Don't Be A Big Loser - Why You Should Say No To Quick
Weight Loss
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.burnthefat.com
Patience. It’s the one thing you never seem to have when you’ve got a body
fat problem. You want the fat gone and you want it gone now! And why not? It
seems so do-able. Everywhere you look, you read and hear promises of quick
weight loss and you even see people losing weight quickly. We have reality TV
shows that actually encourage people to attempt “extreme” body makeovers or see
who can lose weight the fastest, and the winners (or shall we say, the losers),
are rewarded generously with fortune, fame and congratulations.
Let’s
face
it.
Everyone
wants
to
get
the
fat
off
as
quickly
as
possible
-
and
having
that
desire
is
not
wrong
–
it’s
simply
human
nature.
However,
you
must
become
aware
of
some
serious
problems
that
can
occur
if
you
try
to
force
it
and
lose
weight
too
quickly.
The
faster
you
lose
weight,
the
more
muscle
you
will
lose
with
the
fat,
and
that
can
really
mess
up
your
metabolism.
An
even
bigger
problem
with
fast
weight
loss
is
that
the
loss
just
won’t
last.
The
faster
you
lose,
the
more
likely
you
are
to
gain
it
back.
Think
about
it:
We
don’t
have
a
weight
loss
problem
today,
we
have
a
“keeping
the
weight
off”
problem.
Weight
loss
will
be
the
healthiest,
safest
and
most
likely
to
be
permanent
if
you
set
your
goal
for
about
two
pounds
per
week
(and
even
if
you
lose
only
a
single
pound
each
week,
that
is
healthy
progress).
This
is
the
recommendation
of
almost
every
legitimate
and
respected
dietician,
nutritionist,
exercise
physiologist
and
personal
trainer,
as
well
as
exercise
organizations
such
as
the
American
College
of
Sports
Medicine
and
the
American
Dietetic
Association.
Are
there
any
exceptions
to
this
rule?
Is
it
ever
okay
to
lose
more
than
two
pounds
per
week?
The
answer
is
yes.
It
may
be
ok
to
lose
slightly
more
than
two
pounds
per
week
if
you
have
a
lot
of
weight
to
lose
because
the
rate
of
weight
loss
tends
to
be
relative
to
your
total
starting
body
weight.
Generally
the
rule
is
that
it’s
safe
to
lose
up
to
1%
of
your
total
body
weight
per
week,
so
if
you
weigh
300
lbs
to
start,
then
3
lbs
a
week
is
a
reasonable
goal.
But
there
IS
a
catch.
What
really
matters
is
not
how
much
weight
you
lose,
but
how
much
FAT
you
lose.
Where
did
your
weight
loss
come
from?
Did
you
lose
body
fat
or
lean
body
mass?
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Losing and Keeping The Weight Off
"Weight"
is
not
the
same
as
"fat."
Weight
includes
muscle,
bone,
internal
organs
as
well
as
lots
and
lots
of
water.
What
you
really
want
is
fat
loss,
not
weight
loss.
If
you
only
wanted
weight
loss,
I
could
show
you
an
easy
way
to
lose
20
or
25
pounds
in
about
5
minutes.
Just
come
over
to
my
house.
I
have
a
really
sharp
hacksaw
in
my
garage,
and
we’ll
just
slice
off
one
of
your
legs,
after
all
it’s
just
extra
“weight”
right?
Let’s
look
at
an
example
with
some
numbers
so
you
can
really
grasp
this
concept
of
weight
versus
fat
and
then
you
can
see,
clearly
illustrated,
what
will
happen
when
you
lose
weight
too
quickly
(because
I
know
you
probably
don’t
believe
me
and
you
STILL
want
to
lose
weight
as
fast
as
possible…
read
on
and
it
will
all
become
clear
to
you).
As
an
example,
let’s
take
a
260
pound
man
who
has
a
lot
of
body
fat
to
lose
-
let’s
call
it
32%.
