There are many diets that promise quick weight loss in a short time. But to lose weight quickly forcing these diets you basically let your body starve for the appropriate nutrients. However, why they do not work? If eating a lot is why you are gaining weight, then you should not lose weight by not eating? Here are some reasons why starvation diets do not work and are unhealthy.
A little energy
For a low calorie diet will lead to a big weight loss in a short time, you need to drastically reduce your calorie intake. Sometimes this is as little as 500 calories per day. The reason this is dangerous is that it then becomes virtually impossible to get enough of all the nutrients that the body needs to function.
The brain can only use glucose (carbohydrates) as energy and it needs about 400 calories a day. On a starvation diet, the brain will have to compete with the body of the small amount of energy is available. The result is that both your physical and mental performance suffers. This can make it difficult to cope with daily activities and affect your studies or work very negatively. With a daily caloric intake of 500 calories, you will not have enough energy to exercise or perform any other physical activities.
Temporary weight loss
The reason why starvation diets lead to reduced weight is salt. Because you will eat very little food during a low calorie diet, salt intake will also be dramatically reduced. Salt is needed for the body to retain water. When you get too little salt, the body will excrete more water than normal, causing you to lose weight. But since the lost weight mostly composed of water, the weight gets back as soon as you start eating normally again.
Starvation diets are not an effective way to get rid of fat. If you consume very little calories (less than 1200 per day) will reduce metabolism. The body goes into a ‘starvation mode to conserve energy because it thinks that there will not be so much food in a while. This was an advantage that helped our hunter / gatherer ancestors to survive when food availability was limited. What that means for you is that you will burn fewer calories. Despite sharply reduced calorie intake, you will not lose as much weight as you had hoped.
How to prevent the metabolism from slowing down?
Do not reduce your calorie intake too much. Calculate your calorie needs and aim to create a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day. Make sure that the calorie deficit is largely due to increased physical activity. It is possible to lose weight just by eating less, but it’s not a good idea. Exercise also has many other beneficial effects on the body, which makes you feel healthier, stronger and faster.
Do not restrict calorie intake each day. If your goal is to have a calorie deficit of 3500 calories per week (equivalent to about one pound of fat) so you can split it in 6 days, and then eat normally on the seventh day. Losing weight by starving yourself does not work. It can quickly lead to some pound weight loss in the beginning, but as soon as you return to eating normally the weight back within a few days. The best way to lose weight is through a moderate decrease in caloric intake with exercise. It leads to a healthy and lasting weight loss.
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