Rapid weight loss is a pipe dream in and of itself. But even though it’s common knowledge now, fad diets continue popping up in different disguises and throwing people off with their big tempting promises. The idea that you’re able to lose one pound a day, therefore seven pounds a week and 28 (!) pounds a month sounds exhilarating, so no wonder people keep falling into this quick weight loss trap. Yet is this rapid pace healthy for your body, or rather – is it physically possible at all? Read this article to find out whether one pound a day weight loss is something you can attain, or whether it’s a myth that needs to be debunked.
Can I Burn One Pound A Day?
To be completely upfront, unfortunately, you cannot. In order for you to lose 1 pound of fat (0.4 kg) a day, you’ll need to burn about 3500 calories. USDA approximate number recommended daily calorie intake is about 1600-2000 calories for adult women, and 2000 calories for men.
So, losing one pound a day is simply impossible for most people. You can’t burn the calories you haven’t consumed. Perhaps it is theoretically possible for athletes who consume more than 3500 calories per day to burn pounds at this rate. But even for athletes this number is tough to achieve.
How To Lose One Pound A Day By Drinking Water?
Water weight is what makes people believe in the possibility of losing one pound a day. Water retention is something that occurs when you eat too much high-carb, high-fat and salty foods. Excess fluid builds up in your body, causing weight gain. Drinking more water and changing your diet can reverse this negative side effect, leading to those one or two pound changes on your scale in one day. However, this is not fat loss but water loss. As soon as you’ve lost all the excess water, you’ll start losing fat - a process that requires much more time.
How To Lose 1 Pound A Day Diet Plan: Is It Safe?
Most of the diets promising 1 pound a day weight loss are extremely low-calorie, requiring you to consume around 800 calories a day or even less. What you need to understand is that not only these low-calorie diets will damage your health, they will also never yield the results they promise. As you’ve seen, you need to burn more than 3500 calories a day to start melting your fat away at this pace. Simple math shows that no extreme 800-calorie diet will help you attain such a result. But there are other reasons why you should never stick to this type of diet:
● Lack of nutrients
Most of the extreme low-calorie diets tend to shortchange you of essential nutrients necessary for the proper functioning of your body. They are mostly demonizing carbs, which are actually the body's main source of energy, and should never be excluded from your diet altogether. Furthermore, they do not provide essential vitamins and minerals.
● Lack of energy
An extremely low-calorie diet makes you feel tired and fatigued since it never provides enough energy for your body to function. By putting yourself through restrictive diets, you sabotage your attempts to increase your physical activity. Extreme low-calorie diets are incompatible with an efficient workout, so instead of losing weight through extreme-calorie dieting, consider burning calories while working out. This will accelerate your weight loss progress, improve mood, and build up muscles.
● Not a long-term solution
Finally, extremely low-calorie diets can not be considered a long-term sustainable solution. As mentioned before, they do not provide vitally important nutrients. But this is just one side of the coin. Restrictive low-calorie diets can actually trigger weight loss slowdown. The logic here is quite simple: it slowly brings your metabolism to a standstill, and when you get back to your regular diet, you immediately bounce back to your pre-dieting weight.
Final thought
To sum up, losing one pound a day is physically impossible. Furthermore, extremely low-calorie diets that promise rapid weight loss are not sustainable, they lack essential nutrients, and they sabotage your workout productivity. In addition, they might trigger the formation of gallstones, lead to constipation, diarrhea, dizziness, and other unpleasant side effects.
DISCLAIMER:
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any medical conditions. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!
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