The other day I was reading an article about starvation mode or using starvation as a form of dieting.

My immediate thought was that’s not a good or healthy approach to not only lose weight fast but to weight loss period. Now, in my head, I know this, but then I started thinking about what exactly did the scientific proof say about it. Thus, I began an internet search to find the answer which I included below.

Here is basically some of what WebMD had to say:

“Severely slashing calories leads to weight loss but the lost weight includes precious muscle mass and poses health risks — and most people end up regaining all the weight, plus some.

‘Rapid weight loss by critical calorie restriction causes water, some fat, and muscle loss, which ultimately decreases metabolism so the body needs fewer calories to survive,’ says May, author of Eat What You Love and Love What You Eat. It also causes a shift toward a higher percentage of body fat, which increases the risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

Don’t cut calories below 1,200 per day; otherwise you will struggle to meet nutrient needs, fuel activity, and satisfy hunger. Keep in mind that when you lose weight quickly, you tend to pack it back on with more fat and less muscle, which lowers your metabolism and calorie needs.”

I continued to do a little more digging and found a couple of sites where individuals had done a great job of compiling the research evidence to essentially say the same thing. Although there were other and more specific revelations.

From Calorie Count at About.com: The Truth about “Starvation Mode”

From Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS:  Is Starvation Mode a Myth? No! It’s very real and here is the proof

It seems that the question of how to lose weight fast is somewhat of an age-old question. We’ve been trying to fight the battle of the bulge for quite some time.

From USA Today…

“150 years of dieting fads and still no quick fix…

Before there was Dr. Atkins, there was William Banting. He invented the low-carb diet of 1863. Even then Americans were trying out advice that urged fish, mutton or “any meat except pork” for breakfast, lunch and dinner — hold the potatoes, please.

It turns out our obsession with weight and how to lose it dates back at least 150 years. And while now we say “overweight” instead of “corpulent” — and obesity has become epidemic — a look back at dieting history shows what hasn’t changed is the quest for an easy fix.”

Here’s the original article.

If you’re really concerned about overindulgence this Thanksgiving, then watch your portion size.

Karen Collins, R.D. discusses how much we’re served strongly influences how much we eat.

“How do we know when to stop eating? Our bodies do have an intricate system that prompts us to eat when we’re low on fuel and sends signals to stop when our needs are met.

Yet a new study shows that for most of us – whether we’re overweight or not – the overwhelming influence on how much we eat is the size of our portions.

If you are trying to cut calories to lose weight, serve yourself smaller portions instead of hoping you will have the willpower to leave food on your plate. You can start with portions that are one-half to two-thirds of your usual size and eat more later if your physical hunger is still unsatisfied. You can also use smaller dishes and bowls. And try smaller glasses for all drinks, except water.”

So obviously, if you want to lose weight fast, one thing you need to do is pay attention to the portion size on your plate.

Wow, wouldn’t it be nice to actually lose weight during this time of year?

As you know from many years of experience, the holidays starting with Thanksgiving are all about family, food, and fun. So, it’s pretty much a given that there will be a lot of food consumption going on. And, unfortunately, it is very difficult to lose weight let alone to lose weight fast during this time of year. However, it doesn’t have to be a time of excess or gluttony. Just eat until you’re satisfied and not until you’re so stuffed that you can barely move. I KNOW all too well that the food is incredibly delicious, but as my dad used to say, “Don’t let your eyes get bigger than your stomach.” In other words, just because it looks good, it doesn’t mean you have to try to eat it all.

I mean I could sit here and talk about certain foods you should or shouldn’t eat and how much of it you should eat and so forth. But I live in reality and so do you. It’s hard to avoid Mom’s creamy mashed potatoes with gravy and aunt Mary’s super cheesy mac and cheese, and Grandmom’s delicious homemade cakes and pies.

Eat up, but just make absolutely sure that you don’t go overboard with the portions.

Now, understand that the eating comes with a price — it’s called The Day After.

The day after should find you looking to get back into the groove of your exercise program. And if you don’t have one, it would be a testament to your desire to lose weight or lose weight fast if you started one.

By doing that, you will certainly make yourself proud, because it’s so easy to sit and do nothing. But instead, there you are, working hard, making a statement to the world that you’re serious about making changes in your life.

Also remember that you’re eating during Thanksgiving and not working out, and then letting that and the time in between lead to the Christmas holidays and more eating. The only thing this is going to lead to is regret and/or you being upset with yourself because it will be another year and more weight that you gain which means more weight that you’re going to have to work to lose.

So enjoy your Thanksgiving, but don’t overdo the portions. And then some time after Black Friday, go ahead and hop on the treadmill or jog or take a brisk walk around the neighborhood. Because here’s WSJ’s Shirley S. Wang writes about as far as what happens to your body after a big meal….

