Should You Try to Lose Weight Fast?

Is learning how to lose weight fast a good idea? This is a controversial topic because for many people it is an important goal. In reality, rapid weight loss is often unsustainable.

Re-contextualising the goal of weight loss in relation to optimising health, happiness, recovery and performance can be a better way to approach and think about this subject.

Below are examples from top athletes, including Meredith Root, Lauren Fisher and Annie Thorisdottiron on how they approach their nutrition in regards to weight loss, body fat percentage, performance, long term health and self-acceptance.

We hope you can find their approaches helpful.

LEARNING HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST – UNDERSTANDING CALORIE BALANCE

Calorie balance is the ratio between calories taken in and calories expended by any one individual at any given time. This is the MOST IMPORTANT factor when it comes to changing your weight.

The calories you need and expend on a daily basis will be individual to you based on your age, lifestyle and fitness habits.

There are 3 states of calorie balance:

• Negative calorie balance (hypocaloric diet)
• Calorie balance (eucaloric diet)
• Positive Calorie balance (hypercaloric diet)

It is impossible to be in more than one of these states at any one time.

• A negative calorie balance will always result in weight loss. “Even though body water alterations may occasionally mask this loss of tissue, it is always going to occur, with ZERO exceptions so far discovered.”
• A eucalorie balance means that the athlete will not gain or lose weight because they expend as many calories as they consume.
• A positive calorie balance means that the individual is consuming more calories than they are using.

When it comes to learning how to lose weight fast, this is as important factor. But it overly simplifies a complicated process.

Why Sustainability Is What Matters Most in Your Nutrition

CrossFit Games athlete and qualified Nutritionist Meredith Root shared her thoughts on the way that the industry often focuses disproportionately on this aspect of learning how to lose weight fast.

MEREDITH ROOT’S PERSPECTIVE ON CALORIE BALANCE

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc

“Calories in/out are only one variable of many that determine if and when someone loses body fat. Resting metabolic rate, NEAT, willingness to exercise, desire to eat/not eat are all impacted by calories in AND impact the total calories someone burns.”

“How about increase calories, get the person to sleep and move more and then see what happens…There are plenty of people who I know have experienced performance and body composition improvements by INCREASING calories.”

“I could go on about the effects of a calorie deficit on cortisol and thyroid hormones and the effect those have on your ability to lose body fat…How about recommend that people seek out coaching or work with a professional to understand where they are at currently from a metabolic health standpoint before deciding if cutting calories is the right path for them? Just a thought.”

She posted these comments in response to Sheila Barden’s advice about how to lose weight fast.

LAUREN FISHER

“I don’t have a flat belly because I believe in fueling my body for performance over restricting my calories to look a certain way. Yeah if I starved myself or cut down my fats and still trained as much as I do I might finally get that 8 pack but reality is my body type won’t. I like to eat and I know when I don’t eat enough I just don’t feel good during training. And a lot of it also comes down to genetics.”

Source: CrossFit Inc

“So I’m sorry but I will never be one of the girls with no belly fat at all and I’m okay with it. I’m not an Instagram model, I’m an athlete and what we do is completely different here so if you don’t like the way I look you can unfollow. Thank you!”

“I eat around 3000 calories a day and I feel HAPPY and HEALTHY in my body. Yeah some of my pictures on Instagram don’t look attractive or my muscles might be bulging because usually a photographer comes in the middle of my training session. I’m not posing for the camera or starving myself before so my abs will pop through. I’m trying to be the best me and if I get a cool picture in action I’m going to share it. BE REAL, BE TRUE, BE YOU. “

Find out what Icelandic CrossFit icon Annie Thorisdottir thinks about this topic…