With
32%
fat,
a
260
pounder
has
83.2
pounds
of
body
fat
and
176.8
pounds
of
lean
mass.
Using
this
example,
let’s
look
at
a
few
possible
scenarios
with
losses
ranging
from
two
to
four
pounds
per
week.
Weight
Loss
Scenario
1:
Suppose
our
260
pound
subject
loses
four
full
pounds
instead
of
the
recommended
two
pounds
per
week.
Is
this
bad?
Well,
let’s
see:
If
he
loses
a
half
a
percent
of
body
fat,
here
are
his
body
composition
results:
256
lbs
31.5%
body
fat
80.6
lbs
fat
175.4
lbs
lean
body
mass
Out
of
the
four
pounds
lost,
2.8
pounds
were
fat
and
1.2
were
lean
mass.
Not
a
disaster,
but
not
good
either.
Thirty
percent
of
the
weight
lost
was
lean
tissue.
Weight
Loss
Scenario
2:
If
he
loses
a
half
a
percent
of
body
fat
and
only
three
pounds,
here
are
his
results:
257
lbs
31.5%
body
fat
80.9
lbs
fat
176.1
lbs
lean
body
mass
These
results
are
better.
Although
he
lost
less
body
weight
than
scenario
one,
in
this
instance,
2.3
pounds
of
fat
and
only
0.7
lbs
of
lean
mass
were
lost.
Weight
Loss
Scenario
3:
What
if
he
only
lost
two
pounds?
Here
are
the
results:
258
lbs
31.5%
body
fat
81.2
lbs
fat
176.8
lbs
lean
body
mass
These
results
are
perfect.
Even
though
our
subject
has
only
lost
two
pounds,
which
seems
slow,
100%
of
the
two
pound
weight
loss
came
from
fat.
Weight
Loss
Scenario
4:
Now
let’s
suppose
he
loses
three
pounds
but
he
loses
more
body
fat:
.8%
257
lbs
31.2%
body
fat
80.2
lbs
fat
176.8
lbs
lean
body
mass
These
are
the
best
results
of
all.
When
the
weekly
fat
loss
is
.8%,
100%
of
the
three
pounds
lost
is
fat.
So
the
answer
to
the
question
is
yes
-
it’s
safe
to
lose
more
than
two
pounds
per
week…
but
only
if
the
weight
is
all
fat
or
at
least
mostly
fat
with
minimal
lean
mass
losses.
If
you
take
example
one
–
with
thirty
percent
lean
tissue
loss
and
compound
that
over
a
few
months,
you’re
talking
about
a
massive
muscle
tissue
loss
which
can
dramatically
slow
down
your
metabolism
and
turn
you
into
nothing
more
than
a
“skinny
fat
person”
(a
person
with
low
body
weight
because
they
lost
so
much
muscle,
but
still
holding
stubborn
body
fat
because
they
shut
down
their
metabolism).
One
thing
you
should
know
is
that
water
weight
losses
sometimes
distort
the
numbers,
especially
when
you
first
begin
a
new
nutrition
and
training
program.
It’s
very
common
to
lose
3
-
5
pounds
in
the
first
week
on
nearly
any
diet
and
exercise
program
and
often
even
more
on
low
carb
diets.
Just
remember,
its
NOT
all
fat
-
WATER
LOSS
IS
NOT
FAT
LOSS!
The
best
advice
I
can
give
you
is
to
focus
on
losing
fat,
not
losing
weight.
If
you
lose
three
to
five
pounds
per
week,
and
you
know
it’s
all
fat,
and
not
lean
tissue,
then
more
power
to
you!
Of
course
the
only
way
to
know
this
is
with
body
composition
testing.
For
home
body
fat
self-testing,
I
recommend
the
Accu-Measure
skinfold
caliper
as
first
choice.
