People have many reasons for losing weight, and many of them fall into the fad diet trap that promises fast results. While there are certainly ways to speed up your weight loss efforts it’s important to understand that shedding pounds too quickly can actually backfire.
Like many parts of life, safe weight loss is more about the journey and less about a scale-based destination and rapidly approaching deadline. Read on for expert advice on the best ways to lose weight-and keep it off.
Why Weight Loss Isn’t the Best Goal
Though the allure of the fast weight loss diet myth is strong, there are many reasons why you may not lose more weight when this diet works against you.
Rapid weight loss is often associated with muscle loss, because the weight lost is not fat. The weight lost tends to be water and muscle.
Maintaining lean muscle is important in weight loss, as it plays a key role in metabolism. According to certified health coach and author of Sugar Shock and Beyond Sugar Shock Connie Bennett, muscle helps you burn more calories. However, when you lose weight too quickly, your body slows the process down. A fast loss of weight can even slow metabolism.
Rapid weight loss often leads to the dreaded yo-yo effect. Weight cycling is a chronic condition that occurs when the body loses and regains weight quickly. In fact, a study by NBC’s The Biggest Loser showed that rapid weight loss causes metabolism to slow down for several years after losing the weight. that the contestants lost considerable weight during the six years following the competition.
In another study from Australia, 200 participants were studied. The dieters in this study lost the same amount of weight as the rapid weight loss group, but they lost 10% more body fat and 50% less lean muscle than the slow weight loss group.
When people lose weight rapidly, their appetites increase. Eating more in order to offset the negative calories that are being burned off as the body burns off fat stores, which causes us to put on weight. A study in Obesity reports that our bodies, when we first lose weight, will prompt us to eat 100 calories more per day for every pound lost.
Popular fad diets often result in nutrient deficiencies. And rapid weight loss—especially when you cut carbs—is often largely water, says registered dietitian Ellen Albertson Ph.D. author of Rock Your Midlife. What’s more if daily calories are low the body may also use muscle mass as fuel. Reducing metabolism will slow muscle mass, which is metabolically active.
How to lose weight sensibly: Shed pounds in a healthy manner. Experts recommend losing between half a pound to two pounds each week. Follow these tried-and-true tips to shed pounds and keep them off for good.
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