CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS »

9/17/08

Dying To Be Thin: The Danger of Losing Weight Too Quickly

by Susan Patterson

Short of surgery, there are no quick fixes when it comes to weight loss. Everyone has seen the commercials where people claim to lose insane amounts of weight in a short period of time. While this is possible, it is not normal or even safe. Losing weight at a breakneck pace involves methods that can seriously damage your body. Not only that, but once you go off the diet you usually gain the weight back. The stress you put your body through losing the weight in the first place is enough; don’t cause unnecessary strain on your body with extreme dieting. The psychological damage also makes you more likely to develop eating disorders.

The methods used to lose weight fast usually involve extreme calorie reduction. A popular diet program which has been sued for the danger it put participants in had dieters cutting back to 500 calories a day or less. Another popular way to lose weight is through juice diets. All of these diets usually encourage the use of laxatives to lose weight even faster. Anytime your body gets less than 1200 calories per day, muscle deterioration begins. You don’t want to lose muscle because it raises metabolism and burns calories throughout the day, increasing your chances of weight loss.

While you may feel like you are losing weight quickly, most of what you are losing is water weight, which leads to dehydration as you continue with your extreme dieting. As you fast or detox, you have diarrhea, which turns into constipation once you get to the dehydration phase. Your skin will look pasty and many times your hair will fall out in large clumps. As you keep on dieting dangerously, you will find yourself tired and drained all the time, as your metabolism slows down to protect you from dying. In addition, you may find yourself cramping and feeling sick due to a drop in your potassium and sodium levels.

Don’t do this to yourself just to look thin. The goal is to become healthy, not sickly. While quick weight loss is possible, losing weight too quickly can cause serious problems. If appetite is a major concern, consider a natural appetite suppressant like hoodia. This South African herb is also available in a fast acting hoodia shot. The goal is not to starve, but to cut back to a healthy level of eating.

0 comments: