Successful weight loss follows a simple formula: take in fewer calories than you expend. The process, however, can be challenging --- and even more so when you have a significant amount of weight to lose. Bariatric surgery is an option for extreme cases or when excess weight presents an immediate threat to your health. Less extreme options include medically supervised plans, meal-replacement plans and good old fashioned diet discipline --- with expert guidance to provide assistance.
Liquid Diets
Typically, rapid weight loss is not sustainable. In many instances individuals who lose a large amount of weight quickly gain it all back --- one example is actress Kirstie Alley, who lost 75 lbs. with a popular commercial diet program only to regain every pound. Rapid weight loss can often be unsafe, resulting in reduction of lean muscle tissue along with water, rather than fat, according to Donald Hensrud, M.D., writing for MayoClinic.com.
For very obese individuals, however, rapid weight loss may be desirable or even life-saving. In such instances, medically supervised liquid diets allow individuals to lose up to 100 lbs. without surgery through a strictly monitored diet of approximately 800 calories per day, according to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. It's possible to follow a medically supervised liquid diet for 6 months or longer, but it is dangerous to attempt such strict calorie restriction on your own.
Meal Replacements
Many commercial diet programs use meal replacement bars, shakes or powders to help individuals control portion sizes, calorie intake, or both. Meal-replacement plans may provide prepackaged foods for every meal and snack to promote significant weight loss. More modest meal-replacement plans provide prepackaged substitutes for one or more meals while allowing individuals to supplement the packaged foods with fresh vegetables and fruits, or even a single "sensible meal" with regular foods. Some meal-replacement plans provide medical supervision, others feature in-person or online support groups, while still others provide a diet plan that you follow on your own. As with liquid diet plans, the challenge with meal replacement plans is transitioning back to eating regular meals while maintaining your weight loss, according to the University of California Irvine Health Affairs Weight Management Program.
Lifestyle Diet Plans
If you want to lose weight while enjoying real food, a lifestyle weight-loss plan is for you. You probably won't lose weight as quickly as with liquid diets or meal-replacement plans; most medical experts recommend a weight-loss rate of 1 to 2 lbs. per week, according to Hensrud. However, lifestyle plans provide the best option for keeping the weight off long-term, because you learn to make healthy food choices and incorporate exercise into your daily routine. In addition, "quick start" options may allow you lose up to 6 to 10 lbs. in 2 weeks --- not by crash dieting, but by combining several healthy weight-loss habits during the initial phases of a diet, according to Hensrud, quoted in "U.S. News and World Reports."
References
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center: UT Southwestern Develops Medically Supervised Liquid Diet Program
- Mayo Clinic: Why Do Doctors Recommend a Slow Rate of Weight Loss? What's Wrong With Fast Weight Loss?
- U.S. News and World Reports: Why the Mayo Clinic Diet Includes Quick Weight Loss; Katharine Hobson; 2010
- University of California Irvine: Weight Management Program
- University of California Irvine Health Affairs: Weight Management Programs
- MSNBC.com: When You Lose Weight -- and Gain It All Back; Gretchen Voss; updated June 6, 2010
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