It's the age old diet story. You tried the crash diet, lost weight, went off the fad diet, and gained the weight back plus a little more. All of the back and forth can be disheartening, but even more than that, it can be damaging. Discussed today on The Doctors the yo-yo diet cycle can cause some really serious health problems both now and in the future.
When you hop on the fad diet wagon, you may not consider the real overall health of the weight loss plan. Many of these diets basically starve you, dropping your calorie intake to an extreme low. At first it's great because you're losing a ton of weight, but over time the weight loss slows. According to Epigee.com, your body eventually adjusts its metabolism as it realizes that fewer calories are coming in. The metabolism slows so that fewer calories are used to perform the necessary bodily functions. This means that it takes fewer calories for you to gain weight, making it more and more likely that you will put on weight at the end of your diet. Your body can maintain this decreased metabolism for a number of months, or even years, after a serious low-calorie diet.
Cardiologists agree that the long term effects of rapid weight loss can be very serious. Dr. Isidore Rosenfeld told CNN.com that crash diets can weaken your immune system and increase your risk of dehydration, heart palpitations, and cardiac stress. "A crash diet once won't hurt your heart," Dr. Rosenfeld says. "But crash dieting repeatedly increases the risk of heart attacks."
After the weight is lost, many return to their old eating habits because they failed to make a real lifestyle change. Rather, they suffer and starve themselves until the weight is lost and then have a time of celebration once able to return to the candy and chips they once adored. In time the weight comes back and the cycle starts over again.
Experts agree that the best way to lose weight is gradually and by following a healthy diet that incorporates all of the food groups, and keeps calorie consumption at an appropriate level. Exercising is important too for several reasons such as heart health and overall fitness. Weight loss isn't a sprint, or even a marathon. It's a slow and steady uphill stroll to a plateau where you maintain your weight loss through healthy living.
