Losing weight is a common goal, and many people seek rapid results. However, it's crucial to approach weight loss in a healthy and sustainable way. This article delves into what you can realistically expect from a 1-month weight loss plan, the potential risks of rapid weight loss, and how to achieve lasting results.
Understanding Rapid Weight Loss
Rapid weight loss diets involve losing more than 2 pounds (1 kilogram) per week over several weeks. To achieve this, individuals typically consume very few calories. While quick results might seem appealing, this approach is often unsustainable and can lead to negative health consequences.
The Dangers of Rapid Weight Loss
Losing weight too quickly can lead to several adverse effects:
- Loss of Muscle, Water, and Bone Density: Rapid weight loss can cause you to lose muscle, water, and bone density. The body prefers to use muscle stores for energy before fat stores. So, when you lose weight quickly, it tends to come from muscle rather than fat. Muscle is metabolically active, burning calories even when you're at rest, so losing it can hinder long-term weight management.
- Side Effects: Gallstones, gout, fatigue, constipation, diarrhea, and nausea are some common side effects of rapid weight loss.
- Weight Regain: People who lose weight quickly are more likely to regain it. The hormonal response to rapid weight loss is stronger, making it harder to maintain the loss. This can lead to other health problems.
- Dehydration: Especially if you’re following a diet that encourages you to cut carbs, you can lose a lot of water quickly,” Czerwony warns. “That can dehydrate you, which then ends up overtaxing your kidneys.
Who Should Avoid Rapid Weight Loss Diets?
In general, a rapid weight loss diet is not safe for children. It may also not be safe for teens, pregnant women, or older adults unless a provider recommends it.
Realistic Weight Loss Goals
For most people, healthy weight loss is in the neighborhood of 1 to 2 pounds per week. That’s 4 to 8 pounds per month. Weight loss above that rate is possible. But it’s far from recommended. Instead of focusing on losing 10 pounds in a month, it's better to reassess that goal and focus on long-term solutions.
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Why Aim for Slower Weight Loss?
- Sustainable Results: Slow and steady weight loss is the only way to avoid yo-yo dieting, where you lose a great deal of weight, only to regain it within a few months or years.
- Fat Loss vs. Muscle Loss: Target fat loss instead of muscle loss with slow and steady weight loss. Maintain and grow your muscle mass by eating plenty of lean protein and engaging in both cardio and strength-training exercises.
- Prevents Plateaus: Weight-loss plateaus are your body’s natural reaction to losing weight. Expect that you’ll lose some weight early but that the pace will eventually slow or even stop. Don’t let that stop you from continuing to make healthy choices, like eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep. Stay away from hyper-restrictive diets that encourage you to cut calories to the extreme or to omit certain food groups from your diet. Restrictive diets can further convince your body and brain that you’re at risk for starvation.
Types of Rapid Weight Loss Diets
If rapid weight loss is medically necessary, it should be done under the close supervision of a healthcare provider. Here are some types of rapid weight loss diets:
Very Low-Calorie Diets (VLCDs)
Most VLCDs use meal replacements, such as formulas, soups, shakes, and bars, instead of regular meals. This helps ensure that you get all of the nutrients you need each day. A VLCD is only recommended for adults who have obesity and need to lose weight for health reasons. These diets are often used before weight-loss surgery. You should only use a VLCD with the help of your provider. Most experts do not recommend using a VLCD for more than 12 weeks.
Low-Calorie Diets (LCDs)
These diets usually allow about 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day for men. An LCD is a better choice than a VLCD for most people who want to lose weight quickly. But you should still be supervised by your provider. You will not lose weight as fast with an LCD, but you can lose just as much weight with a VLCD. An LCD may use a mix of meal replacements and regular food. This makes it easier to follow than a VLCD.
Time-Restricted Eating
This diet strategy is becoming more popular. It is often compared to fasting, but the two strategies are slightly different. Time-restricted eating limits the number of hours per day that you can eat. A popular strategy is the 16:8. For this diet, you have to eat all of your meals during an 8-hour period, for example, 10 am to 6 pm. The rest of the time you cannot eat anything.
Fasting
Fasting is an ancient form of caloric restriction. It has become more popular recently. This is partly because some animal and human studies have shown benefits to fasting for people with diabetes and obesity. There are many different fasting regimens, and it is unclear which may be the best. One of the most popular is the 5:2 system. This involves 2 days a week of fasting or VLCD and 5 days a week of eating your normal diet.
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Fad Diets
Some fad diets also severely limit calories to achieve rapid weight loss. In some cases, these diets are not safe. In most cases, these diets are not sustainable for long enough to cause long-term weight loss. Once you stop the diet, you are at risk for regaining the weight if you return to your old eating habits.
