While losing weight fast is desirable, you need to know the dangers of a rapid weight loss diets or techniques. They may do more harm than good.
Identifying that you need to lose weight and committing to an exercise and diet routine is an admiral step in personal development and physical health, but that’s not the end of the story. Once you decide to make some lifestyle changes, you need to find the right regimen for you. It should be safe and healthy. The dangers and health risks of rapid weight loss can be detrimental to your health and end up negatively affecting your body in the long-term.
What Does Rapid Weight Loss Look Like?
Losing weight quickly is typically achieved by following radical diets that starve the body of essential nutrients, resulting in weight loss and deterioration of the body as a whole. These extreme diets come in several forms that you need to look out for.
Starvation Diets
These types of diets advocate for eliminating solid foods and replacing them with liquids. They usually promise to cleanse the body of toxins, but they actually leave your body starved for nutrients. Rapid weight loss occurs due to a severe lack of food.
Dietary Pills
This kind of weight loss promises to increase metabolism and, as a result, burn more fat. These pills can make this process happen by blocking receptors in the body that absorb necessary nutrients.
Very Low-Calorie Diets
A calorie deficit is the major principle of weight loss; expending more calories than you intake equals a loss of weight. A very low-calorie diet drastically reduces the number of calories you intake in a day, literally starving your body of fat.
What Are the Effects of Rapid Weight Loss?
While these techniques can force your body to lose weight, they come at the cost of serious health risks. Because you are putting so much strain on the body as a result of a lack of proper nutrients, your body can deteriorate and begin to function improperly. Some of these side-effects include:
- Dehydration
- Malnutrition
- Muscle Loss
- Hair Loss
- Menstrual Irregularities
- Headaches
- Fatigue
Is There Ever a Reason for Rapid Weight Loss?
Well, only when instructed by and under the supervision of a doctor. Variations of these rapid weight loss techniques are utilized on individuals who are morbidly obese and need to lose weight quickly. When it comes to people of normal size or who are slightly overweight, then the consequences overshadow the benefits.
Lose Weight the Healthy Way
With knowledge of the dangers and health risks of rapid weight loss, you need to determine a dietary and workout routine that will not only make you lose weight but keep you healthy and safe while doing it. Sometimes that means consulting a doctor, dietician, or physical trainer to find what is healthy for you.
Dr. Philip Rabito is an endocrinologist in Manhattan, New York, and is one such doctor who can help you on your weight loss journey.
