In general, fast weight loss is not healthy. The faster you lose weight, the faster you'll gain it back. Here are the
top 5 reasons fast weight loss plans are not healthy...
- Diet fast and lose muscle not fat.
- Diet fast and lose water not fat.
- Diet fast and cause diet shock. What is diet shock?
- Diet fast and make no lifestyle changes.
- Diet fast and fail at long term weight loss.
Fast weight loss impacts your dieting efforts in so many
negative ways, it's hard to imagine how any fast dieting attempts could
produce healthy results.
The only thing I can think of is to use a
lower goal for your weight loss. At a 5% weight reduction, your health
improves, diet shock is minimized, and it's fast.
So, if planned properly, you can lose weight fast, in shorter time periods focusing on 5% reductions in total body weight.
At
first, you will lose mostly muscle and water. But as you progress
through each period, more and more fat will burn and less muscle. The
way I see it, no matter how many fast weight loss warnings we write
about, many of you will try the next one that hits the market. Instead
of fighting, I want to work with you and provide you the healthiest yet
fastest way to lose weight.
The Healthiest Fast Weight Loss Plan
Slow
and consistent, a healthy weight loss plan delivers small successes
everyday, building momentum along the way, peaking at the point in time
when you reach you're goal. This is key to dieting success.
Most
dieters do the opposite...they experience fast weight loss early, their
momentum peaks mid-way, and by the end of the diet, they are completely
deflated. With no energy left to carry them into the next stage of
weight loss -- weight gain prevention -- most dieters give up at this
point.
My fast weight loss plan avoids the deflation and lack of
motivation at the end of the diet because it evenly spreads the weight
loss over 6 weeks. When do most dieters lose the most weight? Weeks
1-3. On my plan? Weeks 2-5.
No, these results are not from a
good rigorous clinical study. Instead, they are my own observation of
several patients I follow in Dallas.
Healthy Fast Weight Loss Steps
-
Week One, Part One -- drink a protein shake supplement everyday.
Do not change anything else. Drink a protein shake that's a 50:50 mix
of whey to casein proteins. The best time to drink the shake depends on
your physical activities.
Since most bodybuilders know what to do, I suggest for the rest of us, a
protein shake between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner.
The time you choose depends on when you have the longest period of
fasting. For me, it's between lunch and dinner, so my shake comes
around 3pm.
Week One, Part Two -- Start an exercise program, with the first
week involving nothing but stretching major muscle groups. Stretching
increases the tonal stimulation to muscles (tone) causing them to burn
more calories at rest. Plus it protects against injuries. The second
week start some form of low impact aerobics...walking! Walk for 40
minutes everyday.
-
Week Two -- Start dieting by replacing 1/2 of a meal with the same protein shake from last week. Do this for 1 week.
-
Week Three -- Replace one whole meal with a protein shake.
Change the mixture of the shake to 60% whey and 40% casein proteins.
For most people, this comes out to about a 500 calorie reduction.
-
Week Four -- Reduce caloric intake by another 250 calories. I
suggest adding a second protein shake, made up of the same 60:40 mix and
use it to replace 1/2 of a another meal.
Record the amount of weight you're losing. Never let it reach a rate of
more than 4 pounds per week (that's double what I normally recommend).
-
Week Five -- Repeat week four.
-
Week Six -- Add back the last 250 calories you dropped and stop drinking the second shake.
End Result -- 12 to 18 pounds of average weight loss. The exact amount depends on many factors including exercise.
Fast Weight Loss Summary
Don't
do it. Fast weight loss inevitably will lead to future weight gain.
Just don't do it. But, if you do, at least follow my steps, the
healthiest steps to fast weight loss.
To Healthy Living!
Michael A. Smith, MD
Chief Medical Consultant
Diet Basics
Dr. Smith is the Chief Medical Consultant for the Diet Basics
Website. His medical experience includes Radiology, Internal Medicine,
and Preventative Medicine. He trained at the University of Texas,
Southwestern Medical School for all post-graduate years, 7 in total.
His most memorable experience was training under Drs. Michael Brown and
Joseph Goldstein, the Nobel Laureates in Medicine for their pioneering
work in fat and cholesterol metabolism. Please visit Dr Smith's website
at,
Diet Basics.
