The facts of crash dieting when brought into the limelight may seem exciting and worth trying out, but when the effects of this settle in overtime, you won’t be as happy about the results and side effects. We take an in depth look into what crash dieting is all about, and what it can do to you over a period of time…
If there’s one thing I know a person is desperate for, is being extremely thin or obsessing over how much more weight he / she would have to lose to get ‘skinny’. A lot of people are now looking for quick ways on how to shed the pounds and get slimming. Although there are many effective ways on losing weight the right way, over a gradual period of course, some people take another route to achieve this.
Sadly this road often tread on leads to the infamous crash diet. People know that the weight loss is evident and guaranteed, but they have no idea what a toll the system takes as a result of going on an irrational starvation period. The stark truth behind crash dieting is that these are effective in making the body lose volume, but a huge misconception is that the body drops pounds due to fat loss.
The weight is trimmed off very noticeably in the first week itself for those who go on a crash diet. This happens when you immediately subject the body to less food without warning, making those pounds melt off. The weight loss here is not proper weight taken away, that has nothing to do with fat. The clincher here is that the body burns off excess glycogen which is a kind of glucose that absorbs fluid within the body.
The water loss then being apparent, is what one will immediately conceive as being a way of the body losing ‘weight’ when in fact it is just water weight. The weight loss is swift in the beginning, but slows down as you progress into the diet, where any change in your routine will pack on the pounds so fast you won’t even know what hit you. This is what is then called ‘the yo-yo effect‘.
The yo-yo effect occurs when the body’s metabolism has been altered and entirely messed up with. The metabolic rate slows down when one goes on a crash diet, therefore making it harder to lose weight. That is why health experts encourage people to have 6 small meals a day to keep one’s metabolic rate running. Weight is constantly decreasing and increasing, without it lowering at a consistent rate. People on low-calorie diets or those that promise sooner results, will notice a drop in their metabolic rate.
What Effects Do Crash Diets Have on the Body?
There are of course crash diets that work, but if one wanted to lose weight in a quick and healthy way, then going on an all inclusively healthy diet plan would work best. Following a balanced meal is important to give the body all it needs in a nutshell without compromising on your health. To do this, going to a dietitian to give you a structured plan on how to lose weight would seem a better option than opting for a crash diet.
The effects that take place as a result of crash dieting are:
- Cholesterol levels fluctuate dangerously
- Mineral and vitamin deficiencies are apparent
- Irritability
- Strain is applied to vital organs like the liver and kidneys
- Depression
- Lowered energy levels
- Feeling faint, weak, or dizzy
- Can lead to heart problems causing strokes or heart attacks
- Hair loss is evident
- Tissue and lean muscles deteriorate
- Gallstones can occur
- Osteoporosis
- Metabolism dips low
- Eating disorders can be developed
- Dehydration
Crash dieting is not a path that one should follow, because this can seriously turn against you as time lapses. These diets are disguised behind elaborate declarations of miracle pills, expensive diet plans that promise results and unrealistic approaches that are just very deceiving. One has to stay clear of these crash dieting portals and rely only on healthy ways of losing weight. Have a safe tomorrow.
