People that want to lose weight often try to turn to diets to help them with their goals. They think that eating certain kinds of foods and ignoring others is a surefire, easy way to get the body they want. But that most likely is not the case. Along with often not working, diets can actually lead to long term behaviour that is detrimental to health.
From diet to disorder
Let’s say you want to shed some kilos. So you try the latest, hottest diet trend that promises you quick results. You might see some positive results early on. But you might then find yourself in trouble down the road. You might start skipping meals or becoming reliant on dieting pills. Many people that develop eating disorders have history with experimenting with dieting.
Physical dangers
Your body functions at its highest level when it’s being filled with a variety of beneficial nutrients. Many diets take some of these nutrients away by instructing you to forego certain foods. Your body needs a mix of substances such as carbohydrates, protein and the vitamins found in fruits and vegetables. Diets can lead to a severe lack of these.
Furthermore, when your body doesn’t get enough energy in the form of food, its metabolic rate can slow. This means your body cannot break down fat as quickly, which can actually lead to weight gain. Gaining weight at a time of theoretical weight loss can be mentally damaging and can lead to extreme unhealthy measures such as binging, purging, anorexia and bulimia.
Extreme dieting can also lead to headaches, poor sleeping habits, osteoporosis and muscle cramps, among other effects.
Mental dangers
The lack of results from a diet can have serious mental effects. If the diet doesn’t work immediately, it’s possible you will suffer from low self-esteem. Those feeling such emotions might be more prone to developing an eating disorder.
A better way
Cutting out excessive amounts of unhealthy foods is an important part of most weight-loss plans. But going overboard can be dangerous. For example, you don’t have to totally cut out carbohydrates in order to lose weight. That could actually make it harder because you need the energy they provide for important physical activity. Just use them moderately in combination with exercise. In fact, adding
carbohydrate supplements such as Cluster Bomb by
REDCON1 and
protein supplements such as
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey to your routine can go a long way to helping you reach your fitness goals. Sometimes it’s what you add, not what you subtract, that can be most beneficial.
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