Did you know that 90% of people who undergo a rapid weight loss plan regain the lost weight within the year (sometimes they regain even more!). A quick result, with a long-term cost.

Rapid weight loss is very tempting. Pretty much everything is available to us right now: food delivery, any TV show you can think of (even ones you’d never think someone would come up with!), information, Uber, so why not weight loss too?

If you think about all the great things you’ve achieved in life, they all took time. Weight loss takes time. Now, if you’re an athlete trying to enter into a specific weight class, rapid weight loss makes sense. But you’re not, are you?

The focus on weight loss can take our attention away from our health goals too. Okay, you might not have health goals specifically, but we all aspire to be healthy. What if we could achieve weight loss whilst simultaneously improving our health? We can, but it’s going to require something from you: patience. Sorry.

So how would one go about a drastic weight loss plan? Let’s say we have someone who is eating 4000 calories per day and they don’t exercise. This person can drop their calories down to 500-800 calories with most of the shake type diets available. Initially, it’s a pretty easy approach to take if you just follow the instructions, but what are the dangers and the long term effects of such an approach?

• Muscle Loss

  • The scales are going to drop, hooray! Except, you’re not just losing fat mass (the stuff you actually care about), you’re losing muscle mass (which means weakness, slower metabolism, and an increased risk of falling).

• Nutrient Deficiencies

  • Many of these shakes claim to contain your “5 a day” but in reality, they’re low grade quality supplements. Do you know how well they absorb into your body? Is the vitamin or mineral in the best form that your body can absorb and use? Is it in the right amounts?

• Fatigue

  • You’ve become accustomed to a certain amount of food and now you’ve significantly reduced your intake which you may notice in terms of fatigue, affecting daily activities.

• Constant Hunger

  • You’re going to go back the way you eat, it’s just a matter of time. All of the fantasies you’ve had about the chocolate milkshake with whipped cream, marshmallows and sprinkles of honeycomb are tormenting you day to day (I’m feeling a bit of torment just writing that). For a lot of people, this can negatively affect their mood and they can start to obsess about food. This can affect one’s relationship with food in a negative way.

• Downregulation in Metabolism

  • This isn’t an immediate danger exactly, but more something to consider in the long term, which in my opinion, is the only lens to look at weight loss. Your body is smart, and it will adapt to little calories coming in, but at a cost. Your metabolism will start to slow down and the simplest way to think about it is that your metabolism isn’t working at an optimal level, and who wants that?
  • Consider an electric car traveling from Peterborough to Glasgow at 50% battery. The car’s computer tells you it can get there but it’s going to have to adjust some features: the radio volume is lowered, the air con is switched off, no Sports Mode for you today, we’re going to get there at a leisurely pace. In contrast, an electric car with a full battery and I’ve got the Vengaboys at full volume, I’m cool with my air con on and I’m getting to Glasgow in record time. I’m not sure why I chose to drive to Glasgow…

• Fat Gain!

  • This is literally the opposite of what you want. Well, whilst your metabolism is downregulated, and then you increase your calorie back to 4000 calories (revisit the stat at the beginning of the article), your body is primed for storage. Storage of what? Yes, you guessed it, fat my friend, fat.

Hopefully I’ve given you some information to think about which will allow you to push back against that nagging feeling of “I want it now!”.

Remember, your health is a lifelong investment. Quick fixes will lead to setbacks, so choose a path that’s sustainable. If you’re unsure about the best approach for your unique needs, don’t hesitate to seek help from a professional that can give you the guidance and support you need.

PT Shaun – Personal Trainer and a Precision Nutrition Nutritionist