First and foremost, 45 percent of those surveyed said that “losing weight or getting into shape” was their new year’s resolution. Now, dieting is more effective at losing weight than aerobic workouts. However, aerobic workouts, even those while sitting, also help burn calories and fat.
Meanwhile, the most acceptable way to lose weight is to lose one or two pounds a week. In addition, it’s a rate you are likely to be able to achieve and sustain.
Not a Successful Way to Lose Fat
On the other hand, losing weight fast requires a lot of effort in terms of dieting and possibly exercising. In addition, losing weight fast is something you likely can’t sustain. Finally, losing lots of weight in a short period of time is unhealthy. Indeed, if you lose weight fast you are not likely to lose fat. In fact, because it’s hard to burn that many fat calories in a short period of time, you are more likely to lose water weight or even lean muscle tissue. Also, if you lose weight too fast you are at risk of health problems such as malnutrition, gallstones, as well as feeling tired and sick.
Moreover, if you lose weight too fast, you may not be getting enough key nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B-12, folate, and iron. Consequently, your immune system is compromised, and you are more susceptible to viruses like SARS-CoV-2.
Weight Loss Guidelines
Especially noteworthy, one pound of fat has nearly 3,500 calories. Consequently, in order to lose one pound of fat in a week requires you to skip eating nearly 500 calories every day for one week, which is something doable. Now, diets like the Mayo Clinic diet result in you losing three to five pounds a week for the first two weeks. But, after those two weeks, you go back to a diet that sustainably lets you lose one or two pounds a week.
Incidentally, when you first start a diet, you are initially likely to lose water weight. In fact, fat is lost gradually, from all over the body. By the way, some may notice the difference first in the bust, while others may notice it in their hips and thighs. In fact, you cannot control which portion of the body loses the fat.
Meanwhile, as you lose weight, you start to lose some of your lean muscle mass. As a result, your metabolic rate goes down. Consequently, it becomes even more harder to lose weight. However, strength training can help restore the lost muscle mass and increase your metabolic rate. And the more strength training you do the more your muscle mass increases, which, in turn, increases metabolic rate.
Misleading TV Testimonials
Meanwhile, don’t assume the significant weight loss you see on TV is something that will work for you. In fact, people on television who showcase their fat and weight loss, go to extremes. Moreover, to make sure they don’t hurt themselves, they are constantly monitored by doctors and trainers for up to 8 hours a day. Furthermore, television cameras follow them every minute of the day to make sure they follow a strict diet.
Most of all, quick loss diets that don’t work are those that promise you can lose twenty or more pounds in a week or ten or more pounds in three days. Also, most of what you lose, with these diets, is water weight along with lean muscles. While, these quick loss diets may work for a few weeks, your weight comes right back along with a few more extra pounds.
Helpful TV Programs
While these extreme weight loss efforts likely do not work, there are programs on television that do show how to successfully lose weight and fat. For example, the Atkins diet or the South Beach diet may result in you losing weight when you first start. And, in fact some people may even lose nearly 14 pounds in the first two weeks. Meanwhile, after two weeks, you go back to losing a more sustainable one or two pounds a week.
Research
Finally, Canadian researchers recently studied data from 11,000 study participants. And, they found that those who lost weight quickly or those who lost weight slowly got nearly similar health benefits, in terms of reducing risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. So, for the same pound for pound weight loss, there is no difference in terms of health benefits whether you lose the weight slowly or quickly. However, they also found faster weight loss comes with a risk of developing gallstones, so losing one or two pounds a week is far safer.