Rapid weight loss, more than a two pounds a week, almost never stays off in the long run. That's because many fast weight loss diets rely on calorie deprivation, which dooms people to fail for several reasons. Low calorie diets wear dieters down quickly and have many adverse effects. Constant hunger and low energy make these diets nearly impossible to maintain, and even those who can tolerate sharp calorie cuts in their diets shouldn't because low calorie diets, those diets typically below 1,200 calories a day, make it difficult to get all the nutrients necessary for a healthy diet.
Diets that promote rapid weight loss are not only bad for a person's health, they're also bad for weight loss. When someone goes on a low-calorie diet, his or her body switches into starvation mode, which makes the body survive more efficiently on fewer calories, thus making it more difficult to lose weight. Starvation mode also encourages weight gain after the dieter goes off the diet.
Effects of Rapid Weight Loss
Medical experts in general warn against losing weight too quickly. Rapid weight loss "can cause many medical problems, including a weakening of the heart muscle, irregular heartbeat and dangerous reductions in potassium and electrolytes", according to Edward Wyatt in the New York Times article "In Reality Show to Drop Weight, Health Can Be Lost in the Frenzy."
Another effect of rapid weight loss is gallstones states C. Wayne Callaway, M.D., who specializes in internal medicine, endocrinology and clinical nutrition: "The risk of gallstones goes up in people who lose weight quickly or lose a lot of weight." About 25 percent people who go on a fast weight loss diet for two to four months end up with gallstones, and these are people who did not have have gallstones prior to crash dieting. People who lose 20 pounds double their risk for gallstones, according to a Nutrition Health Review: The Consumer's Medical Journal article "Rapid Weight Loss Unhealthful: Leads to Regaining More."
There are, however, exceptions for certain people to go on fast weight loss diets as long as they are medically supervised. According to a Nutrition and Weight Control for Longevity article "Medications, Supplements and Surgical Treatments for Obesity", "very-low-caloric diets are appropriate for people with a BMI of 30-35 or higher who have been unable to lose weight with a conventional diet and exercise." Very low calorie diets may also help obese people with type 2 diabetes. People who have had a recent heart attack, stroke, heart rhythm abnormalities, angina, liver or kidney disease or type 1 diabetes should not go on a rapid weight loss program ("Supplements and Surgical Treatments for Obesity").
Lose Weight Slowly
Research, according to a July 2006 Tuffs University Health & Nutrition Letter article "The Facts on Five Diet Myths", shows that losing up to two pounds a week making healthy food choices and exercising regularly is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. By taking the slow and steady route of dieting, dieters can reduce the adverse effects of rapid weight loss.
Sources:
"Medications, Supplements and Surgical Treatments for Obesity." Nutrition and Weight Control for Longevity. January 2006. pg 71-80.
"Rapid Weight Loss Unhealthful: Leads to Regaining More." Nutrition Health Review: The Consumer's Medical Journal. 1993, Issue 66, p8.
"The Facts on Five Diet Myths." Tuffs University Health & Nutrition Letter. July 2006, Vol. 24, Issue 5.
Wyatt, Edward. "In Reality Show to Drop Weight, Health Can Be Lost in the Frenzy." New York Times. November 9, 2009.
Cathy Herold - Cathy Herold lives in southern California. She has a BA in English and minor in African American Studies from UCLA and a master's degree ...
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