Why rapid weight loss is dangerous
Wouldn’t you love to be at ideal weight in the next 30 days? What if you need to lose 10, 20 or even 50 pounds to do it? Is that even possible? You bet it is possible, but I would never recommend it. Losing weight too fast is never a healthy choice. Why? Because in order to lose more than 1 to 2 pounds per week you must put your body in a stressful, unhealthy condition. Even if you do achieve ideal weight very quickly it will be almost impossible to stay at ideal weight. Actually, it will also make it much harder to ever get back to ideal weight again a second time if you gain back the weight you have lost.
Please don’t misunderstand me. Achieving ideal weight is one of the most important goals you can reach for health and longevity. However, getting to ideal weight and staying at ideal weight can be two different things. The method you choose to reach ideal weight is much more important than how fast or easily it can be done. Eating a healthy balance of proteins, fats and low glycemic carbs, like you will find in our INBars, along with consistent exercise is the best choice. This method may take a little longer but it involves forming habits that are sustainable. That means you can use them long term to not only attain ideal weight but almost effortlessly maintain ideal weight, which is the real goal for your healthy future.
What about those no carb diets that seem to be so popular from time to time? The biggest problem with the no or extremely low carb diets is they work. People actually can and do lose weight. So what is the problem if they do work for weight loss? The problem is these diets are not sustainable longterm. They can put your body in an unhealthy state of ketosis where fats and proteins are burned to provide energy instead of preferred carbohydrates. This means the body structure is literally being broken down to provide for energy needs. This is why the low or no carb approach eventually must come to an end. That is also why 98% of the pounds lost this way are eventually gained back.
Another not so well known effect of losing pounds this way is the type of tissue removed is not replaced back to the original proportion of body fat to protein. When losing weight at a rapid rate as you do by extremely cutting carbs you lose muscle as well as fat. Excess fat is the enemy. Fat loss is the goal not weight loss.
Let’s say there is a rapid weight loss of about 10 pounds. Probably about 60% of this will be fat but the other 40% is lean muscle mass. So you have lost about 6 pounds of fat and 4 pounds of muscle. When this weight is gained back, as it is in 98% of cases, it does not come back as the 6 pounds of fat and 4 pounds of muscle that was lost. It will come back as 10 pounds of fat. Now it is even harder to lose weight next time because there is more fat to lose and less calorie burning muscle.
A pound of fat only burns about 2 to 3 calories a day. A pound of muscle, however, burns 40 to 50 calories each and every day. In our example we went from 6 pounds of fat and 4 pounds of protein, before the low carb weight loss, to 10 pounds of fat. In calorie burning we went from 6 pounds of fat burning about 12 calories a day and 4 pounds of protein burning up to 200 calories. So we were burning about 212 calories a day before the rapid weight loss. When the ten pounds is eventually gained back it only burns about 20 calories a day. 212 calories burned a day versus only 20 calories. That is a big difference. That is also why repetitive, so called yo-yo dieting is so dangerous. Each time you lose weight rapidly and gain it back it is so much more difficult to lose again next time. Losing calorie burning lean muscle mass and gaining fat, which hardly burns any calories, can make ever getting to ideal weight seem impossible.
So beware of rapid weight loss programs even if they come with a lot of great sounding testimonies. The best way to go to ideal weight and stay there is to make changes that are sustainable. Start eating sensibly. A balance of good fats, proteins and low glycemic carbs. Avoid sweets, processed and fried foods. Focus on real foods for real and lasting results. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Choose meats which are lower in fats. Fish, chicken and turkey are great choices. Start and stick with a consistent exercise program. A 20 to 30 minute walk 3 to 5 days a week will be a good start. Don’t forget to stay hydrated with 8 to 10 glasses of water which will fill you up with absolutely no calories. Be patient. Slower weight loss, which leads to fat loss, avoids losing essential calorie burning muscle. You will look better, feel better and have more energy and when you get to ideal weight you will stay there!
