New diet plans for people who have packed on a few extra pounds -- and those struggling with more than a hundred pounds -- appear every year. Few of these plans address the simple fact that without an underlying disease process, no one gains 20, 50 or 200 pounds overnight. Yet desperate dieters think that it is possible to reverse the effects of over-consumption quickly with fad diets that promise quick weight loss. These diets might give you immediate satisfaction, but weight management requires long-term lifestyle changes that help you keep the pounds from creeping back.
Weight Loss Facts
Understanding weight gain is the first step toward resolving a weight problem. The average adult needs 2,000 calories daily to maintain normal weight. Eating 100 more calories per day than you burn results in weight gain of approximately 10 lbs. per year. To lose weight, you must decrease your calorie intake or increase the number of calories that you burn.
Rapid Weight Loss
A significant reduction in your daily calorie intake can actually defeat your weight loss efforts. Your body's survival mechanism automatically kicks in when you consume too few calories to support its normal physical functions. When your body senses this lack of calorie intake, it goes into starvation mode and slows your metabolism down. This keeps stored fat available for future needs. Diets that promise quick weight loss often rely on soups, shakes and food restrictions that rob your body of essential nutrients. The weight loss that these diets produce is mostly water weight. Unfortunately, when you return to your normal diet, you will regain the water weight and often a few additional pounds.
Gradual Weight Loss
The University of Chicago suggests setting a goal of 1 to 2 lbs. for gradual weight loss. This objective requires a deficit of 500 calories per day or 3,500 per week for the average adult. You accomplish this by making healthier food choices that reduce the calories that you consume. Decreasing saturated fat, increasing your consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, and eating moderate amounts of lean proteins and carbohydrates are common components of effective gradual weight-loss plans. Increasing the calories you burn daily also helps you reach weight-loss goals.
Weight Loss Lifestyle Changes
The majority of popular fad diets do not focus on long-term lifestyle changes that help you maintain the weight loss that you achieve. Dr. Donald Hensrud of MayoClinic.com notes that the extreme measures and food restrictions required by quick weight-loss programs are not sustainable. To manage your weight successfully, you must make permanent changes in your daily diet and activity level.
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