6 Reasons Why Crash Diets Do More Harm Than Good
Contents
- Six reasons why crash diets do more harm than good
- 1. They mess with your metabolism
- 2. They are not sustainable
- 3. They encourage an unhealthy mindset
- 4. They can rob your body of essential nutrients
- 5. They can put you at risk of heart complications
- 6. They can result in muscle loss... not fat loss
- Conclusion
- Sources
The desire to get in shape doesn’t often go hand in hand with patience. When we decide we want to make the change to get a bit trimmer, a crash diet can be incredibly tempting but it does not equate to a healthy and successful diet.
However, crash diets are mere smoke and mirrors. They don’t work. And if they do, the results won’t last.
Before we get started, what's our definition of a crash diet? Any eating plan that drastically cuts your calorie intake (for example, below about 1,000 calories a day), cuts out whole food groups or relies on meal replacements such as shakes.
Medically supervised very low-calorie diets are a separate case. They are prescribed for some people with obesity and need a doctor's oversight.
Basically, any extreme diet which you cannot sustain for more than a few weeks. A healthy diet is full of nutritious foods, with limited added sugars, saturated fat and alcohol: your standard balanced diet.
Six reasons why crash diets do more harm than good
1. They mess with your metabolism
By putting your body under the stress of an extreme diet, then relapsing back into “normal” or even binge eating, your metabolism gets very confused. When you cut energy intake sharply, your body adapts by burning somewhat fewer calories, and losing muscle lowers your calorie needs further.
That makes the lost weight easier to regain once you go back to normal eating.
Here are some simple ways to protect your metabolism:
- Add weight training to your workout plan. Muscle mass increases your metabolism (plus you’ll feel strong and look lean)
- Choose filling, protein-rich meals and snacks (raw nuts, canned tuna and veggies with hummus are good options) so you aren't running on empty
- Remember that weight loss requires you to eat, so don’t be afraid to fill your plate with bright, fresh, close-to-the-source produce and lean proteins
2. They are not sustainable
A lifestyle change should be something you can adopt into your life and sustain long-term. It should be something which makes you feel good, strong, healthy and happy.
Crash diets do the opposite.
Sure, you may feel a temporary thrill when you feel as though you’ve lost weight, but that weight is likely to be water or muscle loss. After that thrill you’ll begin to feel fed up, tired, irritable and hungry. Then, you’ll get so frustrated and worn down that you’ll binge on junk food and feel terrible about yourself.
That’s the cycle of a crash diet. It lasts a while, then eventually crumbles away. That’s not your fault. It’s not a matter of weakness if you can’t sustain a crash diet. The crash diet was not a good choice in the first place.
Make small, sensible changes over a longer period of time. It's far better to lose 10 pounds of fat over a few months than 10 pounds of fat, water and muscle in one month.
Slow loss is also safer. The NIDDK warns that crash diets and rapid weight loss raise the risk of gallstones, and that repeated weight cycling adds to that risk.
In one Swedish study of 6,640 dieters, people on a 500-calorie-a-day diet had about 3.4 times the risk of gallstones needing hospital care compared with people eating 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day.
3. They encourage an unhealthy mindset
If you’ve ever counted calories obsessively, tried to cut out whole food groups or tried to follow a diet of supplements and shakes, you’re familiar with the tiresome process. You begin to see food as the enemy, as something to tempt and tease you.
You begin to think of everything in terms of food, for example. Life is far too short to waste on obsessively thinking about food all the time and a crash diet is a sure-fire way to take your mind hostage.
You’re far better off having a simple food mantra such as “I eat fresh food, close to the source and I try to limit sugar and processed foods except when I really crave a treat”. That way, you’ll think of food in a healthy, sensible and freeing way which promotes health but leaves room for fun.
Strong, happy, healthy, stable and fit beats irritable, hungry and despondent any day.
4. They can rob your body of essential nutrients
If you’re going to slash your diet and stick to a small variety of dishes, you’re going to be cutting out nutrients as well as calories. People who crash diet by cutting out ALL carbohydrates including vegetables are at risk of depriving themselves of vitamins and minerals.
People who stick to diet shakes and liquid meals are going to be seriously lacking fiber and a plethora of other vital nutrients. Diets that cut out whole food groups make it harder to get enough fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Here are some far better alternatives to crash dieting:
- Instead of cutting out calories and certain foods, you could identify a couple of areas in your diet which need some tidying up. For example, you might indulge in a sweet dessert every night. Cut that down to two nights a week. All you’re doing is reducing your sugar and saturated fat intake without robbing your system of nutrients.
- You might go back for seconds at dinner time. Try to eat your dinner a little slower and resist going back for that second portion. You’ll easily be cutting out a large chunk of calories without making a change to your diet but limiting your portion sizes.
- Add a few more exercise sessions to your week, even if it’s just a brisk walk or a YouTube Zumba class. You’ll be burning more calories but still eating properly and sufficiently, without depriving yourself of nutrients.
5. They can put you at risk of heart complications
Very low-calorie eating causes fast shifts in fat, fluids and electrolytes. That's one reason doctors supervise very low-calorie diets, especially for people with heart conditions or diabetes.
If you have a heart condition, diabetes or take regular medication, talk with your doctor before making big changes to how much you eat.
The takeaway?
Regular activity and a balanced diet are good for your heart. An unsupervised crash diet isn't worth the risk.
6. They can result in muscle loss... not fat loss
When you eat far too little, your body burns stored fat. That's a good thing. But it also breaks down muscle. So you may be looking slim, but you won’t be looking lean or toned, and you certainly won’t be feeling it.
The solution is easy: incorporate a bit of high-intensity cardio and some strength training into your workout plan. Eat lots of fresh produce, lean protein and healthy carbs. Over time you'll keep more muscle while you lose fat.
Muscle burns a bit more energy than fat, even at rest, so keeping it helps you maintain your weight.
Conclusion
Weight loss requires patience, commitment, a balanced diet and an active lifestyle.
If you’re struggling to lose weight despite trying everything (even the good old healthy food and exercise), it’s worth chatting to your doctor. Weight gain and the struggle to lose weight can sometimes be due to underlying conditions or medications.
But whatever you do, don’t be tempted to follow a fad or crash diet. They will only make you tired, hungry, weak and frustrated.
Your mind and body deserve far more than a restrictive eating plan which doesn’t really deliver on what it promises.
” Natasha Leo ”
Natasha Leo loves keeping healthy and she writes for her health and fitness blog SlenderSeries.com.
In her spare time, she enjoys cooking for her family and going on long walks with her dogs.
Sources
- Dieting & Gallstones, NIDDK (NIH)
- Risk of symptomatic gallstones and cholecystectomy after a very-low-calorie diet or low-calorie diet, International Journal of Obesity (PubMed)