Even
better,
get
a
multi
site
skinfold
caliper
test
from
an
experienced
tester
at
a
health
club,
or
even
a
water
(hydrostatic)
or
air
(bod
pod)
displacement
test.
From
literally
hundreds
of
client
case
studies,
I
can
confirm
that
it’s
rare
to
lose
more
than
1.5
-
2.0
lbs
of
weight
per
week
without
losing
some
muscle
along
with
it.
If
you
exceed
2.0
to
3.0
pounds
per
week,
the
probability
of
losing
muscle
is
extremely
high.
If
you
lose
muscle,
you
are
damaging
your
metabolism
and
this
will
lead
to
a
plateau
and
ultimately
to
relapse.
Lack
of
patience
is
one
of
the
biggest
mistakes
people
make
when
it
comes
to
losing
body
fat.
If
you
want
to
lose
FAT,
not
muscle
and
you
want
to
keep
the
fat
off
for
good,
then
you
have
to
take
off
the
pounds
slowly.
This
is
one
of
the
toughest
lessons
that
overweight
men
and
women
have
to
learn
-
and
they
can
be
very
hard
learners.
They
fight
kicking
and
screaming,
insisting
that
they
CAN
and
they
MUST
lose
it
faster.
Then
you
have
these
TV
shows
that
encourage
the
masses
that
rapid,
crash
weight
loss
is
okay.
To
the
producers
of
these
shows,
I
say
SHAME
ON
YOU!
To
the
personal
trainers,
registered
dieticians
and
medical
doctors
who
are
associated
with
these
programs,
I
say
DOUBLE
SHAME
ON
YOU,
because
you
of
all
people
should
know
better.
The
rapid
weight
loss
being
promoted
today
by
the
media
for
the
sake
of
ratings
and
by
the
weight
loss
companies
for
the
sake
of
profits
makes
it
even
harder
for
those
of
us
who
are
legitimate
fitness
and
nutrition
professionals
because
our
clients
say,
“But
look
at
so
and
so
on
TV
-
he
lost
26
pounds
in
a
week!”
Sure,
but
26
pounds
of
WHAT
-
and
do
you
have
any
idea
what
the
long
term
consequences
are?
Short
term
thinking,
folks…
foolish.
There
are
hundreds
of
ways
to
lose
weight
quickly,
but
only
one
way
to
lose
fat
and
keep
it
off
in
the
long
term.
Do
it
the
right
way.
Take
off
the
pounds
slowly,
steadily
and
sensibly
with
an
intelligent
nutrition
and
exercise
program,
measure
your
body
fat,
not
just
your
body
weight,
and
make
this
a
new
lifestyle,
not
a
race,
and
you
will
never
have
to
take
the
pounds
off
again
because
they
will
be
gone
forever
the
first
time.
No
more
yo-yoing.
If
you’re
interested
in
the
healthy,
sensible
way
to
take
off
the
fat,
while
keeping
all
your
muscle
and
actually
increasing
your
metabolism
in
the
process,
then
my
Burn
the
Fat,
Feed
The
Muscle
program
can
teach
you
how.
No
gimmicks
or
false
promises.
Just
the
truth
-
you
have
to
work
at
it
and
you
have
to
be
patient.
For
more
information,
www.burnthefat.com
About
the
Author:
Tom
Venuto
is
a
lifetime
natural
bodybuilder,
an
NSCA-certified
personal
trainer
(CPT),
certified
strength
&
conditioning
specialist
(CSCS),
and
author
of
the
#1
best-selling
e-book,
"Burn
the
Fat,
Feed
The
Muscle.”
Tom
has
written
hundreds
of
articles
and
been
featured
in
IRONMAN,
Australian
IRONMAN,
Natural
Bodybuilding,
Muscular
Development,
Exercise
for
Men
and
Men’s
Exercise,
as
well
as
on
dozens
of
websites
worldwide.
For
information
on
Tom's
Fat
Loss
program,
visit:
www.burnthefat.com