“This post-meal recovery period is being studied by scientists who are    increasingly finding that what happens in the body after eating a big meal doesn’t just bring on sleepiness, commonly known as food coma. It can also increase the risk of later health problems.

Researchers also are studying strategies for reducing risks in the period immediately after a meal, known as the postprandial phase. While going for a walk after eating might help digestion, for example, recent studies suggest that exercising 12 or more hours before the meal can prevent one of the most damaging effects—a post-meal spike in a type of fat called triglycerides.

One of the biggest tasks for the body after eating is to deal with fats in the blood. Cholesterol, particularly LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, infiltrates the walls of the arteries and forms plaques, which can block blood flow or eventually rupture, leading to heart attack and stroke. The condition is known as atherosclerosis.

Triglycerides, which typically peak after a big meal, are present in food and are also converted by the body from other nutrients, like carbohydrates. Triglycerides are particularly problematic because they are so good at penetrating the arterial wall, says Borge Nordestgaard, chief physician in clinical biochemistry at Denmark’s Copenhagen University Hospital.”

One of the problems you can have with how to lose weight fast is being too ego driven. 

Usually when someone wants to lose weight fast, it’s because there is a special reason. Perhaps it’s to fit into that dress for a wedding or maybe it’s to get rid of a beer belly for that 10-year reunion.

Whatever the reason, let’s face it, it’s all about your ego.

But understand, in and of itself, wanting to lose weight fast isn’t a problem.  And, even being a little ego driven isn’t the problem, because we all generally want to project the best image of ourselves.

The problem is that if the reason is compelling enough and if the amount of weight you want to lose is in a relatively short amount of time, it may cause you to do some unhealthy or even very dangerous things.

Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia on body image and dieting:

“Studies conclude that women are more worried about their body image than men and that their concern can impact on their health. Commentators note that people who have a low body image will try to alter their body in some way, such as by dieting or undergoing cosmetic surgery.

French child psychoanalyst, Francoise Dolto, has developed a theory of the unconscious body image. Negative perceptions by a person regarding their body, such as a perception that they are fat, can in some cases lead to mental disorders such as depression or eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa, though there can be a variety of different reasons why these disorders can occur.”

So, if you can keep your ego under control, you can have a very good chance of losing weight fast in a safe and healthy way.

As I talk about in Tip #2, you have to “get right in the head”, and having your ego in check is one of the things that you MUST do in order to lose weight fast the right way.

Remember that I told you that what you will find here is the truth. And you are more than welcome to express your thoughts about what I’m saying.

But just so we’re clear, it is NOT my goal, in dispensing the truth, to beat you over the head with it to make you feel bad, to speak to you like a parent to a child, or to be condescending. No, that is absolutely NOT my intention! I’m speaking the truth to wake you up, to enlighten you, to make you more aware. No more and no less.

With that being said…

One of the things that I believe is EXTREMELY important is that you stop acting as if there is some mystical or magical thing about how to lose weight fast.

[Note: When I say “you”, that is not you personally. It’s “you” as in “a person”.]

Once you stop thinking this way, you’ll stop throwing your hard-earned money away, and you’ll stop jumping from one diet or weight loss program to another …and another.

That actually makes me think of the situation where someone doesn’t want to commit in a relationship, because they believe someone better is just around the corner. And the person they’re with is just right for them and they know it. But still they keep searching and hoping.

I believe that intellectually you know that the process of losing weight fast is very simple – you exercise your butt off, literally, and you eat healthy.  That is the basic foundation. Of course we can go into some more of the particulars of that information but that is basically it.

So your focus should not be on the next “great” fad diet. But instead, it should be on what exercises do I want to incorporate into my lifestyle and what adjustments do I want to make in my eating habits. And that’s it for the most part.

Miller-McCune weighs in with providing an explanation to address part of people’s seeming obsession with weight loss and continue to chase after the fad diets.

“Why do people continually subscribe to a quick-fix solution? Americans seem impatient, wanting to overturn years, perhaps decades, of bad habits, in the matter of weeks with the most minimal work possible. We act vain, judging from the commercials for quick fixes. Sluggish, pale and overweight people are transformed to tan, radiant beauties with members of the opposite sex flocking to them. As a whole, we obsess over the number on the scale and self-deprecate when that number is higher than what’s considered the ideal.

“Most individuals want cutting-edge solutions for weight loss, and fad diets offer, at least on the surface, ‘new’ ways to beat the boring mathematical reality of long-term weight loss,” noted Robin Steagall, nutrition communications manager for the Calorie Control Council.”

In The Habit of Weight Loss newsletter, I’ll be sharing some thoughts, ideas, and strategies of how you can begin the process of implementing this into your weight loss program simply and easily. So be sure to sign up as soon as you can.