If you’ve gone on a diet, how many times have you looked at your scale and thought “I’m not losing weight fast enough”? Wanting to see immediate results is one of the most common mistakes made by people who are on a weight loss journey. Rapid weight loss might sound like a dream to most people but in truth, it is the last thing any experienced nutritionist or dietitian would encourage. Let us look into the cons of dropping that weight instantly:
1.Extreme dietary habits:
In situations where individuals lose weight too quickly, it is often associated with crash diets, fat loss pills, detox cleanses and all other short cut methods. This approach might result in the individual ruining not only their physical health but also their mental health. Quite a lot of people eliminate many food groups (especially carbs) and develop disordered eating habits. This can also result in people developing nutrient deficiencies in the long run.
2. Weight relapse
When people use short cut methods to lose weight instantly, statistically 85% of them gain this weight all back either in the next 2 months,6months or even 2 years. Weight lost in this short time is usually not kept off forever.
3.Slowed down metabolism
Going on a restricted diet would mean that the calorie intake is dropped significantly.(eg: from 2500 kcals to 1200kcals) This alerts the body and causes it to go under starvation mode which means that the body begins to burn fewer calories to conserve energy.
4.Muscle breakdown
If you go on extreme calorie deficit diets, your body will start breaking down muscle instead of adipose tissue to produce energy. Instead of losing all the fat that you want, you’ll end up losing muscle mass.
5.Uncontrolled hunger
We have a hunger hormone called leptin that is an indicator of our satiety and hunger levels. When we ruin our dietary habits, the levels of leptin become disturbed which can cause binge eating episodes, uncontrolled appetite and an obsession with food.
So what is the right way to lose weight?
According to most health professionals, a slow gradual weight loss with a long term goal in mind is better in terms of seeing progress and maintaining it. Losing 0.5-1kg per week is the most realistic goal. Calorie deficit diet paired with a good workout routine that involves both cardio and weight training is the ultimate method for losing weight.
So the next time somebody sells you a diet by saying ‘Lose 5 kgs in 5 days’ you know better than to listen to them.
Remember, long term goals are superior over short term goals when it comes to your weight loss journey.