Why Quick Weight Loss Approach Doesn’t Work
Promises of quick weight loss are common among eating plans or workout programs. How many times have you started a new diet, lost some weight, plateaued, and then progressively regained?
Why the Quick Weight Loss Approach Doesn’t Work
- Hard to maintain
- Hard on the body
- Weight loss is muscle and water
- Doesn’t establish healthy habits
- Metabolism disruption leads to weight gain
- Insulin resistance does not improve
- More exercise is required as the body adapts
Why Rapid Weight Loss Doesn’t Work, According to Science
Rapid weight loss fails all around – they are hard to stick with and more importantly, scientific evidence shows quick weight loss is hard on your body, with potential long-term health concerns. The intensity of the exercise and the restrictions of the eating guidelines can leave you exhausted, sore, and at risk of injury. The food restrictions can leave you so hungry you’re moody, shaky, and ravenous enough to consider eating the paint off the walls.
Is it Unhealthy to Lose Weight Fast?
Experts explain why quick weight loss is not the type of weight loss you want. In extreme, quick weight loss programs, the drop-in weight commonly is the result of a loss of muscle and water, not fat. That’s a problem, since “Muscle is metabolic currency,” explains Carol Espel, an exercise physiologist and Director of Fitness at the Pritikin Center in Miami, Florida. Muscle is capable of burning more calories – you want to gain muscle in a weight loss plan that helps you keep the weight off for good.
The Costs of Quick Weight Loss May Outweigh any Benefits, According to Researchers
The types of extreme weight loss programs you may have seen on television, where people compete to see who can be the biggest loser of weight are misleading. In fact, scientists followed up with a group of contestants on such a television program, noting that for most, the weight loss wasn’t sustained. But, what’s alarming were the scientific findings of their metabolism, despite those who sustained the weight loss: their bodies had lower resting metabolic rates, meaning for them to lose weight it would require even more exercise to do so. In addition, they were no improvements in insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is commonly associated with obesity and puts you at a greater risk of diseases that can deteriorate your quality of life, including diabetes and heart disease.
The Part About Weight Loss People Tend to Over Look
Perhaps the greatest disadvantage of quick weight loss approaches is as you adopt the difficult-to-maintain eating patterns and exercise plans you never successfully establish healthy daily habits that will maintain the weight loss. It’s better to create a weight loss strategy that helps you create healthier habits you can actually maintain, so you can lose weight and keep it off for good!
Expert Solutions for Those Struggling to Lose Weight
Struggling to lose weight can make the promise and stories of quick weight loss appealing. But, the rigid rules involved in quick weight loss approaches are not sustainable, so you are left to feel like a failure. Of course, you can’t maintain those lifestyle parameters – they aren’t realistic, or part of a healthy lifestyle. If these quick weight loss diets are appealing to you, it is because you are struggling to maintain good eating habits and regular exercise. An expert in this area is Psychologists, Dr. Samantha Behbahani. She asks, “Is there a block there? Is something emotional or some level of stress, preventing you from succeeding?” Dr. Behbahani works collaboratively with guests at the Pritikin Center to unlock what might be in the way of their weight loss goals. “Pritikin is not an, ‘I tell you what to do environment’ – we talk about why something doesn’t work for you, what does work for you… I can help you succeed”.
What are the Best Things to Do to Lose Weight Fast?
Fast weight loss is very tough on your body and can have detrimental effects on your metabolism, making future weight management a daunting task. There are better ways to lose weight! Healthy strategies exist, that are backed by science, to start a weight loss journey that is not only easier to maintain, but you can keep the weight off for good.
9 Scientific Ways to Lose Weight for Good
1. Shift to non-food coping mechanisms
The research explored factors influencing those struggling with obesity and the use of food as a coping mechanism. Learning techniques to manage stress and emotions plays an important role in weight management, according to psychology scientists.
2. Change your perspective on exercise
Instead of seeing exercise as sweaty, uncomfortable workouts to gain abs and buns, consider it as movement that’s good for your heart and lungs, as science shows exercise is not only a proven way to lose weight but a way to prevent regain following initial weight loss.
3. Aim for progress, not perfection
Tendencies towards perfectionism can increase your vulnerability to developing eating disorders and issues with body weight, according to research.
4. Don’t go hungry
“At Pritikin, we follow the number one rule for weight loss: you can’t be hungry,” says Registered Dietician, Kimberly Gomer.
5. Mental wellness matters
It’s more than just what’s on your fork: evidence shows our mental wellness plays a major role in our struggles with obesity.
6. Sleep
Your sleep could be preventing you from maintaining a healthy body weight. Researchers know sleep restriction increases hunger and food intake. “When you don’t sleep well your body is stressed, it produces cortisol (a stress hormone), and that affects the insulin response,” explains Registered Dietician Kimberly Gomer. “That is why you can have a harder time losing weight when you don’t sleep well.”
7. Shift your mindset
Seek a goal that isn’t based on weight loss. Research shows, improvement in maintenance when goals aligned with your personal values, such as health improvement, instead of weight loss.
8. Sweat effectively
“Overtraining and undereating doesn’t work for weight loss,” notes Exercise Physiologist, Jamie Costello. The best weight loss plans include exercises to help build muscle. When exercise plans are created and supported by exercise physiologists, such as those created for you during a stay at the Pritikin Center, you can achieve faster weight loss and do movements properly to prevent injury.
9. Get help from leading professionals
Researchers note that many struggling with obesity feel a lack of support from their family, friends, and physician. You don’t have to struggle on your own. There’s a supportive, helpful, and friendly environment with a clinically proven healthy lifestyle weight loss program at the Pritikin Center, where our experts customize a plan to meet your individualized needs.
Diets Don’t Work, Pritikin Does.
Registered Dietician Kara Burnstine understands from personal experiences what it is like to struggle with having a good relationship with food because so many intricate aspects of our lives impact how and what we eat. “This is why I love the multidisciplinary approach to Pritikin: a Nutritionist can help with food, but our relationship with food is psychological, so a Psychologist is helpful. And, Nutritionists know that movement is important, but we aren’t personal trainers.”
“The reason Pritikin works is because we have the science behind it. Food can treat high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and manage weight.”
– Kimberly Gomer, RD, Director of Nutrition at the Pritikin Center
What Does a Stay at Pritikin Look Like?
A stay at Pritikin offers you an all-inclusive health experience guided by leading healthy living experts in all areas of wellness. Among the luxurious resort settings, at the Pritikin Longevity Center, you get unprecedented time to work with medical professionals (cardiologists, endocrinologists), get detailed blood work analysis, and have access to elite diagnostic tools, including sleep tests from the comfort of your room or suite. Pritikin is the only health resort with such a medical component. It allows you to discover any underlying issues that could be contributing to your struggles to lose weight and keep it off for good.
“The magical part of Pritikin is it allows people to realize how healthy they can feel within days of making lifestyle changes.”
– Kimberly Gomer, RD, Director of Nutrition at the Pritikin Center
During a stay at Pritikin, there’s an extraordinary collaboration that occurs amongst the medical team, psychologists, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, executive chefs, and professional trainers to help create a health plan, that’s as unique as you are. You get to play an active role in learning about what lifestyle habits will work for you and how you can successfully create a plan to reach your health goals.
At Pritikin, you develop skills and tools to ensure your plan will work in your real-life. Come for a stay at Pritikin and discover how good healthy feels.
Achieve your weight loss goals!
