Health Tips

Crash Course Weight Loss – Why They Very Often Fail

January 8, 2010
By Dorian Hawkesford

The very best way to lose weight is not through going on some kind of crash diet which promises to help you lose weight in a matter of days or weeks. This kind of method goes against how the body likes to work. The body hates change and very often will fight against it. Your body will always try to maintain it’s current status if that is what it is used to. So going on some form of crash diet where you dramatically change what the body expects, basically puts up a red flag for it to fight to maintain the status quo.

For instance if you are a heavy eater, maybe you consume lots of calories through out your day and week, if you all of a sudden change this amount your body, which by the way is rather clever, goes on alert. It’s a natural survival mode.

What happens is that if over a short period you suddenly reduce your calorie intake, your body notices this. As it processes the foods being consumed it realizes that the calories etc that it normally extracts and uses is less. So it goes into what you could call “saving mode”.

The body now reduces the amount of fat that it uses and instead works hard to actually save the fat, by storing it. This is why so many people find it difficult to lose weight. They cut their calorie intake dramatically but see very little weight coming off, to them it just doesn’t make sense. If only they knew that this sudden change of eating habit is actually telling the body to keep the fat instead of lose it.

Staying on a crash diet, will over a period enable you to lose weight, since the body does have to use the reserves of fat stored if it is not getting enough from the food you consume. But guess what happens when you come off your crash diet?

You’ve reached your target weight, you return to eating your normal diet or maybe you have chosen a more sensible diet to try and keep the weight off. But the body doesn’t look at it in this way. All of a sudden it see’s the calories returning and the response is “better save them for a rainy day!” This is why after coming off such a diet the majority of dieters seem to pile the pounds on in double quick time. Often you see them putting on more weight than they originally lost.

This is why crash diets very rarely work. It is far better to take regular exercise and do not starve your body of the nutrients it receives and more importantly expects. Take things slowly and gradually reduce what you eat, bit by bit. Do not ban yourself from the foods you love, it only creates a craving for them and makes the whole process harder, which in turn means massive amounts of will power.

One of the problems we have is the need for instant results, immediate gratification. If you want to lose weight but more importantly keep it off change your attitude towards food and exercise and begin the change slowly. Eat your food slower and take longer to eat, enjoy it instead of wolfing it down. Make sure you eat a good breakfast as well since it fills you up at the start of the day and helps prevent snacking through the morning.

You can lose weight and keep it off just realize that it just takes some steady changes to your habits and in such a way that does not shock the body into fighting against you.

Dorian has been writing articles online now for many years specializing in a wide range of subjects from weight loss, healthy eating to fitness. You can check out one of his latest sites at L Equip Juicer and L Equipe 528 Food Dehydrator. If done sensibly juicing can greatly help with a diet to supply the nutrients the body requires.

Share and Enjoy: