and it would bite if your actor keeled over or sixed it because of it.

By the way, I lost about 30 lbs myself over the past year, most of it in the first 3 months with 1-5 a month since then and other than missing some of the things I used to eat it hasn't been that difficult. Of course, as in most things, I find this to be a YMMV situation.

Here's the link; hopefully I listed it correctly:
www.lost-tv.com/pictures/thumbnails.php?album=12 (http://www.lost-tv.com/pictures/thumbnails.php?album=12)

[FairSpirit]

I am overweight myself, I suffer from Hypothyroidism. Even with medication making my thyroid "normal", I haven't lost weight. However, I really do believe that if Hurley stays on the show, he will have to lose weight. Even eating well with what foods are available on the Island, he is fairly active and will be even more so with living "Island Life". He is not lazy at all, nor does he seem food "crazy", so I really do believe that this character will lose weight.

Perhaps they may be making him look a little bigger so that weight can be shedded, but I know from previous roles that Jorge is a big guy. With the limited variety of foods and his amount of activity, I am completely sure that he would have to lose SOME weight.

I hope his character remains on and gets plenty of air time, I love Jorge and I think he is a wonderful actor. It's so nice to see someone who is not the size that the world seems to think of as "ideal".

[dark piranha]

Well, I'm sure most of us in here have seen an episode or two of Survivor. In just about every season, the weight loss for the survivors has been dramatic, and that's just over the course of 20-39 days, depending on how long they lasted on the show.

Even with a plentiful supply of food, I'd expect (if it were real life) the Lostians to slim down noticeably over the course of the first two or three weeks they were on the island. But this is a TV show, and I doubt the actors are being asked to go to Tom Hanks extremes of weight-loss authenticity (a la Cast Away).

The only one I expect to undergo a massive significant weight loss is Claire, and that's only because she'll be giving birth to a good 7-12 pounds of that weight. ;)

Dark Piranha

[Jaceysister]

I hope Hurley is around for a long long time. I would love to see for the sake of "reality" of the show that he lose a few pounds, I mean who wouldn't in those conditions?

It doesn't matter at all to me except that he stay a key player on the show.

If he is expected to shed some pounds maybe Tom Hanks can give him some pointers from Castaway!

[dsera]

One doesn't get that overweight on purpose, that I assure you. Perhaps it is something being discussed but not enforced. I can't imagine they would have hired him for the part if they expected a person who's been overweight for any given length of time to just lose weight.

[LoStMyMiNd]

Hi I am new here and I have read most of the posts. Hurley says that he is 26. Hurley also says to Sayid that he had a friend in the Gulf War. Did anyone notice that if Hurley was on the plane he did not have one scratch on him? Its my contention that Hurley was not on the plane, that he has been living on this island and that there are other people living on this island (i.e the whisperers). I think the whisperers sent him to see who survived the crash and to keep the survivors away from the people that inhabit the island. There is food and plenty of it. Afterall, Loche says the island is plentiful and giving or something like that. Anyone know the exact wording that Loche used to describe the island?

The airlines put heavy people in isle seats or so I've read. I did not see Hurley on the plane or in an isle seat. He had no injuries, he has had no back story. Anyway, something to think about.

[Phoenix8]

I really wish people would stop focusing on that. Kind of interesting the writers did as well, when they had..Charlie question why he didn't seem to be losing any weight like the others did. Granted, someone who is 125 is going to show more weight loss even if it's only 5 pounds compared to someone 225.

[Raf15]

If he does loose the weight its gonna take a LOOONG time, remember ... 1 episode is one day ... so ... only 11 days passed so far, so maybe after season two is done ... 1 month will pass on the island and he might loose a little weight BUT it wont be that noticeable.

[3rdStar]

The question should not be IF he loses weight but how will he deal with it. If the weight is a result of suppressing negative emotions through eating then watch for an increase in angry outbursts as he starts to deal with issues that are deep down inside him.

[Neese25]

Does anyone have any screen shots of hurley from the first ep., and now? I would assume that his character has to lose weight, and hurley mentioned that he has gone down...

[NurseHotLips]

The Hurley weight thing has been bothering me for some time. I kept thinking about Survivor and how everyone on that show loses so much weight. If you're eating only organic foods and not the processed crap we all normally eat, then you should lose weight. To be realistic all the characters should lose some weight. But then today I just thought of Mo', the really big black guy from Biggest Loser. Anyone else watch that show? Every week they were working out like crazy, eating strict diet foods. So many of the people lost outrageous amounts of weight. The winner lost something like 126lbs. But Mo' who was over 400lbs to begin with only lost 50-60 lbs in 24 weeks. And it didn't show hardly at all, while everyone else looked like a mere shadow of their former selves. So maybe Hurley really won't have ot loose that much weight to be realistic.

