If you've made a decision to lose weight, most likely you want to reach your goal as soon as possible. The plethora of diet aids, eating plans and fitness equipment on the market offer plenty of proof of this. But permanent and safe weight loss takes more than just a week or two of eating a restritcted diet or visiting the gym, it requires serious commitment and a change in eating and exercising routines.
It May Not Be Fat You Are Losing
To lose one pound of fat you need a deficit of 3,500 calories, which takes time. So if you notice rapid weight loss it may be due to a loss of water weight, which you will easily gain back, or it could be a loss of lean muscle. The Mayo Clinic suggests a plan to cut your calories by 500 per day, which will translate to one pound per week. You can also cut out 500 calories a day and increase your activity to burn 500 calories a day and receive a benefit of 2 pounds of fat loss per week.
Dangers of Very-Low-Calorie Diets
The Michigan Surgeon General says that a diet with a daily intake of 800 calorie or less can be very dangerous. Restricting your intake that low can lead to dehydration, fatigue, kidney infections, diarrhea and heart irregularities. If you follow a diet with a calorie level this low for more than just a few days, you put your body at risk by not providing enough of the nutrients it needs to work effectively. Not providing enough insoluble fiber daily can also leave you constipated. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published an article in 1984 called Cardiac Dysfunction in Obese Dieters: A Potentially Lethal Complication of Rapid, Massive Weight Loss by T.B.. Van Itallie and M.U. Yang that describes how rapid weight loss in obese people can cause heart problems.
Gallstones
Gallstones form in the gallbladder and are usually made from cholesterol. They can appear in clusters of very large stones are very small ones. Being very obese increases your chance of having gallstones, but so does rapid weight loss. According to the Weight Control Information Network, an information service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, losing weight at a rate greater than three pounds per week can increase your risk for developing silent gallstones, which have no apparent symptoms. About one-third of those who develop gallstones require surgery to have them removed.
References
- MayoClinic.Com: Fast Weight Loss: What's Wrong With It?
- Weight Control Information Network: Dieting and Gallstones
- Michigan Surgeon General: Safe Weight Loss
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Healthy Weight: It's Not a Diet, It's a Lifestyle
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Cardiac Dysfunction in Obese Dieters: A Potentially Lethal Complication of Rapid, Massive Weight Loss
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