Posted on 21 September 2011 - 05:03am
DRIVING down the road in USJ after boot camp recently, I noticed a huge billboard advertising the chance for consumers to lose 10 lb in one week (or something like that). Shaking my head, I thought to myself, "If it takes longer than one week to put on 10 lb, what makes them think they can lose 10 lb in one week?"
This is the problem: when it comes to weight loss, people want a quick fix. I suppose, like every other Malaysian solution, short-term easy solutions are the most viable for us, and businesses capitalise on this. I think this phenomenon can be observed by perusing a particular newspaper I have a soft spot for.
This newspaper has an extensive section devoted to consumer complaints. Every three months or so (or every month on occasion), someone always writes in to complain about some "health" or "beauty" service provider that failed to deliver its version of the lose-10-lb-in-one-week service. Once, I read a letter from an indignant woman who gained a few kilos instead of losing weight.
One news report which caught my eye was of a businessman, Lim, who spent RM80,000 on a weight loss programme but ended up with about 30 wounds, one as big as his fist at his waist.
This shocking report stated that Lim, unlike others, decided to try the "needleless injection" treatment before he made an investment to start the business in the country. Lim unfortunately ended up having to get surgery to get the wounds sorted, and therefore couldn't work, losing any form of revenue.
Tough call for RM80,000. That would have been 33 years of gym dues, which most likely would have been a more effective weight loss treatment. Again I say, if you didn't gain all that extra weight in a short time, what makes you think you can lose it in a short time? Ten pounds in a week? Get real!
First, "weight loss" is a misnomer because people don't want to just lose weight, they want to lose fat. Losing weight can mean many things, and with quick fixes, it's usually water loss.
Second, the recommended guideline on safe fat loss on a weekly basis is about two pounds. This requires a degree of commitment and dedication, not only in terms of nutrition, but also exercise.
However, there are ways to lose more than two pounds a week. Jodie Nikolic, founder of a personal training studio, says that two pounds a week of fat loss is only a general recommendation and a good benchmark for setting weekly goals." She says, "It's sensible and realistic because it's based on average or typical results."
She adds, "The actual amount of fat you can lose depends on many factors. For example, weight loss tends to be relative to body size. The more body fat you carry, the more likely you'll be able to safely lose more than two pounds per week. Therefore, we could individualise our weekly guideline … by recommending a goal of one to two pounds of fat per week or up to 1% of your total weight."
read more here
