ZUMBA's New Express Diet - Lose 9 Pounds in 5 Days?
Posted on Aug 21st 2009 2:00PM by Mary Kearl
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| Photo: Courtesy of Hachette Book Group, Inc. |
That's Fit: What separates Zumba classes and workouts from other routines?
Beto Perez: One word -- fun. Most people who begin taking Zumba used to hate exercising. Because they enjoy and look forward to their Zumba classes, it makes it much easier to stick with it. There is also a lot of variety involved in Zumba because of all the different dance styles used from merengue and salsa, to rumba and reggaeton.
That's Fit: How can more serious athletes and gym rats benefit from Zumba workouts?
Perez: Even serious athletes can benefit from a change in their routine and using muscles they usually don't work out. Zumba has a lot of core and oblique work, muscles that are sometimes neglected. Zumba burns as many calories as any other intensive group exercise class.
That's Fit: Can you explain the "5-Day Express Diet" and how its claim of "losing up to nine pounds in five days" can be healthy?
Maggie Greenwood-Robinson, Ph.D.: The "Zumba 5-Day Express Diet" is a tool to give you a jump-start on weight loss. It does take pounds off quickly -- a benefit that is a motivator to dieters. Many people find that losing a lot of pounds initially provides an incentive to stick with a more moderate weight-loss plan like the Zumba Diet. You can also use the "5-Day Express Diet" to break a plateau or lose a little extra weight for a special event. Some of your weight loss on this diet will be water, but seeing a drop on the scale -- water or fat or both -- is definitely a motivator.
When followed on a short-term basis (no more than five days), the "5-Day Express Diet" is healthy. It does allow for lots of vegetables and fruits -- which most people should be eating anyway -- plus protein and other natural foods. When people have followed this diet, they have lost up to nine pounds; some lose less, like two pounds. Keep in mind that some of the loss is water, but cosmetically, water weight can hide fat loss and be particularly frustrating. Fluid retention is never good, because it puts a strain on the body. So losing water weight is beneficial.
Learn more about water weight -- and how to lose it -- at AOL Health.














