The Top 4 Rapid Weight Loss Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

This is a guest post by Barbara Cronin of www.HealthyNewAge.com

You want to lose weight fast? You’re not alone. More than 50 million Americans go on diets every year and according to the American Obesity Association 127 million adults in America are overweight.

Many times motivated by an upcoming event, people look for rapid weight loss. Turning to products and diets that not only don’t work but are actually harmful to your health has become commonplace. In fact, according to Lisa Coles’ book, Fat: Exploding the Myths, Americans alone spend between $30 to $50 billion a year on weight loss products, with $6 billion wasted on fraudulent or ineffective products.

Many of these products claim you’ll lose weight fast and keep it off. These claims are made by marketers only looking to increase profits. Oversight by the FDA, FTC, and other government regulatory bodies is often lax, so diet products commonly make astounding claims with no research or proof to back them up.

If you’re sincere about losing weight, you can do it. You first must realize is that weight loss is a lifetime commitment. Rapid weight loss usually only lasts for as long as you’re on a given diet and then eventually leads to rapid weight gain, which can endanger your health.

When you decide to lose weight, it’s vital to avoid the common fast weight loss mistakes that plague our society. The following is discussion of the Top 4 Rapid Weight Loss Mistakes.

1.) Dangerous Diets

Diets have been around for ages. Horace Fletcher of San Francisco published the first diet book on record in 1898. Horace’s dieting advice? Chew each mouthful of food 32 to 100 times and you’ll lose weight! (The New York Times, 1919)

Fad Diets:
Everywhere you look and every time you turn on the television or radio there’s a new diet out there, a diet that promises to get you slim in no time at all. There are the fad diets like the Lemonade Diet, the Hollywood 48 Hour Diet, The Grapefruit Diet, and hundreds more. These diets just don’t work, at least not for the long term. Not only will you put the weight back on after stopping the diet, you’re depriving your body of essential vitamins and nutrients during the diet. Don’t fall for fad diet claims.

Starvation Diets:
Then there are the starvation diets. The basis of these diets is to deprive your body of calories in hopes of dropping as many pounds as you can as quickly as possible. Sure, you may drop impressive pounds initially, but then watch out. If you’re consuming less than 1,200 calories a day you begin to lose muscle mass. Loss of muscle mass actually hinders weight loss. You need muscle to keep your basal metabolic rate, or resting metabolism, high. With more muscle mass you’ll burn more calories while your body is at rest.

Another problem with starvation diets is that consuming too few calories actually sends your body into “famine mode.” In this starvation mode, your body conserves all its energy and significantly slows fat burning. In addition, resting metabolism drops. This state not only prevents weight loss, but it also compromises the body’s natural metabolic functions.

Eating a Healthy Diet:
“Diets” are not the way to lose weight; however, eating a healthy diet is. Cutting out fast foods, fatty and fried foods, and sodas is a must. Eating at least 5 servings of fresh fruits and veggies will fill you up and you’ll be using your calories wisely. Don’t skimp on protein, either. Protein rich foods like lean meats, beans, yogurts, cheese, and nuts will make you feel full, and that full feeling will last. Even more important, proteins preserve muscle mass and encourage fat burning.

Be sure to keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water everyday. Sixty-four ounces is a good baseline goal. And also consider colon cleanse weight loss since careful detoxing can be an effective and safe holistic approach to slimming down.

2.) Using Weight Loss Pills and Unnecessary Supplements

Sure the claims are attractive. Lose 14 pounds in just one week! But are they for real and just what will your body suffer in the process? This is a billion dollar industry today. If you want to use a weight loss pill or supplement, you would be wise to first research the product. Some may help a little, but for the most part their claims are only hype and can even be dangerous.

Weight loss pills are often loaded with stimulants that suppress the appetite. You feel less hungry and eat less. That sounds great but the problem is this approach slows your metabolism. As your metabolism slows, so does your weight loss.

Many of the ingredients in these pills are very strong and can be habit forming. This isn’t a healthy way to lose weight. Not only are most pills ineffective, you’re seriously putting your health at risk when you go this route. Side effects from diet pills include nervousness, tremor, diarrhea, bulging eyes, racing heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, heart failure, chest pain, fever, hair loss, depression, heart damage, impotence, and more.

Not the exactly the picture of health.

Stronger ingredients are being used in these pills and with little or no research to test the products. The unknown side effects can be dangerous, even potentially deadly.

Even diet pills that claim to be all natural or herbal can be useless and risky. Remember: diet pills are loosely regulated at best since they’re classified as food supplements, not drugs. Is it really worth the risk?

3. Setting Unrealistic Goals

Many times people set weight loss goals that aren’t realistic. While goals are good to have, it’s essential to make them sensible. Striving to lose ten pounds for a wedding or reunion in a month may be too much. If you look at weight loss as lifetime commitment and a way of life, then you won’t be disappointed or discouraged.

Don’t try to lose more than 1-2 pounds of fat a week. When you do, your body starts to burn off muscle mass for energy supplies. Remember, you want muscle mass not only does it keep you toned, fit, and active, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you’ll burn around the clock.

If you set unrealistic goals, it’s easier to get discouraged and even give up when you don’t meet these goals. Keep it real!

4.) Ignoring the Need for Behavioral Changes

It seems everyone is looking for a quick fix. Go on diet or take a pill for a few weeks and lose all the weight you want. It doesn’t really work that way. In order to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, it’s vital to adopt an overall healthy lifestyle.

If you set out to lose weight but don’t look at your eating and lifestyle habits, you’re setting yourself up to gain back any weight you may lose. Living a healthful life, at an optimal weight, involves a balance between nutrition, exercise, and other self-care habits, like getting enough sleep and time for relaxation.

You can’t stop for fast food 5 times a week and then take a diet pill to lose that weight. You must make a disciplined and consistent effort to live a healthy life.

Honestly evaluate your current habits; replace poor, unhealthy habits with new, healthy ones.

First, look at your eating habits. Do you overeat? Eat late at night? Eat many of the “wrong” or “bad” foods while avoiding healthy foods you know are good for you? Answer honestly and get real with yourself about your eating habits. Be positive and make the needed changes.

A vital part of living a healthy, active life is exercise. If you don’t exercise now, you must start. That doesn’t mean that you have to begin jogging, if this is an exercise you absolutely hate. But it does mean that leading a sedentary lifestyle won’t help you achieve your weight loss or overall health goals. Make exercise a part of your everyday life, and the rewards will astound you. Walk, swim, run, hike, join a gym, get some exercise DVD’s the choices are endless just get started!

When you change your behavioral habits that aren’t working, you can replace them with new healthy ones that will help you lose weight, get healthy, and stay that way for life.

Know the Dangers of Rapid Weight Loss

There are many mistakes people make when trying to lose weight quickly. These are a few of the most common. When you lose weight too quickly, you put excessive physical demands on your body. The risks are serious and shouldn’t be ignored. Some common rapid weight loss side effects are:

* Gallstones
* Dehydration
* Malnutrition
* Headaches
* Irritability
* Fatigue
* Dizziness
* Constipation
* Poor complexion
* Muscle cramping

Rapid weight loss is a dangerous undertaking. Looking good, being a healthy weight, and feeling good are lifetime journeys. Take the time to do it the right way and you will find yourself fulfilled and happy in your life and with how you look.

By Barbara Cronin, writer for HealthyNewAge.com, the alternative health web site and blog.

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