The Dangers of Fad Diets
December 29, 2017 (No Comments) by Tahlia Peppard

the-dangers-of-fad-diets

A fad diet is a diet that promises quick weight-loss through an unhealthy or unbalanced diet. Fad diets are targeted at people who want to lose weight quickly without exercise. Some fad diets claim that they make you lose fat, but it’s really water weight you’re losing.

With the Christmas period starting to wind down, people will begin to give their diet more consideration. After a few days of pretty hectic eating, a fad diet might seem like the perfect quick fix solution. At one point or another, we have all probably heard of or known someone who has been on a fad diet and had some shocking aftereffects. So, it’s important to know the dangers of fad diets, how they can affect our bodies and what the long-term effects are.

Short-Term Illusions

Short-Term Illusions

Many fad diets become popular because they do produce short-term weight loss quickly. However, most do not result in long-term weight loss success. They often are unhealthy and, in fact, some fad diets can severely jeopardize your health.

It’s difficult for most people to maintain any diet that drastically restricts their food choices or requires them to eat unusual foods, very little food, or the same foods day after day. Therefore, people who lose weight on a fad diet usually gain the weight, and then some, back again. We’re going to take a look at the 10 most dangerous effects of fad dieting to show you exactly how disruptive they can be to your diet.

1. Rapid Dehydration

You can wind up feeling extremely dehydrated because the majority of the weight you drop, when you lose weight too quickly, tends to be water weight which can lead to rapid dehydration. Your body burns calories and excess weight in stages, and if you try to force your body to lose weight faster than it naturally wants to, you can cause serious health problems for yourself.

2. Less Energy

12-simple-ways-to-stay-fit-over-the-festive-season

You’ll find yourself getting very tired very quickly. Fad diets involve depriving yourself of calories, however, calories are what translate into the energy your body needs to get through the day. If you are trying to boost energy and combat tiredness, then why not try out some of these 12 Simple Ways to Stay Fit Over The Festive Season.

3. Digestion

You can get serious digestive problems. It sounds really disgusting, but by going on a fad diet, you can get a case of severe diarrhea, which can then be followed by constipation. With diarrhea, you can end up in hospital because again, you can become super dehydrated. Imagine what that does to your system!

4. Malnutrition

Malnutrition

You may suffer from malnutrition, because a lot of these fad diets don’t actually give your body the basic nutrients you need to survive. They can also prevent you from getting the vitamins and minerals you need. Your body can become really malnourished through this practice.

5. Eating Disorders

It’s harmful to your emotional and physical health. This is because the process of cycling through diets eventually leads to decreased metabolism, weight gain, frustration, negative body image, cravings and binges, and distrust in your innate ability to monitor food intake. These consequences increase the likelihood of developing an eating disorder.

6. No Hunger Cues

No Hunger Cues

You can lose sight of ‘hunger cues’ which basically means you don’t actually recognize when you’re hungry or full. This is due to the fact you overcompensate with extra calories to satisfy feelings of intense hunger combined with the stress of feeling like you failed.

7. Diet Addiction

It becomes an addiction to you which is very unhealthy; starting a new diet provides a euphoric high that encompasses the hopes, motivation and excitement of losing the weight for good. When the program fails, dieters look for hope, and will often find promise in the next diet. Thus, the downward spiral of diet addiction continues.

8. Metabolism

yo-yo-dieting

They can mess up your metabolism because when you eat too little food you slow your metabolism and as a result, your body will hold onto the few calories that you do eat. When you go off the fad diet, your body won’t use food as efficiently and you’ll actually put yourself in a position to gain more weight in the future. This is the reason that many people who try fad diets end up in a pattern of yo-yo dieting.

9. Muscle Loss

Most fad diets claim that you don’t have to exercise in order to lose weight. This combined with the fact that fad diets leave you malnourished means that the weight you’re losing might not be fat. Muscle weighs more than fat and is just as easily lost as fat. Losing muscle may help you lose total weight, but muscle helps you burn calories while you are in a resting state.

10. Heart Problems

finding-healthy-alternatives-to-festive-coffees-in-ireland

Some fad diets rely on caffeine and other harmful chemicals to increase your heart rate and suppress appetite. Putting that many chemicals in your body isn’t good for your heart. Heart failure and other serious problems have been linked to diet pills that are now off the market. If you’re worried about your general caffeine consumption, have a look at these Healthy Alternatives to Festive Coffees in Ireland.

As you can see from all of these dangers, fad diets are not the way to go and can really affect your body with serious side effects. It’s not worth the pain that you may have to go through as a result of these diets.

So when January rolls around and all of the Roses are finally gone, talk to you doctor if you’re serious about losing weight. They can put you on a plan that will benefit you in the long run and help you keep off that weight! From all of us at The Sharpe, here’s to a happy and healthy 2018!

