When you conjure up images of how well you will look and feel without lugging an extra 20-30lbs or more around your belly, thighs and butt, you tend to really want to lose weight fast…as in lose weight in a week or less. This is especially true if you’re needing to look your best for an event in the not so distant future.
It’s not uncommon to witness someone lose weight fast….really fast. Those who are trying to lose a lot of belly fat and carry a body fat percentage in excess of 25% or 35% (considered obese for men/women).
My uncle Gary for example was 5’3″, 280 pounds 2 months ago. At 57 both his knees had given up and he couldn’t even get up from the couch. In the last 8 weeks he’s lost a whopping 57 pounds (much of which is fat) by making a few shifts in his what he eats.
In his case he started dropping the weight fast just by eating what most would consider a comparatively normal diet based on his size and activity level. He lost in the first few weeks a little over 10 pounds of fat each week without any detox, liquid diet or any other emergency crash diet plan.
That’s fast weight loss..
Having said that realize that if you already have an acceptable body fat percentage that is between 25-31% for women and 18-25% for men than losing that kind of weight will not only be next to impossible it’s potentially suicidal as well.
You can still lose weight fast, however. But keep in mind the more weight you lose quickly the more your body will adapt to this stress and in turn prevent itself (you) from losing weight fast or even at all in the future. I see this all the time where someone gets excited how the they forced quick weight loss of 8-15 pounds in 2 weeks only to see them frustrated after they realized a slight gain in the following 2 weeks.
Why? Because those who try to force a lot of rapid weight loss (over 3 pounds a week) and their body fat percentage is already at or slightly above acceptable levels, their body will react by burning its own muscle for energy. And lean muscle mass is necessary for burning fat. The more muscle your body has the harder your metabolism works to maintain it.
The problem with trying to lose weight fast is that it sends a signal to your metabolism to dial down the thermostat to ‘starvation mode’. So then your basal metobolic rate (BMR) or your resting metabolism rate is actually working against you by saving up as many calories as possible to prevent the next attempt to lose 10 pounds fast diet.
The result of most rapid weight loss attempts a vicious cycle of up and down dieting, bingeing, guilt, stress, weight gain, etc, etc.
The good news is that there is a much better approach to losing weight fast, safe, and naturally.
