# losing 15 pounds in one month, unhealthy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-15-pounds-in-one-month-unhealthy/288991 "2005-02-08T14:31:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-15-pounds-in-one-month-unhealthy/288991/21 "2016-04-11T01:32:47Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > You may have a different definition of “minimal” than most people. Any major, sustained change in activity level, such as going from a desk job to an active job (or vice versa) will have a significant affect on metabolism. So will being outside for several hours in cold weather. Nope, you’re burning more calories during this sustained activity but you’re not doing much to your baseline metabolism. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-15-pounds-in-one-month-unhealthy/288991/22 "2016-04-11T01:35:17Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > The easiest way to change your basal metabolic rate is to either spend time in a cold environment (if you keep your house at 50 degrees your metabolic rate will skyrocket) Cite for “skyrocket”? Doing these things only tweaks your metabolism at best. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-15-pounds-in-one-month-unhealthy/288991/23 "2016-04-11T01:36:20Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Also, at least for me, taking a B-100 vitamin every day significantly ramps up my metabolism. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-15-pounds-in-one-month-unhealthy/288991/24 "2016-04-11T01:43:32Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > The easiest way to change your basal metabolic rate is to either spend time in a cold environment (if you keep your house at 50 degrees your metabolic rate will skyrocket) or to visit the gym and put on a lot of muscle (muscle eats calories constantly just to maintain itself). > Eating habits only minimally affect the basal metabolic rate. Eating a low fat calorie restricted diet has been shown to reduce basal metabolic rate but high or moderate fat restricted calorie diets do not. I’ve yet to read anything too conclusive re the “cold for weight loss” idea. It looks like it _does_ positively impact metabolism but only slightly. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-15-pounds-in-one-month-unhealthy/288991/25 "2016-04-11T02:41:28Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > I think the health risks of rapid weight loss are over-stated. I worked on a project several years ago (meaning, I have cites but it might take me weeks to find them) that showed that formerly healthy adult victims of natural disasters/famines could rapidly lose up to 25% of their body weight and suffer from no ill effects after being rescued and fed. In addition, obese individuals who must undergo surgery are sometimes put on severe diets to force them to rapidly lose as much as weight as possible in order to increase the odds that they will survive the surgery. > > However, most people who rapidly lose weight via dieting simply regain it after they end their diet. The slow and steady form of weight loss works better simply because it allows the person to develop new, long-lasting habits of food intake and exercise. It really doesn’t matter, both approaches are equally terrible for weight maintenance. The rapid losers actually were more likely to stick with their weight loss though. > **[Losing weight quickly is just as good (or bad) as losing it gradually](https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-rapid-vs-gradual-weight-loss-20141016-story.html)** > > When it comes to dieting, the conventional wisdom holds that losing weight gradually is more sustainable in the long run than losing weight quickly. > [@](#): > > Of the 127 volunteers who completed the study, all but six – five who lost weight rapidly and one who lost weight gradually – started to gain back some of the pounds they had shed. Those who started with the extreme diet lost a little more than 32 pounds after the initial 12-week period but gained back 23 of them. And those who lost weight gradually dropped 31.5 pounds after 36 weeks but gained back 22 of them. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-15-pounds-in-one-month-unhealthy/288991/26 "2016-04-11T02:50:00Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I’ve yet to read anything too conclusive re the “cold for weight loss” idea. It looks like it _does_ positively impact metabolism but only slightly. > **[Hot Trend: Tapping the Power of Cold to Lose Weight](https://www.wired.com/2013/02/ff-cold-weight-loss/)** > > Exposing the body to cold can be a radically effective spur for losing weight, leading one DIY researcher to formulate an algorithm, app, or wearable device to tap the transformative power of cold. > [@](#): > > In March 2012, Cronise turned off his home thermostat, opened his windows, and spent one month letting in the cool outdoor air. He measured his resting metabolic rate every morning. His body burned 22.5 percent more calories in the cooler air, without any change in diet or exercise. He was, in theory, losing weight while he was sleeping. But Cronise wanted better, less anecdotal data. That is all I could find. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-15-pounds-in-one-month-unhealthy/288991/27 "2016-04-11T02:56:39Z")
Last spring, due to a sudden health crisis, I lost 40 lbs. in 6 weeks; that’s about a pound a day, while being totally sedentary. I suffered no ill effects from the weight loss, and gained back about 15 lbs. over the following two months, and have held steady since. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-15-pounds-in-one-month-unhealthy/288991/28 "2016-04-11T03:07:13Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Last spring, due to a sudden health crisis, I lost 40 lbs. in 6 weeks; that’s about a pound a day, while being totally sedentary. I suffered no ill effects from the weight loss, and gained back about 15 lbs. over the following two months, and have held steady since. How much were you eating? A pound of fat has 3500 calories in it, but a pound of muscle only has about 600 or so. A person can lose a lot of weight in water and muscle even if their caloric deficit isn’t very big. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/losing-15-pounds-in-one-month-unhealthy/288991.md?page=1)