While maintaining a healthy weight is good for your health, rapid weight loss is not. A healthy weight-loss rate is generally considered to be 1 to 2 lbs. per week, which helps you achieve a reasonable weight loss that you are more likely to keep off. If you are obese or overweight, seek out a medically supervised weight-loss program to help you lose weight at a safe rate. Recognizing the signs that you are losing too much weight too fast can help you determine if you should scale back your weight-loss efforts.
Malnutrition
Your body relies on a combination of vitamins and minerals to maintain daily functions --- from transmitting messages to your nerves and muscles to maintaining healthy skin, nutrients are vital to your body. If you restrict your calories or an entire food group, you may be missing out on vital nutrients required to maintain your body's health. You may begin to notice the effects of this if you experience hair loss, muscle weakness or unexplained fatigue.
Ketone Buildup
Carbohydrate-restrictive diets are one some of the most popular diet trends. However, restricting your carbohydrate intake below 130 g of carbohydrate per day to experience weight loss can have harmful effects. Ketones, which are fats that have not completely broken down, can build up in your blood. The result of this is increased uric acid production. Uric acid contributes to joint swelling known as gout, taxes your kidneys and can cause kidney stones to develop.
Heart Rhythm Disorders
Your body relies on sodium, potassium and a number of other minerals to maintain heart function. If you lose weight too quickly via dramatic calorie restriction --- 800 calories or less per day --- your body may not be able to maintain a normal heart rhythm. You may experience a heartbeat that feels off pace, slows or beats too fast. This can wear out your heart muscle or even cause cardiac arrest because your heart may not be able to pump enough blood to your extremities.
Gallstones
Your body requires fat for energy and normal body functioning. If you cut fats entirely from your diet or overly restrict your calories, your body begins to use stored fats. To metabolize these fats, your gallbladder may secrete extra bile. This is dangerous because added bile increases your risk of gallstones, painful collections of bile and cholesterol that can affect your bladder's ability to empty.
References
- ABC News: Are Celebrity Moms Losing Too Much Weight Too Fas
- Weigh-control Information Network: Weight-Loss and Nutrition Myths
- HelpGuide.org: Healthy Weight Loss and Dieting
- Michigan Surgeon General: Characteristics of Safe Weight Loss Programs
- TeensHealth: Finding a Healthy Weight
- MayoClinic.com: Fast Weight Loss --- What's Wrong With It?
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