Weight loss and dieting: When is weight loss too fast to be true

Everyday we are bombarded with stories that tell us that weight loss is easy and fast and all you have to do is follow the newest diet. Some advertise 10 pounds in 10 days, while others say the same thing with different words, such as "lose 30 pounds in a month." My favorite part, usually in BOLD print, explains that you can eat anything you want and exercise is not required.

Of course each story is accompanied by 'before' and 'after' pictures which shows what appears to be a close relative of fat bastard who is transformed into some sort of Olympic athlete is just 90 days and somewhere is the obligatory picture of a woman or man holding up a set of jeans that resemble some sort of futuristic 2 person pup tent.

If it is too good to be true, then it probably is!

For regular readers you know this is part 6 of a series on the fundamentals of weight loss. Previously we defined calories and discussed why weight goes on so fast and comes off so slow. We discussed the BMR and why this is an important number for everyone to know and why you also need to know how many calories you use during your everyday activities. A list of links for the previous 5 articles is located at the bottom of the page.

Today I want to provide you with some information that will help you avoid all those very tempting diet plans. As I mention in an earlier article, the diet industry very much wants you to diet, while their interest in you losing weight is dubious, at best. As long as you diet and fail, you remain a potential new customer for the next fad diet. My real concern is the dieting and failing can become a vicious circle. A circle, which over time, makes you just give up.

Water weight

The first thing to note about fantastic claims of weight loss, whether it is in a tabloid, infomercial or from a friend of colleague, is that much of that weight is water. When you start a low calorie diet, very often you end up restricting your fluid intake because we tend to consume much of our fluid with our meals. As you reduce your food intake your fluid intake often goes down as well.

If you have ever carried a liter bottle of water around, you know it’s not weightless. If you’re overweight, it is easy to lose one pound a day in water. Seven pounds in seven days -- wow -- is it a miracle? Water weight is meaningless in the weight loss scheme of things. Weight loss needs to be in the form of fat loss. Of the seven pounds, maybe one was fat, while the other six were water.

At some point, dehydration will get the best of you and over the course of one day you will consume enough fluids to regain those missing six pounds. The result -- your curse your scale and another diet ends in disappointment.

How fast can I lose weight?

Many of you knew about the problem of water weight. However, here is a tip that might help you out.

TIP: To prevent water weight from making a mess of you regular weigh-ins, try to consume the same amount of water/fluids each day. If you are well hydrated, your kidneys will eliminate any excess water, therefore, changes showing up on your scale are more likely to be changes in body fat, not changes in body water. Under normal conditions, two liters per day is almost always enough to achieve full hydration, however, to a point, more won't hurt you.

In a previous article we talked extensively about why weight comes off so slowly and we partially explained the dreaded plateau effect. The bottom line is that your body usually will not allow rapid weight loss and the harder you try the more your body will resist.

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