The truth about crash diets
Okay, your overweight, you know you need to change, but a crash diet is never a good idea.
We all have unrealistic targets thrown into our lives just when we’re not expecting them, a wedding, an anniversary or even worse, a beach holiday!
The simple fact is that you may be able to maintain a crash diet for a short period, however there is a significant likelihood that you will soon regain the weight, returning to your pre-crash diet weight.
Crash diets don’t work for the following reasons.
The body reacts physiologically to severely reduced energy intake by reducing its metabolic rate.
In simple terms, the body reduces the amount of energy required for normal functioning when it is starved of food. This slows down the rate at which calories are ‘burned up’ meaning that if you significantly reduce your food intake, your body simply burns fewer calories.
When more energy is required by your body for metabolic and other functions, (these are the basic functions of your body, breathing etc). The body will simply burn muscle tissue, rather than fat.
Research shows that most people who embark upon a very low calorie diet may lose weight rapidly, but fail to sustain the weight loss over the medium-long term.
You should always aim to set realistic targets instead. Unrealistic targets are parts of the yo-yo diet culture, they perpetuate the cycle of failure and very quickly de-motivate you.
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