When we eat less, we loose weight
. However, is this kind of weight loss really worth it? Adding restrictions to what one eats just causes lack of essential nutrients making us feel weak and exhausted.
Gradual weight loss is better than crash dieting because a person is more likely to gain back the weight lost through crash dieting. In crash dieting, a person is loosing stored carbohydrate glycogen and not fat. Their body enters starvation mode and several health risks are associated with that.
The video below, lists the health risks associated with crash dieting and outlines the benefits of gradual weight loss.
Short-term health risks include feeling exhausted, irritable, stressed and craving for food all the time. Dieting does not provide ones body with required vitamins and minerals and hence, the person experiences fatigue all day. On the other hand, long-term risks of crash dieting include osteoporosis (weakening of bones due to lack of calcium in diet) and eating disorders like anorexia (food restrictions despite having a thin figure) and bulimia (eating large amounts of food in a short period of time).
Crash dieting allows for faster weight loss however, the more weight one looses through a starvation diet, the more their metabolism slows. Hence, slower metabolism means more chances of weight gain in the future as normal diet begins. As a result, healthy eating and staying active are the two main factors for healthy weight loss. One should aim for gradual weight loss i.e., loosing 2-3 pounds a week rather than losing 10 pounds a week through crash dieting.
Body dissatisfaction is one of the main causes of crash dieting. We often compare our body size and structure to other people and judge ourselves without realizing that each person is different and has their own body type. A person maybe lean and skinny while another weighing the same may be broad structured. So, before comparing our body size to others we should keep in mind that we all are different and we should accept our body the way it is. We should not put our lives in jeopardy by adding on the extra stress and pressure through crash dieting. Research has stated that many cycles of crash dieting may cause organ failure as our vital organs don’t get enough energy to function and they begin to burn tissues of heart, leading to heart failure in future.
Therefore, stay happy and active and never do crash dieting. Love your body the way it is and gift it with proper nutritional food. Never compare yourself to others and loose weight through starvation. Choose gradual weight loss over crash dieting and than see how satisfying the results are.
– Harrimal Cheema
