Losing weight fast is a very popular topic in the fitness and nutrition industry. With marketing schemes and media pumping out crazy claims on such a regular basis, everyone seems to believe they can reach their goal in 30 days or less.
And whether or not they actually believe that, they’re striving for it because that’s what everyone is telling them needs to happen. See I follow strength coaches and nutritionists on subscription based forums, textbooks, certifications, etc. and this allows me to learn what actually works and what doesn’t destroy your body and hormones in the process.
The issue for the general public is that they don’t follow these people; most of the time they don’t even know these people exist.
But what the general public, possibly you reading this, does see and follow are the people all over instagram, infomercials, bodybuilding magazines, and hopefully they stumble upon blogs like mine, HealthyLivingHeavyLifting.com, JoeyPercia.com, Biolayne.com, RenaissancePeriodization.com and one’s like these…
Which is why I am going to cover this very topic for you today.
“Why Losing Weight Fast Is A Bad Idea”
Now before you say or think, “Pfhhh whatever dude, I have self-discipline and crazy willpower. I’m just going to beast mode through this diet and cardio until I hit my goal weight”.
Trust me, I’ve been that way before too… Doesn’t end well. You have willpower and self-discipline, great! That’s awesome and it will very well be needed, but it runs out. We cannot have willpower forever – it literally drains us, as in scientifically proven to burn energy. So you actually cannot do it for too long and it is smart to not burn your willpower fuel tank right off the bat.
But besides all that, lets go over what actually happens to your body when you lose weight too quickly.
Your Body WILL Fight Back!
By this I mean that your body will resist what you’re trying to do, because it is meant to be a survival machine. Rapid weight loss is NOT a good thing if we’re trying to survive, let alone thrive.
This will cause our metabolism to slow down big time, because it doesn’t need to be fast if we’re consuming less. Simply put, the more calories we consume, the harder the metabolism has to work and if we drop calories rapidly to lose weight, the metabolism will slow down along with the calorie drop so it doesn’t need to work as hard.
Every wonder why you can lose a bunch of weight quickly if you drop calories, but as soon as you take a weekend off, have a couple cheat meals, or have a few drinking nights out – along with a couple Seattle dogs smothered in cream cheese… My Seattle natives know what I’m talking about – you gain a bunch of weight back??
Well it’s simple, your metabolism slowed down from dieting quickly and it cannot handle the rapid increase of calories. But of course, we immediately go back to the low cal, low metabolism, diet and repeat this process throughout the year.
Another way your body will fight back is with cravings. Ever notice that you get a ton of cravings when you’re dieting strictly?
Yeah, that isn’t just you – it’s everyone who diets rapidly.
Now cravings will come regardless, but not nearly as often as when you’re dieting rapidly or trying to lose a lot of weight very quickly.
Finally, another very overlooked way your body fights back is with slowing down “N.E.A.T.” – this is “Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis”. In other words, day-to-day movement.
You may not notice, but when we’re dieting we move less, fidget less, talk less, do less activities, and overall burn less calories because of lack of natural movement. And all this happens because we’re consuming less energy (calories) so our body preserves it by moving less.
10,000 steps a day for a full week, 70,000 total steps, is an extra 3,500 calories burned. 3,500 calories technically is 1lb of fat. Meaning if you added 10,000 steps a day you’d lose a pound a week – remember, if you’re already doing 5,000 a day this would mean you’d need 15,000 a day or another 5,000 a day for ½ a pound.
The point is, you’re MUCH less likely to do that when dieting hard or losing weight too quickly.
So lets summarize all of the above… This all can very likely lead to rapid weight gain.
“Everything slows down, willpower gives out, you say fuck it, give into cravings, metabolism cant handle it and you’re not moving enough to burn it… WOAH! Weight gain came back and then some! Better diet again and start this process all over again… Right coach??”
No, own the slip up and focus on the long run. We’re still in this game!
1% Weight Loss Per Week is The Sweet Spot.
1% per week essentially keeps everything in the body working properly and its best to shoot for 10% max each time you set a weight loss goal (if you’re 225lbs, that is about 22.5lbs).
Now 10% may not be your big overall goal, but this allows you to stop, lower stress, regain some willpower and relax a bit – this also will allow your body and your body’s functions stop for a bit and reset, if we’re constantly pushing we don’t have time to adjust and reset.
Some recent studies have been showing that taking 1-3 months to stay at a specific bodyweight can help reset your body fat set point. This is the spot where your body likes to hover around and be comfortable at. Therefore if we can lose 30lbs, wait a month or two and just enjoy that weight -> We can SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the chances of weight regain, because our once 225lb body fat set point has now become 195lbs. This is GREAT for long-term weight loss!
The best approach for this is to focus on a 2-3 month weight loss journey and then consider maintaining that new weight for 1-3 months to let the body stabilize.
Now I know that can be a very hard thing to stick too, because you’re committed and ready to lose that weight (I GET IT!) but at the end of the day, this should be a lifestyle and in order to lose a lot of weight or body fat and keep it off, this is the absolute smartest approach. This allows us to create new body fat set points so even in the worse case scenarios, we are very likely to never return back to the heaviest point we’ve been at.
[This is some of the science behind my 90-Day Body Challenges, click HERE to get on a call with me in the next 24 hours and find out more]
Let’s Recap A Bit…
At the end of the day, no matter how much we want this weight loss “Right now!” the absolute best way for us to live our lives is long, healthy, and at a lower body fat percentage.
If that means we need to take a slower approach, then so be it.
There is nothing more frustrating and disappointing then losing weight, gaining it back, losing it again, then gaining it back and probably some extra, and continuing this yo-yo approach year after year.
By taking the slower approach, you will have a faster metabolism for the long run – age has ZERO effect on this. The only effects on metabolism are activity level, hormonal balance, and calorie consumption. This means if you stop moving and eating properly as you age, then your metabolism may slow down – this is common as life gets more stressful and busier as we age, but there are ways around that!
By taking the slower approach, you can increase hormones like testosterone, growth hormone, and libido – meaning you build more muscle and strength, lose more body fat, and you’ll want to have sex more often (and it’ll probably be a hell of a lot better too! – You can thank me later).
By taking the slower approach, you’ll sleep better, recover better, have fewer cravings and mood swings, you’ll have more energy, you’ll most likely experience less stress, and much MUCH more…
My point is simple, really… Don’t fall into quick fixes and gimmicks you see.
Find a coach or program that can last you a minimum of 2-3 months, be consistent, and have a plan to be better next year then you are right now.
If you’re tired of yo-yo dieting, losing weight and gaining it back, being lost in how to make it work for you, or simply need the support to stick to something THAT WORKS…
Get on a Strategy Call with me to Discover not only how you can finally lose the weight and keep it, but also learn how to do it and apply it to your lifestyle.
No purchase necessary, let me help you for free. Get on a call, Click Here Now.
