Losing weight quickly may seem like an ideal situation. After all, weight loss is hard work that often requires a dedicated combination of exercise and healthy eating, and keeping up those disciplined methods for long periods of time can be tiring and discouraging. A variety of tactics can lead to rapid weight loss, but shedding pounds quickly may lead to more risks than benefits.
Sustainability
To lose a single pound, you must burn or save 3,500 calories. Thus, to lose weight quickly at a rate of 2 lbs. per week or more, you need to create an enormous calorie deficit in a short period of time. According to MayoClinic.com preventive medicine specialist Donald Hensrud, M.D., that accomplishment often requires efforts that aren't sustainable. For example, short-term fasting, following a fad diet or performing intense sessions of explosive exercise can all lead to fast weight loss, but such methods aren't healthy and are very difficult to keep up in the long term. Hensrud also points out that quick-weight-loss strategies are often more likely to help you lose water weight or lean muscle tissue than body fat.
Lasting Effects
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that people who lose weight at a pace faster than 2 lbs. per week are less likely to keep that weight off over time than people who slim down at a slower rate. The difference may be in viewing weight loss as a temporary obstacle rather than a lifestyle choice. The CDC suggests that if you indefinitely keep up healthy habits to encourage gradual weight loss, you'll have more success than if you resort to temporary but extreme measures.
Health Risks
Although losing weight is healthy if you are overweight or obese, dropping pounds too quickly can bring some health risks. According to the Weight-control Information Network, slimming down quickly increases your risk of developing gallstones or having silent gallstones become symptomatic. Losing weight too quickly may also lead to an "elasticized" look in your skin that is less likely to occur with gradual pacing, according to Columbia University.
Considerations
A healthy and ideal pace for weight loss is between 1 and 2 lbs. per week. However, there are a couple of exceptions in which quick weight loss may not present such significant risks. On a medically supervised, very low-calorie diet, for example, the Weight-control Information Network notes that people may safely lose 3 to 5 lbs. per week. The National Institutes of Health also points out that people who undergo successful gastric bypass surgery or other weight-loss surgeries may safely lose 10 to 20 lbs. per month in the year following the procedure.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Fast Weight Loss: What's Wrong With It?; Donald Hensrud, M.D.; November 2009
- CDC: Healthy Weight: Losing Weight
- Weight-control Information Network; Dieting and Gallstones; August 2008
- Columbia University: Go Ask Alice!; Weight Loss and Excess Skin; April 2007
- Weight-control Information Network; Very Low-Calorie Diets; August 2008
- MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Gastric Bypass Surgery
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