Why Crash Diet is Not a Wise Weight Loss Plan

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The Biggest Loser surely sent up hype in the media and television scene as contenders hustled and wrestled their way to lose pounds. Its success sparked inspiration to a lot of hopefuls who have been in constant battle with weight loss. Having seen way ‘fatter’ contestants move their way up to extremely successful weight loss stories got us all blinded with the pitfalls of crash diet. The Biggest Loser pulled desperate eating disorder tricks and abruptly destroyed metabolisms masked in global media entertainment.

Losing 4 pounds in a month is inspiring. Losing it in a week is dangerous. Adopting unhealthy practices for extreme weight loss is not an effective way to lose weight. One of the main pitfalls of crash dieting would be dehydration since you’ll be working out and restraining yourself from food for at least fifteen hours. If this is already what is at stake in less than a day, just imagine the danger crash dieting could pose say, in a month. This article will show you why crash dieting is a major no-no and some of the alternatives that you should explore instead.

Crash Dieting Dangers

Most nutritionists and cardiologists, among others, oppose crash dieting. They say that low-calorie diet regimens are theoretically fallacious. Crash diet doesn’t lead to faster metabolism nor does it help in waste elimination.

Studies suggest that a very rapid weight loss will slow down body metabolism (contrary to what people believe in) which will lead to faster weight gain when not sustained. Moreover, it will also deprive your body of essential nutrients and will literally crush your immune system. Cardiologists state that a crash diet done just once will not hurt but a crash diet done repeatedly will surely increase risk of heart palpitations and cardiac arrest.

The list goes on and it includes even more dangerous offshoots. One of these would be nutritional deficiency causing under secretion of hormones affecting mood stability. This could lead to depression. People who have experienced crash dieting also report being lethargic, having intense cravings and increased irritability.

A set of long term effects caused by crash dieting could not also be dismissed. Some of these would be greater risks to eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Because of nutrient deficiency, people undergoing crash diet might also latently suffer from osteoporosis, liver or kidney failure and stroke.

Crash Diet Plans to Avoid

With the aforementioned negative effects of crash dieting, here are some specific crash diet plans to avoid.

  1. Carbo loading. A crash diet involving carbo loading is framed on the principle that carbohydrates must be eaten early in daytime so that everything will be burnt come night time. This could only work out after intensive exercise when the body needs carbs to stabilize sugar levels and turning them into muscle buildup. During other times of the day, carbs will only be stored as fat.
  2. Baby food diet. Eating like an infant is the biggest blunder in crash diet. Famously known as the secret regimen of Hollywood stars, eating seven spoons per meal will crush your body down. Aside from developing eating disorders, you are also depriving your body of the essential nutrients to break down. This is too extreme. So much that 60 people have become seriously ill after believing that this kind of diet was endorsed by a celebrity.
  3. French Atkins diet. The allure of this diet comes from its promise of a 10 pound loss in seven days. This is composed of lean protein, a lot of oat bran and unlimited veggies. The problem however, is that prolonging this diet pattern will cost you a huge amount of Vitamin B12. This will also delay the synthesis of ketones needed for cognitive functioning.

Alternatives to Crash Diet

Now that the odds of subscribing to a crash diet have been narrowed down, it is time to present some healthy alternatives for you to try.

  1. Regulated fruit diet. A fruit diet does not mean that you are only allowed to eat apples. This kind of weight loss plan suggests that you should eat fruits first in the morning to supply you with the needed fiber to normalize metabolism. It also frames that when cravings arise, grab for some fruits instead of unhealthy snacks.
  2. Stay away from processed sugars. When considering a juice diet, make sure that you do not include the ones with fructose. Fructose syrups and refined carbohydrates do not really help your diet. Rather, just splurge on lean meat and whole grains on a well-modulated manner.
  3. Balanced diet and healthy exercise are still on top. A little thing of this and a little thing of that will make a balanced diet possible. Explore meal plans outlined by trusted dieticians. You may also make your own meal plans by getting a list of calorie counts on the foods you eat. Alongside these, never forget a 20-30 minute exercise every day.

Conclusion

The adverse effects of crash diet weigh more than its proposed benefits. Successful weight loss stories do not depend on the number of pounds lost in a week but on the total number of pounds lost gradually. At the end of the day, the secret to a healthy weight loss plan is still discipline, balanced diet and exercise. Rushing your way to losing weight is never a wise decision. Weight loss breeds patience as patience leads to weight loss.

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Editorial Staff at Soulful Arogya is a team of bloggers led by Sandeep Mallya.

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