The Truth About Losing Weight Too Fast

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It’s happened far more times than I can count. I’m scrolling through my Pinterest feed and see a bunch of Pins aiming to make people sick. How so? By seducing them into losing weight too fast.

“Lose 30 pounds in 30 days (I’ll show you how)!”

Being a weight loss Pinner myself, I’m ashamed of what I see. Taking weight loss too fast is a dangerous practice. Harmful weight loss ads reach well beyond Pinterest and prey on people trying to improve their health and lives.

So, what’s the truth about losing weight? How fast should weight be lost, and what advice should be avoided? I’ll share the answers in this post.

What’s a Healthy Weight Loss Per Week?

Yes, being overweight has many negative effects on our health, but that doesn’t mean you should aim to lose 10 pounds a week. In fact, anything more than 2 pounds a week is considered extreme and can harm the body.

You should only lose weight faster than this if you have a significant amount of weight to lose. Also, you can lose a bit more when first changing your diet, mainly due to loss of water weight. This should only happen in the first 1 or 2 weeks of weight loss. Otherwise, you’re likely starving yourself.

In short, 2 pounds or less is a healthy weight loss per week. This will keep your body healthy while changing and help you keep the weight off long term.

Why You Shouldn’t Take Weight Loss Too Fast

These Pins, along with other “lose weight too fast” ads, create false hope. When you don’t see the same results, you feel like you’ve done something wrong. Just like trying to spot reduce fat, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. This can either make you want to quit or encourage you to overexercise and eat less for faster results.

Aside from being disappointing, trying to lose weight too fast can have serious health effects. While most of these issues are small, others are downright dangerous.

Knowing the realities of weight loss will keep you from losing motivation. Also, knowing what to expect when losing weight will keep you from taking harmful actions to lose weight faster.

The Symptoms of Losing Weight Too Fast

Poor Nutrition

Often, while dieting, people cut out certain foods but forget to add in other foods to keep getting that nutrition. Lack of nutrition can cause many problems such as bone density loss, fatigue, weakened immune system, and hair loss.

Also, not eating enough food takes away your ability to get the wide variety of nutrition needed for optimal health. Additionally, gallstones can form when there isn’t much food to digest. This happens when the gallbladder holds onto the juices it makes for too long.

Low-carb diets can make the body lose a lot of water weight, making you lighter but effectively dehydrating you. This can lead to constipation, headaches, and low energy.

Lower Metabolism

Eating too few calories can cause loss of energy and wreck your metabolism. When your body thinks it’s starving, it will cling onto fat and burn muscle instead to try to stay alive longer. Eating too little or making a huge change to your calorie intake overnight will make it easier for you to run into weight loss plateaus.

Loose Skin

While losing large amounts of weight too fast, your skin won’t have time to keep up with your shrinking body and can begin to wrinkle and sag. Taking your time will allow your skin to snap back better, reducing the chances of having loose skin after weight loss.

Also, loss of muscle mass doesn’t just slow down your metabolism. Better muscle tone helps support the skin, keeping it from looking saggy. Making sure you eat enough food will help you keep your muscle tone, which helps improve loose skin.

Other Side Effects of Losing Weight Too Fast

If you’re using weight loss supplements, there are many side effects, such as insomnia, swelling in the legs, dizziness, dehydration, and chest pain. They can also become addictive to certain people.

Losing weight too fast can also mess with your hunger hormones, making you feel like you’re starving. This can cause you to have urges to binge, leading you into a cycle of overeating and restriction.

How You Can Avoid Losing Weight Too Quickly

The best thing you can do while trying to lose weight is expect it to be slow. Having this expectation will keep you from becoming discouraged or wanting to undereat. A healthy weight loss per week will also keep you from feeling starved.

When creating a weight loss plan, it’s important to make it sustainable and easy to maintain. Every time you weight cycle, you have the chance of gaining back more than you originally weighed. Cutting your daily calorie intake by 500 will result in a weight loss of 1 pound a week. Adding in strength training will burn more calories and keep your metabolism high.

If you find yourself losing weight too fast, consider adding some more food into your diet. Adding an extra snack or two between meals is all you’ll need to do. Aim to eat filling foods high in fiber, protein, and nutrition. Also, don’t forget to hydrate! Food should nourish your body, not harm it.

Ignore the fad diets and anything claiming you can lose insane amounts of weight in a short period. No fad diet or weight loss supplement has been proven to help you lose weight and keep it off in the long term.

While losing weight, focus on more than just the scale. Your weight will come down if you put in the work, so there’s no need to check it every day. Giving yourself non-scale goals along the way will keep your motivation high and show you the real success you’re having.

Lastly, remember that your weight does not determine your value. You don’t need to rush to get yourself to a certain shape. Losing weight slowly will keep you from losing your mind and ensure you have long-term success.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu Click To Tweet

Losing Weight Too Fast: In Summary

Trying to lose weight too quickly is not only dangerous, but it can also lead to eating disorders or disappointment. Making a plan to lose 2 pounds or less each week is the safest and most effective way to shed excess fat. Anything more will greatly reduce your chances of success.

In a way, the fastest way to lose weight is slowly. Remember, our weight isn’t the only indicator of our health or value. Amazing things happen when we stop abusing our bodies and decide to work with them.

Have you ever seen ads or content encouraging people to take weight loss too fast? What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments!

That’s it for now everyone. If you’ve found some value in this post, please share it to inspire others too! Thanks!

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References:

• https://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/rapid-weight-loss#1
• https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/rapid-weight-loss-dangers#_noHeaderPrefixedContent
• https://www.activehealth.sg/read/nutrition/5-alarming-dangers-of-extreme-weight-loss-you-cant-afford-to-ignore
• https://www.addictioncenter.com/stimulants/diet-pills/
• Featured image credit: Milkos/bigstockphoto.com

One Final Note from Ang:

Are you looking to stop overeating and finally get your life back? I have the perfect recommendation for you! Never Binge Again by Dr. Glenn Livingston is a book that effectively teaches readers how to take control of their eating. This book gives you the power to stick to any eating plan you choose.

The Never Binge Again method has helped me finally stop binge eating and move on with a healthy life. Glenn himself reads the audiobook, so you hear it the way it’s meant to sound. If you’d like to learn more about Never Binge Again, I wrote an in-depth and honest review here.

• Never Binge Again-paperback
• Audiobook-Never Binge Again