In today’s world, the desire to lose weight quickly and easily is widespread, which often prompts individuals to switch to fad diets and extreme health measures. While it may seem like a good idea, it can often result in issues like muscle loss, dehydration, and nutrient deficiency.
A better alternative here is to take things slow. When done right, it allows your body to adjust gradually, giving you a better chance to maintain your weight loss for long. Moreover, slow and steady weight loss is more manageable and less stressful than rapid weight loss. You can take a good quality protein powder along with a healthy diet to ensure you get all the daily nutrients while still being in a calorie deficit.
In this article, we will explore some common risks associated with rapid weight loss, followed by the benefits of slow and steady weight loss.
Risks Associated with Rapid Weight Loss
As mentioned above, rapid weight loss often leads to various health risks, both in the short and long term. Given below is a list of some common risks:
People trying to lose weight quickly follow fad diets or skip meals. This generally leads to the consumption of fewer calories, resulting in reduced consumption and absorption of nutrients in the body. As a result, it often leads to nutritional deficiencies like B12, folate and iron. And such nutrient deficiencies can cause fatigue, hair loss, weakened bones and poor immune function.
Quick weight reduction can cause muscle loss, which can slow down your metabolism and make it harder to maintain weight loss over time.
Rapid weight loss is frequently challenging to maintain over the long term and might result in rebound weight gain once the restrictive diet is discontinued.
Benefits of Slow and Steady Weight Loss
Now that we’ve explored the risk factors associated with rapid weight loss, we must look into the benefits of slow and steady weight loss.
It is generally true that slow and steady weight loss is more likely to maintain your muscle mass.
When you lose weight quickly, a significant portion of weight loss comes from muscle. This is often attributed to eating too little, which doesn’t supply your body with enough food to use as energy. As a result, the body starts to siphon off energy from the muscles.
A steady approach to weight loss ensures you’re gradually reducing your calorie intake, thereby preserving muscle mass.
Performing cardio exercises regularly on an elliptical stepper or an under desk treadmill further ensures sustainably losing fat while building your heart health.
Rapid weight loss can frequently result in fatigue, particularly if it is accomplished by severe calorie restrictions that sometimes forgo entire food groups. As a result, the body doesn’t receive enough nutrition to function optimally. So, opting for steady weight loss reduces fatigue and prevents exhaustion.
3. Helps you develop long-term healthy habits
Slow and steady weight loss can help you develop long-term, healthy habits – thereby allowing you to gradually adjust your lifestyle and create changes that are sustainable.
For example, you can start by swapping sugar-sweetened drinks for water or adding more vegetables to your meals each day. Over time, these small changes can lead to significant weight loss and improved health.
Loose skin is a common side effect of significant weight loss, regardless of the speed at which it happens. When people lose a significant amount of weight quickly, their skin doesn’t get enough time to adjust to the changes in body composition and hence, ends up becoming loose and saggy.
Gradual weight loss allows your skin to adapt to changes over time, thereby preventing loose skin.
When you lose weight at a gradual pace, you can ensure that you are still getting all of the nutrients your body needs to feel nourished and satisfied. By making healthy choices and incorporating a variety of foods into your diet, you can support your body’s natural functions and maintain your energy levels throughout the day.
Conclusion
Overall, the body composition is more favourable following slow weight loss. One of the reasons is that losing weight at a more regular pace should ensure you’re losing mostly fat, not muscle or water, and preserve your metabolism.
If you’re starting your fitness journey, start by thinking of doing it long-term. A slow and steady approach puts your overall health first, ensuring that you’re able to enjoy and have fun while staying fit.
Author Info: By healthyandkhush.com
Summary:
Healthy and Khush is a blog dedicated to sharing science-based tips and hacks that will help you lose weight and keep it off.
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