When people skip meals or drastically reduce their food consumption on a daily basis to lose weight, they may end up with more problems than they bargained for. Several things can happen if you regularly attempt to reduce a daily calorie intake below 1,000 calories for more than a week or two, and understanding just a few of the things that can happen may encourage people to eat healthy and attempt to lose weight in a manner that provides not only effective results, but long-lasting ones as well.
Yo Yo Effect
Decreasing calorie intake to lower than 1,000 calories may slam the brakes on your long-term weight loss goals. Those who engage in crash diets often see a pleasant 2 to 5 pound drop in weight during the first few days, but this weight loss is due to mostly loss of water weight, as the body uses stores of extra glycogen, which sops up excess fluids in the body. Following this rapid loss of initial weight, crash dieters often see not only the weight return, but more of it.
Decreased Metabolism
Yo yo dieting or crash diets that severely restrict calorie intake can cause a decreased metabolism, or slow down the rate at which the body burns fat. This effect is created because the body fears that it is being starved, and will hang onto every excess calorie that it can. The body will automatically slow down the rate at which it consumes energy, resulting in a slower metabolism, which results in fewer pounds lost.
Nutrition Deficiency
Low calorie intake also restricts the amount of vitamins and minerals, carbs, fats, sugars and proteins the body needs for healthy, optimal function. Such deficiencies may result in anemia caused by a lack or iron or vitamin B12, as well as deficiency of sodium and potassium, elements vital for chemical reactions in the body that drive normal function of body organs such as the brain, heart, kidneys, liver and digestive system.
Organ Damage
Long-term low calorie intake may severely damage vital organs like the kidneys, liver and heart because the body will start to literally burn through muscle tissue if not enough calories provide energy for metabolism. Bones may become brittle, and the kidneys or liver may start to fail. For some, heart damage, irregularities and even heart attack or stroke may occur.
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