Losing Weight Fast Works as Well as Slower Regimens—and May Work Better for You
As a certified optimal health coach and a doctor, I often hear people say, “Isn’t it better, and healthier, to lose weight slowly and steadily?”
The answer is “No.”
Here’s why.
Remember how it used to be?
We used to think there was some magic in the number 3,500. Hey, burn 3,500 calories in a week by exercising or eating 3,500 fewer calories, and voilà! You’d lose a pound.
Remember how that didn’t work? You’ve got lots of company!
No wonder the “traditional” weight loss approach often fails. You cut your calories by 500 a day, 3500 a week (if you can even figure that out), and after 7 long days of busting your tail to make the right choices, you lose a whole pound—if you’re lucky. Or you run 4 miles in 60 minutes to burn off that 500 calories—and end up feeling hungrier than you’ve ever been in your life. Are we having fun yet?
We now know our bodies simply don’t cooperate with that basic 3500-calorie formula, and most people lose weight far slower than they hoped. They end up having worked their butt off for small-change results. Enter frustration … followed, you guessed it, by giving up.
Bet you remember this part, too: Any lost pounds usually come right back, often followed by more.
Now we know better
Losing weight fast on a doctor-approved program beats “wait and see” pound-a-week regimens. Check this out:
- Dropping weight from day 1 tells you right away that the program is working – no waiting a week or more to see if you’ve lost even a pound.
- It sets you up for success from the start: Instead of the discouraging prospect of weeks or months of slow or no progress, you have the excitement of knowing you’ll see results
- In studies of fast-vs.-slow weight loss programs, people losing weight fast with meal replacements lost more weight, gained back less, and said the structured meal routine helped them “stick with it” day by day.
And how about this breakthrough health news?
- Meal-replacement programs for fast weight loss could help you lower or even eliminate your need for type 2 diabetes medication better than the traditional approach.
- The weight also stays gone better than with traditional programs, too, according to a study of several weight-loss regimens. After a year, those who’d been on a program that included meal replacements had lost more weight and body fat than those on other programs.
Fast weight loss—right for you?
If I’ve already created a program for you, you know how well it works. And without the hunger and cravings of the old-fashioned way. If we haven’t had a chance to explore if it’s right for you, let’s start there. You’ve got nothing to lose by trying it—except those extra pounds.