The problem with rapid weight loss is that you typically make exceptional attempts in diet and exercise-efforts that may be detrimental to health and that you may not be able to sustain as permanent lifestyle improvements.
Most fast weight loss pitches belong to these categories:
Starvation diets
Beyonce popularized the "master cleanse" diet: water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. Variations in these diets have been around since at least the 1950s. They often guarantee "detoxification" thru colonics or enemas.
Diet pills and supplements
Dozens of dietary supplements aim to accelerate weight loss. Generally, they either claim to inhibit the absorption of nutrients, improve metabolism, or burn fat.
Very low-calorie diets (VLCDs)
One proven form of accelerated weight loss is a very low-calorie diet under medical observation (VLCD). Much of what is learned about fast weight loss derives from people researching these diets.
In every fast weight loss program, what really burns fat is not a pill or a type of food. It's a big decrease in calories, combined with exercise.
A weight loss of between one and two pounds a week is a common recommendation. While this can sound like a sluggish rate of weight loss, it is more likely to help you sustain your weight loss for the long term.
Also, if you lose a lot of weight very fast, you will not lose as much fat as you would with a lower rate of weight loss. Instead, you could lose weight in water or even lean tissue, because it's hard to burn that much fat calories in a short time.
In certain cases, though, quicker weight loss can be healthy if it is achieved in the right manner. For example, doctors may recommend very-low-calorie diets for rapid weight loss if obesity causes serious health problems. But such an extreme diet requires medical care. In addition, it can be difficult to keep this weight off.
Some diets include an initiation stage to help you jump-start your weight loss. For example, the Mayo Clinic Diet has a quick-start phase in which you can lose between 6 and 10 pounds in the first two weeks. You will lose weight easily in a strategy like this and it combines several good and safe methods at once-no tricks or extreme diets.
After the initial two-week duration, you switch to the prescribed weight reduction of one or two pounds a week, which gives you time to make the required dietary adjustments, such as eating a healthier diet and increasing the physical activity, necessary to sustain weight loss for the long term.
