Fast Weight Loss
by Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness
Martica
Find More

* More Diet & Fitness Articles

Q. What is the fastest way to lose weight?

A. The fastest way to lose weight is to starve yourself. Of course, this can set you up for a lifetime of health issues and weight problems. And once you start eating more again, you may even gain more weight back than you lost.

When it comes to weight loss, the slower, the better. It’s natural to want a quick fix. And if you follow a drastic diet, cutting large amounts of calories, it appears that fat melts off because you can lose five pounds or more in a week. While this could give you the psychological boost you need, it may send your body plummeting physiologically. Not only is this weight not the kind you want to lose—fat—the weight loss isn’t permanent or healthy. Plus, people who lose weight fast tend to gain it back quickly, too.

Fast weight loss is deceptive because the quicker you lose, the less likely it is that you’re losing much body fat. One classic study by the National Academy of Sciences showed that when dramatic amounts of weight are lost quickly, weight loss is more likely to be mostly water, not fat.

Subjects were put on a 1,000-calorie per day diet and they exercised 2.5 hours a day for 24 days. In the first three days of this extreme regimen, 70 percent of the weight loss was water. Over time, the body adjusted, however. As the caloric restriction continued, the water loss was reduced and the percentage of fat loss increased. From days 21 to 24, 85 percent of the weight lost was fat.

A diet that is dramatically different than your normal routine is hard to stick to, so you’re almost guaranteed to return to your same old bad eating habits. Because it’s unlikely you lasted on the strict diet for longer than a couple of weeks, the water-weight you lost is usually piled right back on the minute normal eating resumes. Drastic dieting can also affect your energy levels, mood and nutrient status, leaving you at higher risk of injury or illness.

Take it slow. Sustained, sensible calorie reduction is the way to lose. The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Dietetic Association recommend losing no more than 1-2 pounds a week by combining exercise with calorie reduction of anywhere from 100 to 500 calories per day. This is really more about improving your eating behaviors by making small changes that last a lifetime, rather than sticking to a strict eating plan.

Today, more and more nutritionists advise a modest reduction in calories to allow the body to adjust gradually. Over time, the majority of weight loss will be fat, which is what's going to be the most permanent and have the most impressive effects on how you look.

http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100146419&GT1=8618