What's So Bad About Fast Weight Loss?

I just don't understand what all the hoopla is about. There are so many so called "experts" who keep telling us fast weight loss is incredibly dangerous and stupid. Many of the chat rooms will actually ban you if you start saying fast weight loss is OK for some people.

First, let me say that if you are able to transform your life and become a "health nut" eating only salads, veggies, fruits, smoothies and such then hoorah for you! Do it! But I can't. There is no way I can permanently give up Big Macs or fried chicken for the rest of my life. I can, however, give them up temporarily in order to lose weight.

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Second, let me say that losing weight and maintenance are two separate things and they should not be confused. Losing weight is a process with a defined end point. Maintenance is a totally separate process with a totally separate goal. Also, maintenance is not "going back to your old way of eating". I think it is common sense and everyone knows that if you go back to your original way of eating you will gain all your weight back no matter what diet you were on to lose it. So the threat of regaining your weight is not a deterrent for fast weight loss. You can lose 100 pounds on Weight Watchers over a year but if you go back to the way you were eating before Weight Watchers then you will regain your weight. Does that mean you should not go on Weight Watchers in the first place? Of course not!

I admit that fast weight loss is not for everyone. It is, however, for me. I could not tolerate slow weight loss. It would take 2 months to lose 10 pounds. A holiday would come up and 2 or 3 days of eating "normally" I would gain back 6 pounds! Talk about demoralizing! That is the reason I am a proponent of fast weight loss. It is incredibly motivating and you are more likely to stick with a diet when you see the weight falling off relatively quickly.

Fast weight loss means different things to different people. If you weigh 300 pounds you could probably lose 20 to 30 pounds in your first month. It will slow down after that and this is a good reason to take advantage of the maximum amount of weight you can lose at the beginning. If you weigh 120 pounds you may be lucky to lose 5 pounds in your first month and that, too, will slow down.

The reason I don't believe all the doomsday prophets when it comes to fast weight loss is because fasting is normal and accepted for medical, cultural, and religious reasons. I'm not even promoting a fast. WebMD defines a low calorie diet as one made up of 800 to 1500 calories: a very low calorie diet (VLCD) is 800 calories or less. I do, however, believe that if you are otherwise healthy, a low calorie diet in the area of 800 to 1000 calories per day is a good option for losing weight quickly. If you are healthy, there is no reason why you should not be able to go on this many calories per day for 2 or 3 or 4 months in order to really kick-start a weight loss program. I lost over 50 pounds in less than 4 months on a cookie diet and I felt great! The sky didn't fall on me and I'm healthier than I've been in years.