The Advantages of Losing Weight Slowly. Page 2

You should remember that the figure of 1-2lbs per week is the average weekly loss, so for those who are losing more than this each week, th...

You should remember that the figure of 1-2lbs per week is the average weekly loss, so for those who are losing more than this each week, there are also people losing less than a pound a week. But, if that describes you, then there are advantages to losing weight at a slower pace. 

Dr. Michele S. Olson of Auburn University says that,  as your body has the chance to adjust to your new lower weight more gradually, it will be easier to maintain the weight loss once your reach your goal. Rapid weight loss can cause your metabolism to slow down, which may then result in weight loss plateaus, whereas a more steady weight loss will ensure your metabolism remains efficient in the longer term.
Scientific research into long-term weight loss also supports this. Researchers at the University of Toronto found that when monitoring weight loss participants for 24 months after they began losing weight, a loss of around 8% of body weight per year was an achievable goal for all participants. 

This might not seem much but most importantly, this amount of loss had an excellent potential to be sustainable, meaning a new body for life and not just for now.
In addition, it’s better to constantly see the scales going down, rather than that familiar yo-yo effect that many dieters see. While having a goal weight can keep you motivated and focused, there is the danger of focusing on unattainable goals and feeling like a failure if you do not achieve them. 



As psychologists Janet Polivy and Peter Herman have found throughout their research on setting and achieving personal objectives, dieting can be emotionally stressful even when the dieter is successful, so adding the disappointment of perceived failure can have negative psychological effects on the individual. 

In turn, this can lead to feelings of deprivation, slip upsand giving up altogether. More modest achievable goals maintain the focus of weight loss while also giving a greater chance of success and therefore, a more positive perspective of your weight loss achievements. 

It is important to maintain a positive attitude while you are losing weight, no matter how small you think your losses are, and even if you maintain from time to time, the overall picture shows that your weight loss journey is going in the right direction. 
Furthermore, as we explained above, if you’re building extra muscle then the scale may not show the full story of how your body is improving. 

Muscle is denser than fat, so you may not be losing as much weight as you’d like, but weight bearing exercises will ensure that you’re getting toned and trimmer every week! For this reason you should always measure your body to see these changes numerically or take photographs to see the physical change. 

And, be sure to take the way your clothes fit into account - losing inches is more likely to mean that you’ll go down a dress size than losing a few pounds will!
So, the good news is: your ‘slow’ weight loss might not be so slow after all, and, even if you are doing everything right but not seeing much progress on the scale, then there are some advantages to losing weight at a slower pace.
Credit.phen.com Previous Page
Do you think your weight loss is slow? Let us know by commenting below!

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