[Willietattoos]

Please understand that I mean no disrespect to overweight people...I'm overweight myself, but was able to drop 30 lbs, just by eliminating refined sugar. (but I digress!)

I was a fan of Becker and Jorge was on that show for only the last season, I think. Anyway, I really think he is HEAVIER now that he was then!

My first thought when I saw him on LOST was OMG--he needs to lose some weight for his health's sake! I hope he can, and I hope the writers will us it in the story line, as I hope Hurley will be around "for the duration"!

[azteclady]

In the episode with Claire, Charlie, and the peanut butter (can't remember for the life of me which one this was! arghhhh!!! :eek ), Hurley has this short exchange with Charlie and says that he's 'down one notch in his belt.' It's just a line, but IMHO it indicates that the writers will address the weight loss issue at least now and then, problably without making a big deal about it.

Jorge, however, does seem a bit heavier now than he did on the first episode. I hope he's taking care of himself.



Beto
Follow the link in my signature first, PM me second.

[perspixx]

If Jorge Garcia doesn't lose weight, it's a bit unrealistic.

But if he does, how do you handle future Hurley-flashback episodes?

[LoStMyMiNd]

I agree that any Hurley wieght loss will not be visable for the duration of the show. If he were 50# overweight maybe but he is more than 50# overweight and has a long "weigh" to go. But I do like him. He doesn't make me lol, but he does give me a chuckle.

[JusteenKase]

I have watched the Survives, they are out there for days on some island with very little food.

As far as I can see and I hope my eyes are not deceiving me, those folks look like they have been starved, like they came out of a concentration camp.

Hurley on the other hand, has been on that island their time not ours how many days? Is it a month? Gee he should have lost some weight don't you think?

Like someone said, he looks heavier now, I agree.

[anarane saralonde]

Well, considering the last post was written almost a month ago, last night's episode (The Greater Good) showed a thinner Hurley, so the answer is yes to this question. The particular scene I'm talking about is where Charlie is walking on the beach with the baby (who is inconsolable) and he meets Hurley there. The camera pans out, giving us a view of Hurley standing beside Charlie and there's a visible difference in his mid-drift area.


"The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I just kept my finger out of there." - Ralph Wiggum

[Mattie]

I still don't think the actor playing Hurley will be willing to slim down that much.

I don't think Hurley's character is safe...he's too Boone-like. Ok, so Hurley introduced the numbers. What is his purpose now? Comic relief in the episodes? Charlie could take over that spot or something.

[anarane saralonde]

KF - well, no, he's not going to whittle down to a "lean mean killing machine" (depending on how long our castaways remain on the island) but he'll lose weight and it will be noticeable. Take another look at the scene I was talking about - I know you know the scene. I don't know if Jorge was expected to lose weight as the series progressed or not, so it might be a bit of Hollywood magic that made him appear slimmer in last night's episode. ::sticks tongue out at KF::


"The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I just kept my finger out of there." - Ralph Wiggum

[Mattie]

Just release my "tail" ;)

[anarane saralonde]

You'll get it when I'm damn good and ready to give it back to you!


"The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I just kept my finger out of there." - Ralph Wiggum

[Mattie]

My tail's got it some stamina, eh?

[anarane saralonde]

That remains to be seen - I haven't been able to get the damn thing to stop curling up since I stole it!

"The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I just kept my finger out of there." - Ralph Wiggum

[Mattie]

It's shy. Stroke it some.

[anarane saralonde]

Just for that - you're never getting it back. NEVER! ::coiling it up and sticking it in my purse:: Let's see how well you can balance on that hatch now! :evil

BTW, doesn't anyone post on this thread anymore?


"The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I just kept my finger out of there." - Ralph Wiggum

[azteclady]

I don't know about Hurley's weight, but you two should get a room. I hear there are some down at the Basement that you can pay by the hour...

[Mattie]

It's getting deep in there, AZ.

[anarane saralonde]

I hear there are some down at the Basement that you can pay by the hour...

LOL! Okay Az...(I'll check it out but I hear the waiting line for those rooms wraps around the basement twice!)
Check the hatch Matt - I left your tail there.

I still say Hurley's lost weight though.


"The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I just kept my finger out of there." - Ralph Wiggum

[Mattie]

Check the hatch Matt - I left your tail there.

Now I'm sitting here wondering what you've been playing with this whole time...

My tail doesn't separate from my body...

[anarane saralonde]

Check again my friend. I can see by the expression on your face you're missing something..........
http://www.corporatehairball.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_253704/funny~Monkey.jpg


"The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nose bleeds if I just kept my finger out of there." - Ralph Wiggum

[Mattie]

lmao.

No comment.