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The Dangers of Fad Diets
December 29, 2017 (No Comments) by Tahlia Peppard

the-dangers-of-fad-diets

A fad diet is a diet that promises quick weight-loss through an unhealthy or unbalanced diet. Fad diets are targeted at people who want to lose weight quickly without exercise. Some fad diets claim that they make you lose fat, but it’s really water weight you’re losing.

With the Christmas period starting to wind down, people will begin to give their diet more consideration. After a few days of pretty hectic eating, a fad diet might seem like the perfect quick fix solution. At one point or another, we have all probably heard of or known someone who has been on a fad diet and had some shocking aftereffects. So, it’s important to know the dangers of fad diets, how they can affect our bodies and what the long-term effects are.

Short-Term Illusions

Short-Term Illusions

Many fad diets become popular because they do produce short-term weight loss quickly. However, most do not result in long-term weight loss success. They often are unhealthy and, in fact, some fad diets can severely jeopardize your health.

It’s difficult for most people to maintain any diet that drastically restricts their food choices or requires them to eat unusual foods, very little food, or the same foods day after day. Therefore, people who lose weight on a fad diet usually gain the weight, and then some, back again. We’re going to take a look at the 10 most dangerous effects of fad dieting to show you exactly how disruptive they can be to your diet.

1. Rapid Dehydration

You can wind up feeling extremely dehydrated because the majority of the weight you drop, when you lose weight too quickly, tends to be water weight which can lead to rapid dehydration. Your body burns calories and excess weight in stages, and if you try to force your body to lose weight faster than it naturally wants to, you can cause serious health problems for yourself.

2. Less Energy

12-simple-ways-to-stay-fit-over-the-festive-season

You’ll find yourself getting very tired very quickly. Fad diets involve depriving yourself of calories, however, calories are what translate into the energy your body needs to get through the day. If you are trying to boost energy and combat tiredness, then why not try out some of these 12 Simple Ways to Stay Fit Over The Festive Season.

3. Digestion

You can get serious digestive problems. It sounds really disgusting, but by going on a fad diet, you can get a case of severe diarrhea, which can then be followed by constipation. With diarrhea, you can end up in hospital because again, you can become super dehydrated. Imagine what that does to your system!

4. Malnutrition

Malnutrition

You may suffer from malnutrition, because a lot of these fad diets don’t actually give your body the basic nutrients you need to survive. They can also prevent you from getting the vitamins and minerals you need. Your body can become really malnourished through this practice.

5. Eating Disorders

It’s harmful to your emotional and physical health. This is because the process of cycling through diets eventually leads to decreased metabolism, weight gain, frustration, negative body image, cravings and binges, and distrust in your innate ability to monitor food intake. These consequences increase the likelihood of developing an eating disorder.

6. No Hunger Cues

No Hunger Cues

You can lose sight of ‘hunger cues’ which basically means you don’t actually recognize when you’re hungry or full. This is due to the fact you overcompensate with extra calories to satisfy feelings of intense hunger combined with the stress of feeling like you failed.

7. Diet Addiction

It becomes an addiction to you which is very unhealthy; starting a new diet provides a euphoric high that encompasses the hopes, motivation and excitement of losing the weight for good. When the program fails, dieters look for hope, and will often find promise in the next diet. Thus, the downward spiral of diet addiction continues.

8. Metabolism

yo-yo-dieting

They can mess up your metabolism because when you eat too little food you slow your metabolism and as a result, your body will hold onto the few calories that you do eat. When you go off the fad diet, your body won’t use food as efficiently and you’ll actually put yourself in a position to gain more weight in the future. This is the reason that many people who try fad diets end up in a pattern of yo-yo dieting.

9. Muscle Loss

Most fad diets claim that you don’t have to exercise in order to lose weight. This combined with the fact that fad diets leave you malnourished means that the weight you’re losing might not be fat. Muscle weighs more than fat and is just as easily lost as fat. Losing muscle may help you lose total weight, but muscle helps you burn calories while you are in a resting state.

10. Heart Problems

finding-healthy-alternatives-to-festive-coffees-in-ireland

Some fad diets rely on caffeine and other harmful chemicals to increase your heart rate and suppress appetite. Putting that many chemicals in your body isn’t good for your heart. Heart failure and other serious problems have been linked to diet pills that are now off the market. If you’re worried about your general caffeine consumption, have a look at these Healthy Alternatives to Festive Coffees in Ireland.

As you can see from all of these dangers, fad diets are not the way to go and can really affect your body with serious side effects. It’s not worth the pain that you may have to go through as a result of these diets.

So when January rolls around and all of the Roses are finally gone, talk to you doctor if you’re serious about losing weight. They can put you on a plan that will benefit you in the long run and help you keep off that weight! From all of us at The Sharpe, here’s to a happy and healthy 2018!



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