Posts Tagged ‘crash diet’

The Truth About Crash Diets

Monday, August 15th, 2011

If you are overweight, you probably know that you need to change, but a crash diet is never a good idea.

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.

Here are some of the reasons why crash diets don’t work -
The body reacts to the severe reduction in calories 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.

Instead you should aim You to set realistic targets to avoid failure and achieve successful weight loss.