Losing Weight Fast May Not Be Best Choice

There are many diets that make this promise of rapid weight loss such as Atkins, Sacred Heart Diet, and Cabbage Soup Diet.  Sure, you may lose weight fast, but research has shown that 65 percent of people who lose weight fast regain that weight within three years, and only 5 percent of crash dieters keep the weight off permanently (O'Meara, 2011). 

How many of these diets have you tried and how many times have you gained back the weight? This weight yo-yo'ing is called Weight Cycling and it can have some nasty consequences on your health and your body. A small weight cycle can be as little as 5-10 pounds while anything greater than 50 pounds is considered a large cycle (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, 2008). 

If you’re lucky enough to be part of the 5 percent who can keep off the weight you lost in your crash diet, you still increase your risk for kidney stones and increase your cravings. These things occur because a majority of the weight lost is water and lean body mass (muscle) during rapid weight loss; when muscle is broken down and excreted, it is filtered through the kidneys. This process increases your risk for kidney stones. Furthermore, recent studies on rapid weight loss have shown that the hormones that regulate appetite become more active causing you to have more cravings and become hungrier. 

Since 95 percent of society will regain the weight and end up cycling, let’s look closely at what it does to your body. We often hear health and wellness professionals speak about losing weight at a slow (1-2 lb a week) pace, yet people often try to drop 5-10 lbs in a week. Is there truly a health risk associated with this process?  In 1996, Jeffrey found weight cycling leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.  He also found that maintaining a steady weight, even if it is overweight or obese, is healthier than weight cycling (Jeffrey, 1996). 

Wow, but cardiovascular disease encompasses quite a bit, right?  In 2006, Montani looked more closely at different elements of cardiovascular disease and found weight cycling increased blood pressure, resting heart rate, cholesterol
levels, visceral fat (fat deep in the body), blood sugar, and sympathetic nervous system activation (fight or flight). Montani also found that the healthy fats in your body (polyunsaturated fats) were broken down and restructured to be unhealthy fats (saturated) (Montani, 2006).

People who are obese have the ultimate goal to become a healthy weight, but what about people who are already a healthy weight? Why do they want to quickly lose weight and what are the effects of cycling when you’re already at a healthy weight?

Typically, people who weight cycle at an already healthy weight fall into three categories:  

• Category 1: People with eating disorders
• Category 2: People with body image problems (body dysmorophic disorder)
• Category 3: Weight class athletes (wrestling, judo, power lifters, etc.).

So what are the effects of weight cycling in people with an already healthy body weight? They are the same as in an obese population with a few extra “perks”.  Along with the increased risk of cardiovascular disease, they have the extra benefit of actually slowing down their metabolism making it harder to lose weight (Steen, 1988) (Bennett,  1989) and a decrease in kidney function (Montani, 2006). 

These people tend to use dehydration and severe calorie restriction to rapidly
lose weight. Both of these affect how well the kidneys work. To bring this full circle, the kidneys are important in regulating your blood pressure and heart rate. The decreased kidney function elevates your risk of cardiovascular problems even more. 

The moral of the story is that there is a reason health professionals suggest losing no more than 1-2 lbs a week. Quick fixes don’t work. Proper weight loss though healthy eating and exercise will help you avoid the weight cycling trap. It may be swimsuit season, but it didn’t just magically appear. Try beginning your summer diet even sooner to avoid putting your health at risk.

References 

Bennett, S. W. (1989). Bulimia nervosa and resting metabolic rate. International Journal of Eating Disorders , 8 (4), 417-424.

Jeffrey, R. (1996). Does weight cycling present a health risk? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (63), 452S-455S.

Montani, J. V.  (2006). Weight cycling during growth and beyond as a risk factor for later cardiovascular diseases: the "repeated overshoot" theory. International
Journal of Obesity , 30, s58-s66.

National Institute of  Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease. (2008). Weight Cycling. NIH Publication .

O'Meara, A. (2011, May). The Percentage of People Who Regain Weight After Rapid Weight Loss & Risks. Retrieved from Livestrong:  http://www.livestrong.com/article/438395-the-percentage-of-people-who-regain-weight-after-rapid-weight-loss-risks/

Steen, S. O. (1988). Metabolic effects of repeated weight loss and regain in adolescent wrestlers.  Journal of American Medical Association, 260, 47-50.

Sumithran, P., Predergast, L., Delbridge, E., Purcell, K., Shulkes, A., Kriketos, A., et al. (2011). Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. New
Englad Journal of Medicine (365), 1597-1607.