An 11-pound weight loss in a mere 96 hours…sound too good to be true? It’s not, according to recent research—losing 11 pounds in four days is possible. In fact, you can even keep it off for months.
What’s the catch? Well, those four days won’t be easy. The study, published in The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports put a group of healthy but overweight men on a low-calorie, high-exercise plan. The men ate just 360 calories a day—a reduction of about 1,800 calories from their norms—all in liquid form, either a sugary drink or a high-protein one.
Then came the exercise—a 45-minute strength workout that consisted of cranking an arm-pedaling machine, followed by an eight-hour walk (yes, you read that right). The men were allowed one 10-minute break every hour and as much of a low-calorie beverage as they wanted.
Sound grueling? Most of the participants didn’t think so, experiencing only minor joint pain and blisters. According to the study’s lead researcher José Calbet, most of the men “were surprised that it was easier than they thought it would be,” and none dropped out or complained of hunger.
After four days of this routine, each participant—regardless of whether he had the high-protein or sugary drink at the start of the workout—had lost almost 11 pounds, half of which came from body fat. Better yet, the pounds stayed off. A month after the experiment, most of the participants had lost an additional two pounds of fat. A year later, most were still down five pounds. “We thought they would overeat and regain the weight lost,” Dr. Calbet said. Since previous statistics on weight loss have all pointed to most people regaining any weight lost (and then some), the results of the study are surprising…and hard to explain. It’s possible, Dr. Calbet says, that the quick success of losing 11 pounds in four days inspired the study participants to jump-start a routine of exercising more and eating less.
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This article was originally published on www.care2.com. Read the original here.
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*Image of “walking“ via Shutterstock
