Dangers of losing weight too quickly -- How fast is too fast?

debsdoingthis

SnuggleSmacks wrote: »

Has anyone mentioned loose skin and/or decreased metabolism (from muscle loss)?

I was wondering about loose skin as well

MissJay75

Robertus wrote: »

MissJay75 wrote: »

It's been a few more months, how are you doing?

I'm doing great. Thanks for asking. I lost 60 lbs in three months, all the while increasing my fitness and strength. At that point, I was well within the ideal weight range for my age and height. I am continuing to lose at a slower pace, mainly for appearance's sake. More importantly than the weight loss, was improving my fitness, which I began prior to the 'dieting'. I went from barely being able to swim 3 laps to swimming 3 miles in less than 3 months. 3 miles swimming is the equivalent to a half-marathon running, which was my favorite distance before injuries and foot surgery put an end to my running. In less than a month more, I was able to swim 3 miles continuous (ie, without stopping). The key to this rapid increase in endurance was getting the proper rest after intense workouts. The first couple of times that I swam 3 miles, I would rest for a week to let my body rebuild. In less than 2 more months, I was able to swim 3 miles continuous 3 times per week. I did a modest amount of strength training to loose as little muscle as possible, and I was able to increase the weight I used in strength training.

Glad to hear it - keep up the great work!

Robertus

Robertus wrote: »

Learning my lesson. Not eating enough to support my killer work-outs. After swimming 3 miles, a couple of times, I've had a sore throat and bad cold symptoms and it is keeping me from working out for a week or so a couple of times now. I'm increasing my calorie intake and taking it easy for now. I figure I need to eat more to fuel my immune system.

I should correct my own misdiagnosis of not eating enough to support my immune system. I spoke with my doctor about this and he told me that what I was experiencing was simply vasormotor rhinitis, or more colloquially and specifically, 'exercise-induced rhinitis'. This makes sense because when I swam competitively in high school, I used to get exercise-induced asthma and I do have some allergies. My immune system was not underfueled but actually over-reacting to the physical stresses (and possibly allergens/irritants) of such strenuous work-outs. As the body adjusts over time to the physical demands of working out so intensely, this typically improves. And, it has. If I swim 3 miles two days in a row, I still get some of these symptoms on the second day, but I don't usually do that and I don't get these symptoms anymore after a more normal schedule of 3 miles 3x/week.

Robertus

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Not so much in addition to, but a problem with everything you described as "I know" is a substantial increase of risk of injury, poor recovery from exercise, flu/cold like symptoms, shutting down of "non-essential" functions like building strong bones, hair, etc....

Being healthy and fit doesn't mean just losing weight....healthy and fit people know how to fuel their bodies. Calories aren't the devil...a calorie is just a unit of energy...you need quite a bit of energy to do the things that need and should be done. One must balance those needs with weight control goals. You can properly feed your body and lose weight with more reasonable calorie deficiencies.

I suppose this is directed at me. I am under a doctor's supervision, and in his opinion the flu/cold like symptoms was merely vasomotor rhinitis. I have never confused being healthy and fit with losing weight. For me, weight is entirely secondary and subservient to increasing fitness. Otherwise, I might try to exercise every day or not eat more after work-outs, especially protein, to fuel my body's rebuilding process. Nor have I ever said that 'calories are the devil'. Also don't neglect the calories stored in our body as fat and available to us when we are in ketosis. There is a limit to how quickly we can access those calories, but you can also train your body to make the transition to ketosis more easily. I learned this from English Channel swimmers.

Robertus

Fatty Liver Disease

Just came across another health risk from losing weight too fast: fatty liver disease. I don't have this, but I thought some reading this thread might be interested.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/fatty-liver-disease