Quick weight loss, quick weight gain

Why is it that those first pounds of a diet can come off so fast, and then return so quickly? Because, experts say, those pounds are mostly water.

When your initial dieting effort is near fasting, or is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, the body starts breaking down a substance called liver glycogen, which is used to keep blood sugar levels up. Glycogen is stored with lots of water molecules, which are heavy. When the glycogen goes, so does the water. Therefore, much of that early weight loss is water weight -- and once you eat enough to restore glycogen, the water weight will come back.

The bottom line remains: for successful, long term, healthy weight loss, a balanced reduced-calorie diet, combined with regular exercise, is still the best prescription.

April 27, 2002

Resources

Nancy Frawley's Healthy Eating.net Web site has excellent, selective information and resources for healthy weight-loss strategies.