Crash diets are just a quick fix to a long-term problem. Any weight lost is usually gained back shortly after the diet ends. These types of diets are very restrictive and can shock the system. This drastic change in eating habits may cause your body to go into starvation mode. If this occurs, your body begins to store fat for food and you may actually gain more weight than you originally lost.
The Yo-Yo Effect
The yo-yo effect is the body's response to the stressors placed on it from crash or fad diets. Drastically reduced calories combined with extreme exercise can cause your body to go into starvation mode. The immediate reduction of calories may cause an initial weight loss of several pounds, but if your body thinks it may no longer have access to the food it needs to survive, it will begin to store calories as fat for future use. This plateau will be very hard to overcome, and weight loss will gradually slow and possible stop altogether, according to Epigee.com.
Once the crash diet is discontinued and a normal diet is resumed, the body will continue to add weight until it is assured the food supply is adequate. Most people who use crash diets tend to have major fluctuations between weight loss and weight gain over time.
Metabolism
The body's metabolism is set according to diet, activity and hormone levels. When you drastically reduce your calorie intake, your body's defense mechanisms go into overdrive. This causes your body to go through a myriad of changes. Your metabolism begins to adjust itself so it expends less energy to perform necessary functions, according to Epigee.com. Fewer calories burned means more calories stored for later use. This can also result in less energy and fluctuations in mood and other bodily functions. Menstrual periods may be reduced or stopped, if the drastic calorie reduction lasts for an extended period of time.
The stress put on your body because of the immediate loss of calories can also affect your vital organs. The liver, kidneys and heart can be damaged not only by the loss of nutrients, but by your body working overtime to compensate for the nutrients it has lost.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Nutritional deficiencies may occur during crash diets. Reducing the number of calories consumed usually means a reduction in the consumption of certain types of foods. Juice diets lack adequate amounts of protein and calcium. Certain vegetable diets, such as the Cabbage Soup Diet, offer a variety of vitamins and minerals, but in amounts that are inadequate to keep the body healthy and functioning at its best, according to the American Heart Association.
Anemia, caused by a loss of iron, is common in people who use crash diets to lose weight. Potassium, sodium and vitamin B-12 defeciencies are also common.
Mental Health
Crash diets can also lead to depression and a variety of eating disorders. Bulimia and anorexia nervosa can become life-long problems if crash diets and binge eating are taken to the extreme. As the body loses and regains weight, hormones and chemical receptors in the brain can begin to fluctuate, causing mood swings and depression, according to Women to Women. Resuming a healthy diet with moderate exercise can begin to restore balance. The amount of time you were on the crash diet will determine how long it takes your body to re-establish a state of balance.
People who suffer from eating disorders may need supervised medical care to insure these habits do not resume.
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