Safe Weight Loss

Frankly, I was alarmed when someone recently said that she was losing a lot of weight in a very short period of time. I don’t know the details – perhaps she is under medical supervision and I hope it is not using a clinically unproven fad diet. But it prompted me to address the issue again, in general.

The Mayo Clinic and other reputable sources, cite a safe weight loss rate of 1-2 lbs per week. Rapid loss not only puts your health at risk, it is unlikely to result in sustained loss. Why? There are 2 factors going against you – one biological and one psychological. The first is the body’s natural desire to keep the weight on. When extreme dieting begins, weight will come off at first, but then the metabolism slows down to preserve that weight. Secondly, we are creatures of habit. The only way to sustain weight loss is to develop new habits. Therefore, if a diet is temporary, so will the weight loss be temporary. The way to keep it off is to change your diet habits forever.

I have written past entries about safe weight loss and maintenance. For more information see:

-Why diets fail
-How to keep your weight off after losing it
-Weight loss is not magic, and
-Diatta – from the Greek for “manner of living”