This is a guest post written by Jonathan Dunsky.
It’s no secret that most people who want to lose weight want it to happen as fast as possible. However, it’s common to read warnings about losing weight too quickly. Some people say that it’s a recipe for disaster, that you will gain the weight back before long.
In this post I want to offer some tips on how to make fast weight loss safer and stickier, so you can enjoy fast results (perhaps in time for the new year) and have a better chance of keeping them for a long time to come.
The Problem With Fast Weight Loss
There are two major issues which make fast weight loss a bit risky:
- People often choose highly restrictive diet plans which are very low in calories and may also include some highly bizarre food options. These diets include oddities such as the GM Diet, the Israeli Army Diet, and the Cabbage Soup Diet.
Following these diets may cause your metabolism to slow down as your body responds to the low-calorie and low nutrient intake that these diets prescribe. This means that your body is gradually burning less and less calories. This makes it harder for you to continue losing weight as you need to keep cutting your calorie intake further to maintain a deficit. It also makes it much more likely that you’ll regain the weight once you start eating normally again.
- These restrictive diets may be good enough to provide you with a fast, short-term, weight loss, but they don’t really help you change your lifestyle. It is this lifestyle which may have led you to gain weight in the first place. Unless you change your lifestyle and habits, how can you hope to maintain your weight loss for years to come?
So, there is a physical reason why most fast diets don’t work: a metabolism slowdown. And, there’s a behavioral reason: you’re not making any real changes in the way you lead your life.
Is it possible to lose weight fast in a better way?
Some Tips For a Safer Fast Weight Loss
I’ve known quite a few people who lost a lot of weight in a very short time and have kept it off for many years. All those people lost weight with a combination of proper nutrition and regular workouts. All of them made a serious effort to change their habits. Much of their weight loss was achieved the hard way: with powerful workouts. They didn’t use crash diets.
So, let’s go over some tips on how to both lose weight fast and keep it off:
- Forget about crash diets and fad diets – these work for a short time only.
- Don’t cut your calories down for too long – This can lead to a reduction in your metabolic rate and make it harder to maintain your weight loss.
- Choose a program which includes highly intense workouts. You have to work hard to lose weight fast. One example of such a plan, which I first learned about 18 months ago, is the Xtreme Fat Loss Diet. This is a 25 day diet and fitness plan which has some of the hardest workouts I know. It’s the only way I know to lose weight quickly without sabotaging your metabolism. This is why you need to think hard whether you’re ready for this kind of challenge.
Programs that help you lose weight fast can usually be followed for a limited time only. They can’t be used for long due to their extreme nature (whether in terms of nutrition or fitness). This is why it’s important to think about the day after you stop using this program.
How will you maintain your new weight? I believe that choosing a program which helps you change your habits and incorporate regular and intense workouts into your routine is the most important step.
Hey Jonathan
I agree with most of the things you talk about in this post and like Erica I also believe that the hardest part is to find what motivates you. I also heard good things about the Xtreme Fat Loss Diet in some other blogs online but never tried it. Have you heard about The 31 Day Fat Loss Cure? It will be nice to hear what you think about it…
Thanks for this great info!
Hi James,
I have tried it and actually interviewed the guy who created it, Vic Magary (here is the interview: http://www.worldofdiets.com/vic-magary-interview/).
It’s a good program which has 31 days worth of workouts. It’s a pretty intense program and it has 5 different plans:
Bodyweight beginners and advanced.
Gym workouts beginners and advanced.
And one program for people who may be suffering from various injuries. I don’t know how well the last one fits specific problems.
As far as the nutrition part goes, it’s a primal diet, so no processed foods.
You can read my full review of it here: http://www.worldofdiets.com/31-day-fat-loss-cure/
Thanks for your comment
The hardest part is a diet is finding what motivates you.. I know, I did have that problem before.. Great post!
Thanks, Erica.
Indeed, motivation is a key to a successful weight loss and one which not every diet encourages.
These are all great points. I know that in addition to hard workout and a well balanced diet you should also have some supplements to help your body in fat burning.
I completely agree, diets don’t work I think when people hear the word diet it put’s them in deprivation thinking. Right now I am trying to loose 10 lbs and all I do is add a bit of running on a hill additionally to my workout routine for about 30 minutes and I completely stop eating at night. This method always worked for me.
Hi Tatianna,
I was looking through my spam folder and found a lot of comments from you. (Akismet flagged you) I had no idea. Thank you for your comments and support!
Hi Tatiana,
I love hill running. It gets your heart rate up so quickly, you’re getting a lot of calorie burn for your time.
Thanks for your comment.
Hi Jonathan!
Thank you for your timely post!
Fad diets don’t work for the long-term. We must stay active and make changes over time. That way, the weight stays off.
Very helpful article.
Take care,
Hi Evelyn,
They sure don’t.
Thanks for letting me speak my mind once again (-:
The problem with overweight people is that… well, you have to be on diet forever! I struggle with diets since so many years and you can’t stop “the good diet habits” or you get again all the weight.
Means no hamburgers, and I love hamburgers 🙂
Hi Bryan,
It seems like you’re taking the right steps to lose weight and keep yourself healthy.
When I lost weight for the first time it didn’t last long.
The last time I made a promise to myself that I would never let the weight come back again. So far, I haven’t broken my promise.
I think it was that firm decision which finally allowed me to make the weight loss stick.
Have a great holiday season.
Jonathan, I’ve always been fortunate to be able to drop lbs pretty fast when I get serious about it. I’ve not always done well with keeping it off for long periods of time but I tend to know the formula that works well for me. I limit my calories but not intensely. And I stay away from sodas and a lot of sugar. I’ll have to look into some of the workout sites. Thanks for the post!