Dieting is a bad idea

Dieting can lead to repercussions that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Yet, when we want to eliminate fat, this is the approach we tend to take.

Unfortunately, the damage is virtually systematic, resulting in both psychological damage and physical damage. This is why dieting is a bad idea.

---

Rapid diets do not eliminate fat

Lowering your total caloric intake is a very bad idea.

In the short term, you may see some weight loss, but most of the weight lost is water and muscle mass, not fat loss.

To give you an idea, in just a few weeks, a diet of around 1,000 calories results in a 20% loss of muscle mass. You should know that muscles consume a lot of energy (this means that the less muscle you have, the fewer calories you burn).

Moreover, when your muscle mass decreases, your basal metabolic rate inevitably decreases as well, which means that it will be very difficult to continue losing weight.

In conclusion, dieting does not make you lose fat, it only makes you lose water and muscle. A healthy metabolism is a high metabolism. When the metabolism is high, it is considered to be energetic (it burns a maximum of calories).

Read this : Calorie deficit and weight loss

---

How do you raise your metabolism?

The answer may seem counterintuitive, but you have to eat enough (and you have to eat properly, but that’s another discussion).

You can use the Nutrition Coach app to make sure that you’re eating enough. It’s an extremely user-friendly app. In fact, you don’t have to do anything, except enter the foods you eat (the list of foods is quite extensive). The app then does the calculation (calories, proteins, carbohydrates and fats) and tells you where you stand.

Honestly, I advise you to find out if you’re eating enough, it could be the reason why you’re not losing weight!

---

The yo-yo effect, the poisonous gift of dieting

Everyone has heard of the yo-yo effect, but when we want to lose weight, we tend to overlook this unwanted side effect.

I experienced this effect myself a few years ago.

I reduced the amount of food I ate and it was the worst mistake of my life.

I went on a diet for three months. My stomach was growling all day, and all my brain could think about was eating. My mood was a wreck, and my sleep became complicated.

It was a vicious cycle: I was getting more and more tired, and all I could think about was eating (especially sweets). I couldn’t concentrate at work anymore. I didn’t go out to restaurants for fear of ruining the effort I had put into my diet.

The result: I lost less than an inch of waistline, BUT I gained my weight back (and even more) in just one month after I stopped restricting what I ate. 

My body stored fat, for fear of retaliation. It took me a full year to get back to my starting weight, and most importantly, to reconcile with nutrition.

---

The dangers of dieting

In addition to being ineffective in the medium and long term, restrictive diets carry many risks for physical and psychological health:

• Dehydration,
• Hypotension (low blood pressure, which can cause, for example, dizziness),
• Digestive problems (constipation, diarrhea),
• Hormonal disruption,
• Hair loss,
• Nutritional deficiencies (macro and micro nutrients)
• Anemia (abnormal drop in the level of hemoglobin in the blood),
• Osteoporosis (brittle bones)
• Weight gain associated with repeated attempts to lose weight,
• Development of an unhealthy relationship with food and the body (compulsive eating disorders; anorexia, bulimia, hyperphagia, etc.),
• Loss of hunger and satiation signals,
• Intense fatigue, headaches, difficulty concentrating, decreased productivity,
• Decreased self-esteem,
• Excessive preoccupation with weight.

These risks obviously depend on the duration, nature, method and extent of the restriction of calories.

---

Diets, what to remember:

Drastic diets do not lead to the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits, which are much more beneficial for health and the maintenance of a natural weight in the long term.

The body needs energy and essential nutrients to ensure that it functions properly, especially for chemical reactions in the body, such as burning calories!

If you want to lose weight, and now you know that dieting is not a good idea, I invite you to read this article, which will help you to lose fat in a healthy and sustainable way.