Making the decision to reshape your body is a great first step, but what exactly should you do to achieve this? There are so many options, and each claims to be the most effective. Surgeries are a definite no as there are far too many risks and no real need, unless your doctor thinks itโs the only option for you. Therefore, the best options you have are diets, workout programs, and non-invasive fat-reduction treatments.
But which is the best one?
Exercising for Weight Loss: Good But Not Enough
Exercising is essential for health, so you definitely should do it regularly. However, if you want to lose a lot of weight through workouts, you wonโt succeed. Studies prove that exercise alone isnโt enough to make a significant change in oneโs weight because the average person wonโt be able to burn a lot of calories through it.
If you want to shed weight with workouts, youโll need to start training like a professional athlete. Can you afford to spend several hours every day on this? Will your health be able to take it?
There are also some types of workouts, like CrossFit that might be able to achieve better results due to their extremely high intensity. But that intensity carries the risk of injury, and can be a legitimate threat to people with heart problems or some other health conditions.
Fat-Reduction Treatments: Fast and Moderately Effective
Non-invasive fat-reduction treatments are becoming very popular, and many of them are FDA approved. They require no effort on your part, unlike dieting and exercising, and remain effective anyway. This makes these treatments very attractive.
The most popular among them are:
- Laser fat reduction (SculpSure)
- Radiofrequency therapy (Vanquish)
- Cryo fat reduction (CoolSculpting)
- Injections (Kybella)
Each of these treatments can produce moderately effective results within a few weeks. However, you also need to be aware that these treatments might have some side effects, similar to how overdoing it with exercise can put your health at risk. However, while CoolSculpting side effects are minimal and only mildly irritating, injections might cause nerve damage. Therefore, itโs imperative that you consult an experienced dermatologist before getting any treatment. But it must be noted that if you donโt fall into any risk groups, these fat-reduction methods are safe and effective.
Dieting: Effective When Not Extreme
Diet is the key element of weight loss, and itโs essential that you change your nutrition if you want to keep the weight off, regardless of which method you use to lose it in the first place. There can also be no doubt that dieting can help you achieve significant weight loss.
But, and this is a very important โbutโ, dieting can also be extremely dangerous when taken to the extreme. And unfortunately, not all weight loss diets are equally safe.
If you go about it right and choose a healthy plan, like the vegan or Paleo diets, and calculate your calories and nutritional intake, you will be healthy and safe. However, this kind of weight loss will take years.
This is why the temptation to try more โeffectiveโ diets is big, and people do this often trying extreme meal plans like zero-fat, or zero-carb, or even HCG (prohibited by the FDA). These diets can help you lose weight fast, but they cause nutritional imbalances that can deal some serious and permanent health damage.
Moreover, results achieved through this kind of dieting are unsustainable. In the majority of cases, people regain or even exceed the weight they had before taking up the extreme plan. This yo-yoing with your weight only does more harm to your body.
So, What Weight Loss Method Is Best?
The only correct answer is that you should diet AND exercise AND fat-reduction treatments to achieve the best results. A healthy and balanced diet with a moderate exercise plan will help you lose weight naturally and without risks, while treatments will speed up the process.
