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DIET REPORTS AND ARTICLES
Ten Pounds in 10 Days?
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Can you safely fast-track weight loss?
By Rachel Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D. EatingWell July/August 2008
“Lose 10 pounds in 10 days!” As a nutrition professor, I know better than to believe the ultra-fast weight-loss claims that proliferate as bathing-suit season peaks. I admit, some of the ads sure sound compelling. I’ve long wondered if any of the products that promise to “zap fat like magic” might have a kernel of truth. My friend Jane nips weight gain in the bud with a once-a-year three-day juice fast; it seems to work for her—but what does the science say? Full of hopeful skepticism, I recently sorted through the more enticing claims.
Fasting: “The perfect jump-start!”
People have fasted for centuries, mostly for religious reasons. But these days, short-term fasting to lose weight is much more common.
At first blush it sounds like a good strategy: in a 2002 study by scientists at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland, healthy adults lost 1 to 2 percent of their body weight during a 36-hour fast (during which they consumed nothing but water) and up to 5 percent in six days. The subjects’ feelings of hunger and fatigue increased with the length of the fast—contradicting the argument often heard that hunger fades with prolonged fasting. Most discouraging, though, was that the fasters lost mostly muscle, not fat.
Juice fasts like Jane’s may be better at curbing hunger since they provide some calories: most juice fasts recommend four 12-ounce glasses of fruit and/or vegetable juice in addition to water—better but hardly a nutritious menu by any standard. You should only fast if you are otherwise healthy and any prolonged fast should be medically supervised.
More "quick fixes." Plus: what really works 
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| USER COMMENTS — Add Your Comment |
the only diet that ever worked for me was herbalife it made me feel good and its healthy for you. iv had gastric bypasses which id tell anyone NOT to have because years later they cause complications which i have now, to me herbalife is healthy and helps alot i lost 22 lbson it but i quit takeing it and i should have not quit
connie knowlton, Coffeyville, KS |
I lost 120 lbs in only 9 months on Atkins. Only 30 more lbs to go, but I seem to have hit a persistent plateau. Any suggestions?
Spike, San Diego, CA |
Cut the Fat! You would not believe how much fat is in typical foods. Counting fat grams and staying in the recommended fat grams per day is the best way to be slim & trim!
Julie, Midland, TX |
I tried them all and the only thing that helped me was taken off the market. I started my day off with 2 Metabolife 360 tabs and had a Metabolife cookie for lunch. Then I walked for an hour at work. I was a size 22W and in a year I was down to a size 14W. That was great for me. I really think some of the people that took the ephedra were not exercising properly. I never had ANY trouble with it. I felt great and now I miss the stuff!
Retta, Sacramento, CA |
I also had great results from Metabolife and wish they would bring it back. I felt great, looked great, and ate healthy! With all the other junk in the stores you would think they would have Metabolife and let people make their own choice.
sherri, Canton, MI |
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