Do You Lose Weight Faster If You Weigh More

Rapid, short-term weight loss may lead to the loss of muscle mass, nutrient deficiencies, or gallstones. Here are some tips to help you lose weight at a healthy rate.

That’s because most studies show that people who lose weight slowly are more likely to keep it off long-term. Losing weight slowly also comes with far fewer health risks (1, 2,

However, several recent studies have found that rapid weight loss might be just as good and safe as slow weight loss (

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Losing more than that is considered too fast and could put you at risk of many health problems, including muscle loss, gallstones, nutritional deficiencies and a drop in metabolism (

The most common ways that people try to lose weight fast are by exercising a lot, and by following a”crash diet” or a very low-calorie diet of fewer than 800 calories per day.

People often prefer the option of eating a very low-calorie diet, since it is often easier to lose weight through diet than exercise (

Myth: If You Lose Weight Too Fast You Won't Keep It Off

However, if you’re just starting a diet or exercise plan, then you may lose much more than 2 pounds (0.9 kg) in your first week.

For this initial period, fast weight loss is perfectly normal. The weight you lose during this time is commonly called “water weight.”

When you consume fewer calories than your body burns, your body starts dipping into its stores of energy, known as glycogen. The glycogen in your body is bound to water, so when you’re burning glycogen for fuel, the body also releases that water (

Which Will Help You Lose Weight Faster: Eating Better Or Exercising More?

This is why you might experience a major drop in weight during your first week. Once your body uses up its glycogen stores, your weight loss should stabilize at 1–2 pounds (0.45–0.9 kg) per week.

Summary: According to experts, losing 1–2 pounds (0.45–0.9 kg) per week is a healthy and safe rate, while losing more than this is considered too fast. However, you may lose more than that during your first week of an exercise or diet plan.

Most people who follow a diet regain half the weight they’ve lost after only a year. Even worse, nearly everyone who follows a diet regains all the weight they’ve lost after 3–5 years (

Signs You're Losing Weight Too Fast

That’s why experts often suggest losing weight at a slow but steady pace. Most studies show that people who lose weight at a slow but steady pace are more likely to keep it off long-term (

Also, plans that encourage slow weight loss usually help you build healthy eating behaviors like eating more fruits and veggies and drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages. Behaviors like these can help you keep weight off long-term (

However, several studies have found that rapid weight loss may be just as effective as slow weight loss, even for the long term (

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In one study, 103 people followed a rapid weight loss diet for 12 weeks, while 97 people followed a slow but steady weight loss diet for 36 weeks.

Nearly 3 years later, roughly 70% of people in both groups had regained all the weight they had lost. This means that both diets were equally effective in the end (

Although these studies found that rapid weight loss was just as effective as slow but steady weight loss overall, it’s unlikely that a person at home would get similar results.

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People in the rapid weight loss groups had support from doctors and dietitians during the weight loss and weight maintenance phases. Research shows that having support from a health professional can improve your chances of long-term weight loss success (

Also, doctors and dietitians try to minimize the health risks that come with eating very few calories. These risks include muscle loss, nutritional deficiencies and gallstones.

In short, you are more likely to lose weight and keep it off by losing weight slowly. This approach will help you build healthy eating behaviors to keep the weight off, and is safer to do than fast weight loss, especially if you don’t have the support of a health professional.

Factors That Affect Weight Loss

Summary: Most research shows that gradual weight loss is easier to maintain over the long-term. It helps you develop healthy eating behaviors and has fewer health risks than fast weight loss.

Diets that promote rapid weight loss are often very low in calories and nutrients. This may put you at risk of many health problems, especially if you follow a rapid weight loss diet for many weeks.

While a very low-calorie diet may help you lose weight fast, a lot of the weight you lose may come from muscle and water (

Foods To Avoid For Weight Loss

In one study, researchers put 25 people on a very low-calorie diet of 500 calories per day for 5 weeks. They also put 22 people on a low-calorie diet of 1, 250 calories per day for 12 weeks.

After the study, the researchers found that both groups had lost similar amounts of weight. However, the people who followed the very low-calorie diet lost over six times as much muscle as those on the low-calorie diet (

Several studies have found that losing weight fast by eating fewer calories may cause you to burn up to 23% fewer calories per day (

Weight Loss For Kids

Two reasons why the metabolism drops on a very low-calorie diet are a loss of muscle and a fall in hormones that regulate your metabolism, such as thyroid hormone (

Fortunately, you can avoid a nutritional deficiency by eating a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods. These foods contain fewer calories per gram and are also quite filling, which may help you lose weight (

Gallstones are hardened pieces of material that form inside the gallbladder. They can be a painful side effect of losing weight too fast (

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Normally, your gallbladder releases digestive juices to break down fatty food so it can be digested. If you’re not eating much food then your gallbladder won’t have to release the digestive juices (

The gallstones can become stuck inside the opening of the gallbladder and cause a gallstone attack. This may cause severe pain and indigestion (

Summary: Losing weight too fast comes with many health risks. These include losing muscle, decreased metabolism, nutritional deficiencies, gallstones and other side effects.

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Although slow weight loss might not sound appealing, there are many things you can do to help speed up the process safely.

Summary: There are many ways to safely lose weight faster. For example, you can try eating more protein, eating slowly, cutting back on sugar and starches, and doing resistance training or high-intensity interval workouts.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, aim to lose it at a slow but steady rate of 1–2 pounds (0.45–0.9 kg) per week.

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Research shows that slow, steady weight loss is easier to maintain long-term because it’s better for developing healthy eating behaviors, and is much safer than very fast weight loss.

Losing weight too fast may increase your risk of side effects including muscle loss, lower metabolism, nutrient deficiencies, gallstones and many other risks. This is especially true if you try to lose weight quickly without support from a health professional.

Although slow weight loss might not sound as appealing as fast weight loss, there are plenty of ways to help speed up weight loss safely. For example, you can increase your protein intake, cut back on sugar and starches, and drink more green tea.Some people say that healthy weight loss means losing one to two pounds per week. So if you're losing more - or less - than that, are you doing something wrong?

How Fast Should I Lose Weight?

The Truth: There is no such thing as “losing weight too fast.” As long as you’re consuming a healthy amount of calories by eating nutritious foods and exercising more, you’ll lose weight at an appropriate speed for your body.

A lot of people have different versions of what healthy weight loss might look like. The truth is that the answer isn't so cut and dry. Weight loss occurs differently for everyone and that's okay. Here's why:

It’s not the speed at which you lose weight that matters, it’s the method. I’ve had success after success of taking more than 100 pounds off people, and they’ve kept it off for years. It’s the way you lose the weight that is the most crucial part! If you’ve lost weight through exercise and clean eating — it shouldn’t be a problem for you to maintain your weight loss. On the flip side, if you’ve lost weight by more extreme measures, like starvation, cleanses, or crazy crash diets — it’s much more likely all the weight you lost will come right back just as quickly.

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Dropping the pounds quickly may give you more motivation to stick to your weight-loss plan. A recent study from the University of Florida revealed that losing weight quickly in the early stages of a weight-loss program may be more beneficial, over the long term, both for losing the weight and keeping it off. The researchers found that those who lost weight quickly were five times more likely to achieve clinically significant weight loss in 18 months than those who lost weight at a slower rate. Losing weight quickly helps to reinforce that the behaviors you’re changing are working.