SOMO
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(It took the lady in red 3 weeks to lose that much weight - is that too much weight loss or too rapid in your opinion? In my opinion, it is too rapid and metabolic damage could occur.)
Seeking rapid weight loss or quick-fixes can sometimes be an eating disorder, but more often it's just that losing 10 pounds in 10 weeks sounds inefficient compared to losing 10 pounds in 1 week.
0. Starvation Mode is a myth, but rapid weight loss can definitely affect metabolism negatively.
1. Some amount of lipolysis or fatty acid oxidation is occurring at all times.
2. As long as one is keeping dietary fat down below 50g a day and exercising lightly and not overeating, SLOW but SUSTAINED weight loss will occur in most people. If you have more than 20 lbs to lose, I think limiting fat intake is warranted, but don't torture yourself unless you're willing to risk a "Rebound" in the form of a binge or other unhealthy habits.
3. I think the bigger issue is that people want to lose 10 pounds in a week or two weeks, which may simply be too fast for the metabolism to handle.
4. Losing Weight slows metabolism. This is likely a preventative measure to mitigate damage to cells and preserve muscle mass, as well as to avoid malnutrition.
5. Burning enough energy to lose those 10 pounds RAPIDLY (less than a week) well as the inevitable PUFA/FFA release into the bloodstream has a significant inhibitory effect on weight loss past those first 10 lbs(of which most is likely to be water-weight.) Meaning even if you do achieve rapid weight loss, further weight loss will be more difficult.
6. Fasting:
Intermittent Fasting, Water Fasting, liquid fasts, etc. all give the digestion a break and can induce rapid weight loss. But it is such a shock to the organism that fasting of any sort HAS to be done sparingly
From personal experience, weight loss should be slow, consistent and sustained vs RAPID.
I've personally fasted for 4 days at a time (water and multivitamin) and lost up to 10 lbs, and after that the weight loss severely slows down, as does hunger. This would indicate a hormonal metabolic shift to a slower and lower energy state in the cells. When I resumed eating, my appetite was in fact higher than it should normally be, BUT I also felt that my stomach was smaller and could not accommodate the contents of extra food if I overate. Still, I overate slightly and gained back some (but not all) of the weight. Fasting done in small bursts is probably safe, and there are those who fast for much longer than 4 days and seem to be fine. (Damage is not always immediately evident however.)
Rapid weight loss may also cause temporary metabolic damage, and slow weight loss is often "permanent" weight loss (meaning it's actual fat mass and water weight vs losing muscle.)
Which is more important to you: losing weight quickly or losing it safely?
What has your experience with rapid weight loss or fasting?
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