Rebecca MacFarlane
We’re all familiar with so-called “crash diets”. The type where you resign yourself to a strict regime of broccoli broth and undressed salads for weeks on end. Basically, diets that encourage you to cut out calories altogether.
So many of us have subjected ourselves to these militant eating plans in a desperate attempt to lose weight fast.
And often, it seems to work. At least temporarily. For what many struggle with, is the fact that while these grueling eating schedules help us to lose weight in a short space of time- the actual weight loss is as fleeting as the diet itself. The moment we begin eating like a normal human being again, the pounds start packing right back on, often even worse than before.
Many of us have been there following these diets- we have squeezed ourselves into our favorite pair of jeans, standing in front of the mirror and realized our hips look awfully similar in shape to that blue berry muffin we indulged in yesterday morning. How did we get back to this point??
Frustration and a sense of total defeat settle in, and the broccoli comes out once again. Inevitably, you find yourself caught in a vicious cycle of weight loss and weight gain. There is a reason why these diets are called “The YoYo diets”.
Well, it turns out that this rapid regaining of weight might not be solely due to stopping the diet- but actually due to the effects of the diet on your body itself.
Let’s get straight into it and discuss why these crash diets may actually be jeopardizing your weight goals in the long run. Not only that- but they may actually have a long lasting nasty effect on your overall health.The Human metabolism is an intricate and fascinating, albeit somewhat frustrating system. We don’t always understand it, and we sure as heck don’t always like it. Most importantly, we have to learn to work with it and not against it to achieve our weight loss goals.
Research has shown us that crash diets actually work to slow the metabolism, and if we know anything, it is that a slow metabolism means a struggle with weight gain.
When you choose to crash diet, you are literally starving your body of the nutrients and energy it needs to function properly. At first, you will seem to burn calories fast as your body begins to burn excess fat to use as the Energy it so desperately needs. Once this reserve has been used up, your body is sent into shock, and as a defense mechanism, your metabolism slows down to begin storing and preserving the little nutrients it does receive. This means that even when you stop the diet, your body will continue to store calories at a profound rate. And that, my friends, is why your muffin top is back and looks as if it’s here to stay.
The reason for this is the diets vicious attack on all things calories. Calories are essential to the bodies normal functioning. Calories are what give us the Energy to be able to get up in the morning and grab the metaphorical bull by the horns. Depriving yourself of calories altogether sends your body into a panic state. And we all know, nothing good ever comes from panic.
A good idea- instead of depriving yourself of calories altogether, eat a balanced diet that gives you just the right amount of calories you need to sustain yourself without leading to weight gain.
That being said, there are good calories and there are bad calories. It is still a good idea to avoid refined sugars, excessive sweets and other saturated fats like deep fried and processed foods. Calories to say yes to include nuts, fruits and vegetables. Whole wheat breads and other grains like brown rice are also a yes.
You will have far more luck and good health following a balanced diet plan than following a crash diet that refuses to distinguish between these good and bad calories.
I cringe when I hear some so-called “fitness experts” telling people not to eat fruit because it contains calories. That somehow a banana is a cheat meal and an indulgence that one should feel guilty about. Be clear on what calories will harm and which will actually help. This is the basis of a balanced diet.
I would even go as far as to say that eating a balanced diet is not actually a diet at all. Not in the traditional sense. Rather, it should simply be called eating as one should. No unhealthy extremes involved.
Over and above slowing your metabolism and if that wasn’t enough to put you off already, crash diets are now also being scrutinised for their potential damaging effects on the immune system and heart.
According to New York Cardiologist Dr Isadore Rosenfeld, frequent crash dieting increases your risk of suffering a heart attack by placing stress on your heart due to dangerously low potassium levels and other nutrients essential to healthy heart functioning. He also believes that crash dieting weakens your immune system in the long run, due to the fact that it deprives your body of these essential nutrients. Many health experts are beginning to dance to this same tune and ushering people away from crash diets in favour of a balanced eating plan.
So just as over eating can take a nasty toll on your health- so can under eating. Specifically, cutting calories from your diet altogether. Moral of the story- any extreme is bad. Life is better in the middle.
