March 29, 2024, 7:44 am


FARZANA

Published:
2018-07-22 21:37:13 BdST

You win some, you lose more


FT ONLINE

Crash dieting is bad for your health. Instead, make long-term nutrition plans that suit your body. Everyone is unique and should have a nutrition plan that suits their lifestyle.

The Internet is always evolving and so are newer and faster ways to lose weight. If you Google ‘How to lose X kgs in Y days’ you will no doubt find numerous links sending you to websites with diet plans ranging from the ‘Keto’ and ‘Paleo’ diets to the good old calorie counting diets which don’t really specify ‘what’ to eat but rather instruct you on ‘how much’ to eat.

These diets while seemingly effective in the short-run have dire long-term consequences. A ‘yo-yo’ diet i.e. losing and gaining weight at a fast rate is not good for your body or mind.

Here’s why diets that promise quick weight loss are a bad idea.

Fat Free?

It is difficult for your body to get rid of a large amount of fat in a small amount of time due to which most of the weight that is lost is either mass, which is extremely hard to regain, or water weight, which can cause dehydration.

Stone age

Rapid weight loss plans have a little number of carbohydrates in them. This causes a severe lack of energy and ability to partake in physical exercise. Muscles can work best only when provided with sufficient carbs. Rapid weight loss can cause the formation of hard deposits of cholesterol in the gallbladder.

This is usually harmless but can cause a lot of discomfort, nausea and serious abdominal pain. The lack of fat in the diet can cause bile to get concentrated in the organ and cause gallstones.

Don’t curb the carbs

Most weight loss plans have a little number of carbohydrates in them. This causes a severe lack of energy and ability to partake in physical exercise. Muscles can work best only when provided with sufficient carbs.

You can have it all!

A lot of diets are restrictive to the point that they lack most of the important vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. This can leave you feeling tired, fatigued and can lead to a compromised immune system, making it easier for you to fall ill.

Under pressure

One of the advantages of weight loss is a fall in blood pressure. However, if the weight loss is rapid, it could lead to a major decrease in blood pressure, which can leave you feeling light-headed and dizzy

Don’t ‘lose’ out

Losing weight fast can cause loose skin on the arms, legs and abdomen area. This is because the skin did not have enough time to contract with the rest of the body and lost some of its elasticity. This may not be harmful but can cause uncomfortable chafing to the skin.

Time doesn’t heal all wounds

Rapid weight loss causes a decrease in the level of the hormone leptin in the body. This hormone is what makes us feel full and is released from our fat stores. Due to this feeling of fullness, we eat less. However, as you lose weight the level of leptin decreases leading to an increase in appetite, which further leads to rapid weight gain. This has its set of consequences

Bye Bye-ceps

You may face the problem of muscle loss. As you lose weight, you not only lose fat but also mass. Mass and muscle are harder to gain than fat, so with an increase in appetite, fat is regained but a lot of muscle is lost.

Listen to your heart

Your heart is negatively affected by rapid weight loss and gain. Fluctuating weight increases the risk of heart diseases. Crash diets cause micro tears in blood vessels and create a base for atherosclerosis and other cardiac problems.

Can’t handle the pressure

Weight gain, especially after dieting has shown signs of increased blood pressure. What’s worse is that yo-yo diets may also curb the positive effects of weight loss on blood pressure in the long run.

Stress & eating

The cycle of losing and gaining weight can be extremely frustrating. It not only affects your physical health but your mental health as well. The constant pressure of losing weight or not being able to lose weight can cause a lot of stress and frustration, which in turn can negatively affect weight loss.

Over to you

Most diets that are followed are time or goal bound, i.e. either the number of months is given or the amount of weight to be lost. What this does is give you rules to follow but only for a certain amount of time.

Once that time period is over, you tend to go back into our old habits that caused our weight to increase in the first place. Instead of following regimes that help you lose weight at a fast rate, you should start thinking about lifestyle and not about diet. Make long-term nutrition plans that suit your body. Everyone is unique and should have a nutrition plan that suits their lifestyle.

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