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Intense weight loss is much more effective than gradual weight loss
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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When losing weight, experts recommend not to stick to strict diets that result in too much weight loss. But recent studies have shown that rapid weight loss can be more effective than previously thought. In addition, experts say that rapid weight loss prevents the likelihood of regaining the extra pounds.
The researchers conducted an experiment involving overweight people. During the study, volunteers were offered a choice of two weight loss methods (an intensive 12-week course or gradual weight loss over 36 weeks).
The intensive weight loss method required participants to consume no more than 800 calories per day and eat meal replacements.
During gradual weight loss, the participants were asked to reduce their calorie intake by 500. Those who managed to lose more than 12.5% of their weight were then assigned to a diet that was expected to maintain their weight within three years.
As a result, 4 out of 5 people from the intensive weight loss group were able to achieve significant results, while only half of the participants from the gradual weight loss group were able to show similar results. In the intensive weight loss group, specialists noted weight gain less frequently later, but overall, in both groups, scientists recorded a weight gain of about 71% of the lost kilograms.
Experts note that after a strict diet, a person has stronger motivation, which helps him maintain a normal weight in the future.
Experts also warn that when following strict diets, you should additionally take a vitamin and mineral complex that will prevent vitamin deficiency.
Also, until recently it was believed that a low-carb diet should avoid dangerous foods, in particular potatoes. As recent studies have shown, potatoes do not interfere with weight loss at all, but on the condition that the overall caloric content of the diet is reduced.
If you cook potatoes correctly, you don't have to worry about gaining extra pounds. Experts have studied the role of reducing caloric content and the rate of sugar release into the blood when eating potatoes during a diet. It is worth noting that foods with a high glycemic index (white bread, rice) accelerate the release of sugar and increase the feeling of hunger. As for potatoes, in this case, much is ambiguous.
During their research, the specialists gathered three groups of volunteers, each of whom had problems with excess weight. In the first group, the participants were asked to reduce the caloric content of their diet, but eat foods with a high glycemic index, in the second - to eat foods with a low index and reduce the caloric content of their daily diet, in the third group (control) - the volunteers ate at their own discretion.
Each participant, regardless of which group they were in, was required to eat approximately 7 servings of potatoes per week.
After 12 weeks, each group showed weight loss results, with each group showing approximately the same results. In addition, even the control group, which voluntarily reduced calories and adjusted its diet, showed positive results. As a result, the experts concluded that food products in the diet do not play such a big role as previously thought; in the diet, according to experts, the main thing is the calorie content and the method of processing products.
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