If fad diets were consumer products, they would likely be banned
as defective. After all, what would you do if your cell phone only
worked 15 percent of the time or if your car would not start 90 percent
of the time? These numbers reflect the, well-known, statistical odds
that someone will lose weight and keep it off on a calorie restrictive
rapid-weight-loss diet. None the less, the diet industry manages to
cranks out new version of this worn-out approach every year.
If it were only a matter of the effectiveness of dieting, I would probably be far less vocal in my opposition to these schemes. However, the more frightening question is, if these diets had to be evaluated for safety, would they be banned as hazardous to our health? An increasing amount of research says that calorie restrictive rapid-weight-loss diets are literally doing more harm than good to the health of the diet obsessed public in two major ways.
Wrecking Our Metabolism
The concept of losing rapid amounts of weight by dramatically cutting back on calorie to create an energy deficit is in opposition to our natural human biology. When this type of energy deficit is artificially imposed by dieting, your body perceives that you are starving and it takes steps to conserve the calories already stored in the form of fat. This explains why after an initial burst of weight loss most dieters find it increasingly more difficult to lose pounds by eating less. If this were not enough, studies show that the weight lost on such diets is not restricted to fat. In many cases as much as 25 percent to the total weight being shed is lean healthy muscle tissue. This is a major problem since lean muscle powers our metabolism. This means that unless deliberate steps are taken to retain muscle, at the end of a typical diet you will be left with a slower metabolism than you had before you started dieting. This further explains why dieters so quickly regain their lost pounds - often along with a few extra. Some experts have linked this common yo-yo cycle of weight loss to our exploding national waistlines.
Making Us Undernourished
Another insidious effect of fad dieting is the challenge with getting enough of the right nutrients while dieting. Many rapid-weight-loss regimens require the exclusion of entire food groups or a general reduction of calories across the board, with little consideration for the wide range of essential nutrients needed to be health and energized. This helps explain why dieters may feel sluggish or run-down while dieting. Without an in-depth understanding of nutrition or help from a nutritionist it can be hard to ensure that you are getting all the vitamins, minerals, and range of micronutrients when drastically cutting calories as these diets require. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys have shown that large percentage of American are not getting daily requirements important nutrients like vitamin D, magnesium, iron, and potassium, under normal circumstances. Starving oneself to lose weight only makes matters worse.
A Nourishing Long-term Solution
By no means am I suggesting that we need to have laws against dieting. My desire is to help would be dieters understand the real hazards associated with extreme rapid-weight-loss plans. As someone who struggled with my weight for nearly a decade, I know that the promise of big weight loss in 17, 21, or 30 days is extremely enticing. However, there are two important questions worth considering before embarking on your next dieting adventure. First, what will you be doing to your long-term health during the diet period. Secondly, what happen once the diet period ends? Any effective long-term weight loss plan most work in harmony with your natural biology by promoting a health metabolism, providing plenty of essential micronutrients, and offering a satisfying way of eating that you can continue for a lifetime. Anything else is just another potentially hazardous ride on the weight loss rollercoaster.
If it were only a matter of the effectiveness of dieting, I would probably be far less vocal in my opposition to these schemes. However, the more frightening question is, if these diets had to be evaluated for safety, would they be banned as hazardous to our health? An increasing amount of research says that calorie restrictive rapid-weight-loss diets are literally doing more harm than good to the health of the diet obsessed public in two major ways.
Wrecking Our Metabolism
The concept of losing rapid amounts of weight by dramatically cutting back on calorie to create an energy deficit is in opposition to our natural human biology. When this type of energy deficit is artificially imposed by dieting, your body perceives that you are starving and it takes steps to conserve the calories already stored in the form of fat. This explains why after an initial burst of weight loss most dieters find it increasingly more difficult to lose pounds by eating less. If this were not enough, studies show that the weight lost on such diets is not restricted to fat. In many cases as much as 25 percent to the total weight being shed is lean healthy muscle tissue. This is a major problem since lean muscle powers our metabolism. This means that unless deliberate steps are taken to retain muscle, at the end of a typical diet you will be left with a slower metabolism than you had before you started dieting. This further explains why dieters so quickly regain their lost pounds - often along with a few extra. Some experts have linked this common yo-yo cycle of weight loss to our exploding national waistlines.
Making Us Undernourished
Another insidious effect of fad dieting is the challenge with getting enough of the right nutrients while dieting. Many rapid-weight-loss regimens require the exclusion of entire food groups or a general reduction of calories across the board, with little consideration for the wide range of essential nutrients needed to be health and energized. This helps explain why dieters may feel sluggish or run-down while dieting. Without an in-depth understanding of nutrition or help from a nutritionist it can be hard to ensure that you are getting all the vitamins, minerals, and range of micronutrients when drastically cutting calories as these diets require. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys have shown that large percentage of American are not getting daily requirements important nutrients like vitamin D, magnesium, iron, and potassium, under normal circumstances. Starving oneself to lose weight only makes matters worse.
A Nourishing Long-term Solution
By no means am I suggesting that we need to have laws against dieting. My desire is to help would be dieters understand the real hazards associated with extreme rapid-weight-loss plans. As someone who struggled with my weight for nearly a decade, I know that the promise of big weight loss in 17, 21, or 30 days is extremely enticing. However, there are two important questions worth considering before embarking on your next dieting adventure. First, what will you be doing to your long-term health during the diet period. Secondly, what happen once the diet period ends? Any effective long-term weight loss plan most work in harmony with your natural biology by promoting a health metabolism, providing plenty of essential micronutrients, and offering a satisfying way of eating that you can continue for a lifetime. Anything else is just another potentially hazardous ride on the weight loss rollercoaster.
Shedric is an author, speaker, and master chef. As former Vice
President of Culinary Research and Development for The Olive Garden
Restaurants and former Culinary Development Director for Royal Caribbean
Cruise Lines he acquired amazing insight into what drives us to eat
beyond to point of health.
His blog at http://www.HealthfulChef.com has been applauded for its cutting-edge commentary about health, weight loss, and disease prevention. In his bestselling book, The MicroNutrient Solution: Healing, Healing, Vitality, and Weight Loss God's Way, he exposes the most common diet myths that stand in the way of great health and weight loss.
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His blog at http://www.HealthfulChef.com has been applauded for its cutting-edge commentary about health, weight loss, and disease prevention. In his bestselling book, The MicroNutrient Solution: Healing, Healing, Vitality, and Weight Loss God's Way, he exposes the most common diet myths that stand in the way of great health and weight loss.