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Why Is Slow Weight Loss Better Than Fast Weight Loss?

The Secret Success of Slow Weight Loss- A Shocking Truth: benefits of weight loss are magnified by slow, consistent losses, increasing the chances pounds will stay away for good.

Studies show that slow weight loss is better than fast weight loss for those who want to shed those pounds permanently. This is true for multiple reasons, most of which are based on both logic and science. Understanding why those “lose weight now” diets don’t work long term can help make the waiting bearable when our efforts don’t appear on the scale.

If It Sounds Too Good to Be True, It Probably Is: The Damage Done by Quick Fix Diets

Diets that promise fast weight loss often call for dramatic changes in diet, and extreme calorie cutting. When one cuts the number of calories in their diet too much too quickly, the body is forced to compensate for the extreme change. That is to say, when we go from eating too much, to eating too little, our body, (believing that food supplies have become limited) fights to maintain its equilibrium by lowering your metabolism and storing more fat and nutrients. The chemicals released in the body during this process, those intended to keep the body from starvation, actually cause you to crave more food, thus establishing a vicious cycle of binge eating which eventually results in weight gain, rather than loss.

Extreme Exercise: A Race You Cannot Win

Another method to “lose weight fast” is extreme physical activity. Like with extreme dieting, this can have strange effects on metabolism, which over time negatively impact weight loss. Yes, the exercise temporarily raises our metabolism, but when we find that the routine cannot be maintained, and intensified, either because of the time commitment involved or our physical limitations, the sudden decrease, or failure to increase, activity actually results in slowing the metabolism, making it harder to shed unwanted pounds.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Losing a consistent and healthy amount of weight, about two pounds a week, comes as the result of changing behaviors. By slowly reducing our calorie intake, changing the kids of foods we eat, and establishing an appropriate and steady exercise routine, we both effectively lose weight, and permanently change our lifestyle. By making these more permanent changes, we insure, not only that we drop pounds, but that we can maintain that loss forever.

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Why Is Slow Weight Loss Better Than Fast Weight Loss?

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