Weight loss at this rapid rate may be achievable but is it biologically sustainable?
The cricketer turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu claimed in a January 29 Facebook post that he had lost 33 kgs within five months through lifestyle changes and dietary modifications.
“Before and after … have lost 33 kilograms in less than 5 months since August last year … it was all about willpower, discipline, process and a strict diet facilitated by pranayama (breath control ) weight training and walking ….. impossible is nothing people … ‘ pehla sukh nirogi kaya,” the post read.
This works out to a weight loss of 6.6kg or about 13 pounds a month. While this may be achievable, is it biologically sustainable?
What’s the fact?
Losing weight through lifestyle and dietary changes is good for health, but experts and studies warn that shedding pounds too quickly can lead to muscle loss.
“Slow loss is good loss: Start losing weight early, focusing on 1 to 2 pounds per week. This will assume that the weight which you lose is mostly fat. Weight loss of more than 2-3 pounds will result in things you don’t want like muscle loss,” says a report in Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Navjot Singh Sidhu before and after weight loss.
The principle of weight gain is simple: energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. So, weight loss follows when energy expenditure is more than energy intake.
Any strategy geared to lose weight has to be customised to suit an individual’s body type, note these recommendations by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, an official health website of the United States government.
“The initial goal of weight-loss therapy should be to reduce body weight by about 10 per cent from baseline. With success, and if warranted, further weight loss can be attempted,” the website suggests. “Weight loss should be about 1 to 2 pounds per week for a period of 6 months, with the subsequent strategy based on the amount of weight lost.”
A report in the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) too recommends a weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week and advises against rushing the process.
“People who lose weight at a gradual, steady pace—about 1 to 2 pounds a week—are more likely to keep the weight off than people who lose weight quicker,” the report points out.
(Note: This story was first published by First Check and is republished by ETV Bharat as part of Shakti Collective.)
