Lose Up to 7 Lbs. in 7 Days??!!
Another Public Television spring pledge drive has concluded and it introduced celebrity nutritionist J.J. Virgin and her Virgin diet that she claims can produce up to 7 pounds (3.2 Kg) of weight loss in just 7 days. Sound to good to be true? It depends on your definition of weight loss. Like I said in my book, most weight loss programs claim you will lose weight not that you will lose fat. There is a big difference. Most people who are overweight or obese need to lose fat especially abdominal fat which is the the most dangerous type of fat.
For a women who is a MENSA member and has taken and continues to take graduate level university classes about diet and nutrition to make such a claim is inexcusable.
What does it take to lose 7 pounds of fat in one week? A pound of fat has about 3,500 calories. You’d have to eliminate from your diet or burn 3,500 calories per day. Assuming your body burns 3,500 calories per day and you eat 3,500 calories per day (i.e. you have stable weight and not gaining weight) you’d have to eliminate all calories from your diet for one weight. Not a simple thing to do and also dangerous. Even if you could stop eating for one week, as soon as your body senses starvation if goes into survival mode and begins to shut down unnecessary functions. Ms. Virgin claims losing UP TO 7 pounds in 7 days. So if lose 1 pound on her plan her claim is valid.
So what do you lose if your weight decreases 7 pounds in 7 days? It can be several things. If the diet produces diarrhea, you can lose several pounds of feces similar to preping for a colonoscopy. You can lose muscle if you are not eating enough protein. But most likely you’ll lose up to 7 pounds of water which you’ll gain back just as easily when you go off the diet.
Any diet that reduces calories by replacing calories dense foods like dessert with healthier, low calories foods like fruits and vegetables will produce long-term weight loss.
Your goal should be sustainable, long-term weight loss. Most people do not gain 20, 30, 50 or 100 pounds overnight or a short period of time. It took months or years to gain the weight. You can lose the weight by making small changes to your diet. Cutting back or eliminating highly processed foods, candy and desserts, and sugar or high fructose corn syrup sweetened drinks.
On my Americanized Mediterranean diet, I eat whatever I want and have maintained my weight for over 35 years. What I restrict are fast foods, processed foods, desserts and soft drinks.
Avoid fad diets by “celebrity” nutritionists and enjoy eating a medically proven, healthy Mediterranean style diet.
Buon Appetito!