How to Achieve Sustainable Weight Loss
The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to make lasting lifestyle changes. Here's how:
1. Set Realistic Goals
Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week over the long term. Losing 5% of your current weight may be a good goal to start with. If you weigh 180 pounds (82 kilograms), that's 9 pounds (4 kilograms). Even this amount of weight loss can lower your risk of some long-term health conditions.
2. Make a Plan
When trying to lose weight, a solid eating and exercise plan with a goal of getting healthier - not just fitting into a new outfit or looking good at an event - will help you lose the weight and keep it off. It’s important to focus on both improving your eating habits and getting more physical activity.
3. Focus on Diet
To lose weight, you need to lower the total calories you take in from food and drinks. One way that you can take in fewer calories is to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. These are known as plant-based foods. They're low in calories and high in fiber. Fiber helps you feel full. Eat at least four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruits a day. Have whole grains, such as brown rice, barley, and whole-wheat bread and pasta. Use healthy fats, such as olive oil, vegetable oils, avocados, nuts, nut butters, and nut oils. Limit foods and drinks that have added sugar. These include desserts, jellies, and sodas. Focus on eating fresh foods. They have more nutrition than processed foods. Processed foods often come in a box or a can. It's a good idea to be mindful while you eat. Focus on each bite of food. This helps you enjoy the taste. It also makes you more aware of when you feel full. Try to not to watch TV or stare at your phone during meals.
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4. Incorporate Exercise
You can lose weight without exercise, but it's harder to do. Exercise has many other benefits. It can lift your mood, lower blood pressure, and help you sleep better. Exercise helps you keep off the weight that you lose too. How many calories you burn depends on how often, how long, and how hard you exercise. One of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking. Work up to at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise most days of the week. Also aim to do strength training exercises at least twice a week. Any extra movement helps you burn calories. So think about ways to move more during the day. Strength training like lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises along with some high-intensity interval training can give your metabolism the boost it needs to shed extra pounds. Steady-state aerobic exercise can also help burn off some calories.
5. Make it a Lifestyle
It's not enough to eat healthy foods and exercise for just a few weeks or months. To keep off extra weight, you should make these healthy changes a way of life. Think about negative habits or other challenges that have kept you from losing weight in the past. You'll likely have some setbacks on your weight-loss journey. But don't give up after a setback. Simply start fresh the next day. Remember that you're planning to change your life. It won't happen all at once. Stick to your healthy lifestyle.
6. Seek Support
If you’re just starting your weight loss journey or have had struggles in the past with finding a plan to stick to, it’s a good idea to seek help. Your doctor can recommend a dietitian who can work with you to develop a healthy eating plan that’s right for your needs and long-term goals. A dietitian can teach you healthy habits and ways to make sure you’re managing portion sizes and avoiding too much sugar, salt, and saturated fat, all of which contribute to health issues like heart disease and diabetes.
7. Focus on Overall Health
In order to be truly successful, focus on creating a healthier lifestyle for yourself. Eating healthfully and exercising shouldn’t be a temporary means to an end - they should be regular habits.
Initial Weight Loss Rate and Long-Term Success
Some studies suggest that a faster initial weight loss can lead to greater long-term success. For example, a study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine found that women who lost weight at a faster rate during the first 4 weeks of treatment achieved significantly greater weight reductions at 6 months than those who lost weight at moderate and slow rates. At 18 months, the fast group maintained a significantly greater weight loss than the slow group.
Key Findings from the TOURS Trial
The Treatment of Obesity in Underserved Rural Settings (TOURS) trial examined the association between the rate of initial weight loss and long-term maintenance of lost weight. Key findings included:
- Participants in the FAST group attended significantly more sessions than participants in the SLOW group, completed significantly more food records, and consumed significantly fewer calories.
- Participants in the MODERATE group also completed significantly more food records and walked significantly more steps per day than participants in the SLOW group.
- Those who lost weight at a FAST rate within the first month of behavioral treatment were 5.1 times more likely to achieve successful weight loss maintenance at 18 months than those who lost at a SLOW rate.
Learning Theory Perspective
From a learning theory perspective, it may be argued that losing at a slow initial rate may be less reinforcing to participants than losing at a moderate or fast initial rate. Large initial weight losses and the related positive quality of life changes may serve as reinforcers, increasing healthy behaviors and healthy habit learning. This in turn may lead to successful weight loss and maintenance.
The Importance of Professional Guidance
Rapid weight loss diet is usually for people who have health problems because of obesity. You should only follow one of these diets with the help of your provider. Talk with your provider about what type of exercise you should do while you are on this type of diet.