Quote Originally Posted by Helen
Yes, it is freightening but when you think of all the health problems they had before because of their overweight problem ... loosing all that weight in a short period of time wouldn't appear that freightening at all. There could be some hormonal problems but they are small potate compared to their general overweight problems. Wouldn't you agree ?
I'm afraid I can't agree. As I understand it, most health problems related to obesity are long-term problems. It's not as if loosing that weight today or tomorrow is a question of *immediate* life and death. Loosing weight very fast could in fact cause more problems than it solves, most notably by inducing fast weight gain later on and irrealistic ideas about exercising and eating habits. For example, 1200 calories a day is NOTHING, I (at 120 lbs) eat more than that on most days (and I don't exercise so much). Also, in normal life, you don't spend your whole day exercising. After a few months of the regimen they're enduring, I'd totally understand that they would be overtrained and burned-out, which would be very, very bad for their fitness.

I fear that a very fast weight loss could be damaging both physically and mentally. Loosing 10-15 lbs a month may seem very little for someone weighting say 250 or 300, but it adds up quite fast. At 10 lbs a month, our 250-pounder who starts training in the Spring will be at a very healthy weight for Christmas. A friend of mine lost about 55 lbs (from 200 to 145 at 5'6") in approx 4 years by becoming a commuter and avid road biker. The benefits were certainly higher and more long-term for him than if he would have lost all of those 55 lbs in one Summer.

Moderation in all things, so they say...

Cheers!