Obesity is a serious public health issue that affects millions of Americans. Plenty of factors influence the eating habits of each individual. Bad nutrition is often the result of a lack of economic or educational resources.

With social media pressuring us into portraying the perfect lifestyle, it seems that aesthetics have become the ultimate currency. Now, more than ever before, people are vulnerable to fall for a crash diet in an attempt to have the perfect body.

While fast food is more affordable than organic and healthy food, the negative impact that it has on your mental and physical health is greater than any financial value.

In this article, we will explain what is a crash diet and why you should avoid it.

Diet Rebounding

The purpose of a diet, regardless of cosmetic or health purposes, is to lose weight and to maintain weight loss.

Crash diets involve drastic and extreme changes to your metabolism, while they do help with weight loss, they often result in diet rebounding. It is important to recognize that we are living organisms, just like everything in nature, our bodies need a balanced source of nutrients to survive.

People with obesity, have seemed to develop a resistance towards the hunger hormone, called leptin. The hormone is responsible for suppressing appetite effects.

The fact is that you can only deprive your body of necessary nutrients for a limited amount of time. Ultimately, the cycle of starvation results in your body demanding the lack of nutrients. Combine the hunger for compensation with the resistance to leptin and this is when overeating begins, putting you at risk of gaining even more weight than you had before dieting.

Health Repercussions of Crash Diets

Before jumping into a trendy meal program, it is important to understand the types of crash diets and their potential side effects:

Low-carbohydrate & High-Fat.

The diet relies on fat-based meals with low carbohydrate ingest. The lack of consumption of vegetables combined with high protein intake might lead to bone loss or a higher production of blood uric acid concentrations.

High-carbohydrate & Low-Fat.

Consists of diets mostly based on high-fiber and vegetable intake, while consuming low protein foods. The diet can increase insulin resistance, which might lead to type 2 diabetes. It is not recommended to do this diet during pregnancy.

Very-Low-Calorie Diets.

The caloric intake for this diet is restricted to only 800 kilocalories per day, meaning the food intake is extremely low. They are not recommended as long term diets. Individuals might present issues of cholelithiasis or ketosis.

Choosing a random crash diet from the internet can seriously jeopardize your health. Depending on the metabolism, some people might experience worse side effects or better benefits than others.

Healthier and Sustainable Alternatives

Unfortunately, there are no quick and easy solutions for weight loss. Nonetheless, this doesn’t remove the fact that crash diets are anything but fun — at last, both your body and mind will resent such extreme methods.

For the average person, the diet should involve a balanced intake of fiber, vegetables, fruits, fluids, and protein. Plus, the diet should include a workout routine. Nevertheless, it is best to consult with a health professional about a healthy diet that could truly benefit your body.

Z.E.N. Foods offers suitable diet programs to adjust to your metabolism and your goals. We consult with our in-house nutritionists and provide you with the best advice on weight loss and healthy diets. Your health is in our best interest, contact us today!