Kim Kardashian's claim that she lost 16 pounds in 3 weeks for the Met Gala would require extreme and dangerous dieting, a dietitian says
Kim Kardashian said she cut carbs and lost 16 pounds in 3 weeks to fit into her Met Gala dress.
Dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine told Insider her comments are "dangerous" and such drastic weight loss is not recommended.
You don't need to cut out carbs to lose weight, and it can lead to water weight loss, not necessarily fat loss.
Kim Kardashian said she lost 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into her dress for this year's Met Gala.
Kardashian wore the iconic "naked" dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing "Happy Birthday" to John F. Kennedy in 1962, but crash dieted to fit into it, Insider's Anneta Konstantinides reported.
The reality TV star told Vogue she cut out sugar and carbs to drop weight, but dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine told Insider this isn't healthy or necessary to lose weight, and carb cutting can result in water weight loss, not fat loss.
"I didn't starve myself, but I was so strict," Kardashian said. "Just the cleanest veggies and protein."
Ludlam-Raine said comments like Kardashian's can be "dangerous to vulnerable people," such as those with an eating disorder, and recommends slower, more sustainable weight loss.
Dietitians are qualified and regulated health professionals who work both with individual clients to create specialized nutrition and eating plans, as well as on a public-health level, to boost health and manage disease.
Cutting carbs can lead to water weight loss, not fat loss
In addition to cutting out carbs and sugar, Kardashian said she ran on a treadmill and wore a sauna suit twice a day, causing the body to sweat and lose more water.
Ludlam-Raine said these factors, combined with cutting carbs, could lead to mostly water weight loss.
"I would go far as saying it's impossible to lose 16 lbs of fat in three weeks," she said.
When carbs and sugars are cut from the diet, the body loses water and glycogen (carb) stores from the liver and muscles, which fill back up fast as soon as you start eating normally again, Ludlam-Raine said.
For every one gram of carbs we eat, our body holds on to three to four grams of water (unlike with protein and fats), which means that no-carb diets often make people think they've lost fat, but it's actually mainly water, she said.
Cutting carbs is not recommended for healthy weight loss
You don't need to cut carbs to lose weight, and it's not recommended.
"It's not sustainable to cut out all carbs (and sugar) long term, as they're what our body and brain uses as fuel," Ludlam-Raine said.
Carbs provide energy, fiber, nutrients and phytochemicals which keep the body healthy and functioning optimally.
If you want to lose fat, cutting carbs isn't advised as it can lead to the body breaking down muscle for energy instead, nutrition coach Dr. Mike Molloy previously told Insider.
Restricting foods you enjoy can also lead to a "binge-restrict" cycle, Ludlam-Raine said, where you end up overeating a food you've banned from your diet.
Kardashian posted on her Instagram story after the Met Gala that she was "so excited" to eat pizza and donuts for the first time in weeks.
"What we eat should fuel both our body and soul, healthy eating is about balance and sustainability, whilst being happy with what you're eating too," Ludlam-Raine said.
Healthy weight loss is around 1 to 2 pounds a week
One pound of fat holds around 3,500 calories, which is why most health experts recommend losing around one to two pounds a week, Ludlam-Raine said.
The more weight you have to lose, the faster you can expect to lose it, so if you're already lean, healthy weight loss might be more like two lbs a month.
To lose weight healthily, aim to eat in a gentle calorie deficit of around 500 calories a day, Ludlam-Raine said.
Bear in mind, however, that fat loss is affected by multiple factors, such as hormones, and scale weight can fluctuate for various reasons.
To avoid regaining weight, slower weight loss is advised by fat loss coaches.
"Anything that's super extreme is ultimately designed to fail," Molloy told Insider. "Using relatively extreme approaches, you're simply setting yourself up for a rebound in the long-term."
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