If you are looking to lose weight quickly, you might be tempted to crash diet to lose it fast. There are all sorts of products on the market that claim to help you do just that. While you may lose the weight quickly, you can also be damaging your health. Before deciding to try a rapid weight loss program you need to understand what it can do to your body. You should also discuss any such plans with your physician, especially if you have any type of medical condition. He can recommend the best way to shed the unwanted weight safely.
Your body needs a certain amount of calories to function. Those calories need to come from a wide variety of foods so that your body gets a wide range of necessary nutrients. However, eating too much packs on extra pounds which can be dangerous to your health, as well. While it is important to lose any extra weight you are carrying, you need to be careful about plans that restrict too many calories or food choices. You will rob your body of the nutrition it needs, which can make you sick and, in extreme cases, can be fatal. The Federal Trade Commission says that a safe weight loss goal is 1 to 2 pounds per week. Diets or programs that encourage more then this are unhealthy and usually ineffective. In most cases, the weight loss is not permanent. Any weight loss greater then one or two pounds a week, should be done under a doctor's supervision.
Identification
Rapid weight loss plans usually involve extreme changes to your diet to help you lose a lot of weight within days or weeks. Some of these plans advertise that you can drop a clothing size in 1 day or lose 10 or more pounds per week. They often involve starving yourself or eating a small number of calories, replacing meals with pills, drinks or special diet bars. The problem is that these are quick fixes. If you greatly restrict your caloric intake, you will lose weight. However, these plans are not programs that you can maintain for long periods. The National Institutes of Health says that rapid weight loss programs do not usually lead to positive long-term results. In addition, you may be doing more harm then good, as your body is robbed of the nutrition it needs. Repeated attempts at using these types of programs can lead to what is called "yo-yo" dieting, where your weight fluctuates up and down, causing more health problems.
Warnings
In the initial stages of a rapid weight loss program, you might develop symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, irritability and dizziness. These are warning signs from your body that its needs are not being met. In addition, if you follow a plan that restricts one food group and emphasizes another, you can develop health problems. For example cutting out carbs and increasing protein, can result in a diet that is too high in fat which can raise your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. If you cut out too much protein, your body will start to break down your muscles to meet its needs. You can also do permanent damage to your liver and kidneys. The American Dietetic Association warns that if you take off too much weight too fast, instead of losing fat, you may lose muscle, bone and water.
Serious Side Effects
More serious side effects can also occur from rapid weight loss programs since they place excessive stress on the body. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, participating in a program that causes a weight loss of more then 3 pounds per week can lead to the development of gallstones. In addition, if your diet contains less then 800 calories per day, you may be at risk of heart disease and irregular heart rhythms. If severe enough, both can be fatal. Other complications include hypothermia and dehydration, which can also be deadly.
Considerations
To help reach a healthy weight in a safe an effective manner, you need to calculate how many calories you need each day based on your current weight. To lose 1 pound per week, you need to cut your caloric intake by 500 calories per day. To lose 2 pounds per week, you need to cut 1,000 calories per day. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you need to eat a healthy well-rounded diet and include regular physical activity. When it comes to weight loss, short-term drastic changes usually fail.
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