Fact! Fad Diets Don’t Work

Not eating, or any kind of starvation diet does not work, long term. In the end you pile on more weight.

A single day’s fast poses no serious threat for healthy adults; longer fasts (more than 24 hours) can have grave results. Whether it’s a ‘water-only’ fast used to detox, skipping meals or surviving on only cabbage soup or grapefruit, the body only recognises one thing; starvation. When you don’t consume enough calories to sustain essential functions (such as keeping the heart beating or the lungs breathing), the body reacts by drawing on its own reserves to provide energy. This puts your body under stress (not rest) and is certainly not the answer to a permanent loss of weight.

What you should be doing is finding ways of burning more calories. Therein lies the way towards losing weight and gaining fitness.

1) Not eating does lose weight initially, but for how long?
With normal eating, the principal fuel for the body is glucose. The brain, in particular, must receive a constant supply of glucose in order to function properly. During a period of calorie restriction, glucose, which is stored in the liver as glycogen, is used first to supply energy. When it is broken down water is released as well. It is this fluid which is lost in the first few days of a fast.

The results of starvation diets and fasting
This weight loss won’t last. When normal eating is resumed, glucose and water stores will be replenished and the original body weight will be attained. The rapid loss of fluid can also lead to the loss of electrolytes and dehydration, so the only things that are ‘cleansed’ from the body are the minerals needed for muscle contractions, nerve transmissions, regulation of body fluids and other physiological functions. The sudden drop in sugar in the blood, as glycogen stores are diminished, will result in tiredness, confusion and mood swings. These are the symptoms that are often mistakenly thought to be the first step in the cleansing process of a detox diet.

2) Eating fewer calories loses muscle and fluid
Only enough glycogen (energy) is stored in the liver to last for one day, so when fasting lasts longer than 24 hours, the body will then turn to muscle to produce glucose for energy. After following a very low-calorie diet or fast for one week, 30% of the total weight loss is muscle and the rest is fluid. The amount of muscle in the body sets your metabolic rate (the rate at which you burn calories). So, as muscle is lost, less metabolic work is performed, saving calories and hence energy. In short, your rate of weight loss will slow down.

When calorie levels are increased to a normal level, weight gain will be faster... you may even end up heavier than before you began dieting!

In fact, most two-to-three day crash diets that claim to burn fat only burn away metabolically active muscle tissue and actually hinder long-term weight loss. The same applies when skipping meals.

The results
After your crash diet, when calorie levels are increased to a normal level, weight gain will be faster and the weight will come back as fat, since your metabolic rate has slowed, and you may even end up heavier than before you began dieting! The loss of muscle will have an effect on your ability to maintain weight loss in the long term, unless muscle is regained by exercising.

Fasting makes you tired
Body protein provides most of the energy needed in the first days of a fast, but after that the body will adapt to using fat for energy in an attempt to preserve muscle. Your fat is then metabolised to ketones, which can be used by the brain for energy. However, prolonged inadequate carbohydrate intake results in the build-up of ketones, which become toxic, resulting in a condition called ketosis. This causes the kidneys and liver to become burdened with toxic waste from the breakdown of fat and muscle tissue and the body’s normal functions are disrupted. Ketosis can cause fatigue, constipation, nausea and vomiting. The potential long-term side effects of ketosis include heart disease, bone loss and kidney damage. In addition, the lack of calories will deprive your body of essential vitamins and minerals so hair, nails and skin will show signs of deterioration. Ironically, if you’re using fasting as a means of detoxifying or cleansing the body, you will actually be achieving the opposite effect.

The safe way to lose weight:

1) Eat breakfast
Kick-starts your metabolism after your body has been deprived of food throughout the night.

2) Snack often
Eating smaller, frequent meals will keep your metabolism working throughout the day.

3) Exercise
Cardio fitness activities (walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, aerobics, dancing) speed up your metabolism for several hours after your workout.

4) Lift weights
This activity will build and tone muscle, which burns up to five times more calories than fat (even when your body is at rest). More muscle means more calories burned and more weight lost over time.

5) DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

And FINALLY
Fasting and fad diets can be very dangerous for individuals with chronic conditions such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, liver or kidney disease, infection or pregnancy. Please do think carefully before you embark on a ‘fad’diet, consult your GP or a nutritionist if you have a medial condition or any concerns.