A crash diet is a way to lose a large amount of weight in a short amount of time. That might seem like a good thing, in fact for a lot of people, a crash diet is the perfect way to lose weight. Unfortunately, that’s not the case; crash diets are unbelievably unhealthy, but more importantly, they don’t work in the long run. Here are more than a handful of reasons why a crash diet won’t work:
Illusion of Success
Crash diets are exciting during the first few days because it does cause a significant amount of weight loss; the only problem is that most of that weight loss isn’t a reduction in fat, it’s a reduction of water weight. The first few days of a crash diet involves the depletion of glycogen stores, which uses up a large amount of your body’s water. Crash dieters might experience a few days of success, then find that their weight loss rate slows down significantly, even if they are still following the same strict diet.
Not Sustainable
Many physicians have noted that people who experience extreme weight loss actually end up going through massive weight fluctuations. Why does this happen? It’s possible that extreme weight loss triggers your body’s preservative mechanisms which then slows your metabolism down. This extreme response leads to your body burning less and less fat, and people end up regaining the weight they lost, or even worse, gaining more weight than they started with.
Mental Malaise
Crash diets don’t just wreck your body; they can affect you psychologically too. Crash diets reduce your body’s energy and nutrient stores, leaving dieters tired and cranky all the time. Having little energy and nutrients can also impair your brain’s ability to think clearly—which can have drastic effects on dieters in school or work.
Hurting Your Heart
According to one cardiologist, a crash diet can greatly increase the risk of a heart attack; unfortunately, a crash diet can deprive you of potassium, magnesium, and copper, which can then increase your chances of developing an arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeats. A crash diet is all about limiting the amount of food you eat, and in return, limiting the number of nutrients you eat. Weight loss can be an important goal, but it should never get in the way of you getting the proper amount of protein and nutrients every day.
The medical world is slowly finding out that crash “low calorie” diets can be dangerous as well. But there’s still hope, however, medically-supervised weight loss programs like the ones at Total Body can provide you with a safe, effective method for getting healthy. Contact them now for a consultation.
