Metabolism to Mental Health: 7 Ways Losing Weight Too Fast Will Backfire (3 of 4)

You may start losing muscle and not fat

Just because you are dropping weight doesn’t mean it is actually fat. You could be losing muscle. “When we lose weight, we want to get rid of true adipose tissue. Not muscle mass. I’ve never met someone who complained about having a higher percentage of body muscle,” says Jessica Crandall Snyder, a registered dietitian, and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

You could suffer from dehydration

The first two weeks may help you see a lot of weight loss due to water weight. “Especially on low-carb or no-carb diets, folks will lose a lot of water weight,” says Taub-Dix. This is especially true for fads like the keto diet. This rapid weight loss through water weight is dangerous because of the risk of dehydration. This is why it is essential to couple your weight loss strategies with plenty of hydration.