Is Rapid Weight Loss Dangerous?

Are you looking for an effective diet to lose weight? Then seek help from your doctor or nutritionist to cater for your individual needs. Losing weight too quickly with a “miracle diet” can endanger your health!

If our goal is to lose weight, then we like to see success quickly. But do you know that  losing weight quickly can endanger your health?

Shedding a few pounds can be very exhausting. You need time and perseverance for this, that’s completely normal. However, the only healthy way to lose weight and gain a healthy weight is to take your time and move slowly. This is the only way you can guarantee your health. Find out more about this topic today.

Is Rapid Weight Loss Dangerous?

A very restrictive diet to lose weight as quickly as possible is usually difficult to adhere to, especially  if you love and enjoy food. However, when you get on the scales and see that the weight has not changed, it is very frustrating. However, you need to try to be patient and follow your doctor’s or nutritionist’s instructions.

While miracle diets can actually make you lose weight quickly,  they are very risky to your health. In addition, the danger of the famous yo-yo effect is very high. Therefore, you should avoid it and switch to a healthy diet in the long term.

But what is meant by “rapid weight loss”? Losing a pound to a pound a week is usually healthy, but losing more is definitely too quick.

If you have fluid retention,  you may be able to lose more than a pound a week early on in the diet. 

Effects on the body

The body needs a certain amount of calories every day in order to perform all functions properly. Obesity occurs when the calorie intake exceeds actual needs. However, if you want to lose weight in a healthy way, you should gradually reduce the daily number of calories and at the same time ensure more exercise.

Everyone’s needs are different, depending on ,  among other things, gender, age and physical activity. It is therefore advisable not to follow a miracle diet, but to have a nutritionist create an individual nutrition plan. He can take your health and lifestyle into account and give you very specific tips.

But what happens if we severely reduce our food intake as part of a very restrictive diet? For example, rapid weight loss comes with the following risks:

1. Rapid Weight Loss: Loss of muscle mass

One of the most common problems with very strict diets is that  not only fat tissue is broken down. Loss of muscle mass also gives better results on the scales, but this is not the point of a weight loss diet.

The  catabolism (breakdown) of the muscles occurs when the body receives the energy it needs from the muscle tissue  because it does not take it in through diet. When proteins are broken down, energy is released and the muscles are largely made up of protein. The body can use them to gain energy by breaking down muscle mass.

In a 2016 study, scientists evaluated a group of people who had been on a very low-calorie diet (500 calories daily) for five weeks. The control group followed a low-calorie diet (1,500 calories per day) for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, both groups had lost roughly the same weight, but the first group lost six times more muscle mass. 

2. Slower metabolism

Various studies show that losing weight too quickly  could be the reason why the metabolism works more slowly,  that is, it burns fewer calories. For example, it was found that the daily calorie burn can be up to 23 percent lower. 

3. Rapid weight loss: nutritional deficiency

A heavily reduced calorie diet can lead to  nutrient deficiencies because the body does not get all of the minerals and vitamins it needs. Signs of this can be, for example, the following:

• Hair loss
• Extreme fatigue
• Brittle bones
• Weakened immune system

4. Formation of gallstones

When you eat, the gallbladder releases digestive juices that help break down the food you eat. Various studies have shown that a reduced intake of food through a strict diet means that some of the bile is not released and gallstones could form as a result . 

5. Rapid weight loss: other problems

We have already mentioned various problems that losing weight too quickly could cause. But there are a few other complaints and complications that should also be considered:

• dizziness
• Feeling cold
• irritability
• Muscle spasms
• constipation
• diarrhea

If you want to lose weight, you should take your time for this endeavor! Get help from your doctor or nutritionist. They can adapt the necessary measures individually to your needs so that you can actually achieve success with the diet change and additional lifestyle changes.