Very often there is a need to quickly lose a few kilograms. Everything that has been accumulating for years should now go away in a few dozen days. However, such a process of rapid weight loss is fraught with a number of pitfalls. Therefore, in this article we will look at some of them, as well as ways to avoid troubles from losing weight quickly.
The dangers of rapid weight loss: what are the dangers of rapid weight loss
The accumulation of fat in the body is a completely natural process designed to ensure the survival of the body in unfavorable or particularly difficult conditions. Sometimes this process develops into uncontrolled absorption of calories, which ultimately leads to a serious illness - bulimia.
But even without such tragic events, extra pounds interfere with living a full life - the body experiences extra stress on all organs, which leads to the appearance of various diseases. It’s quite natural to want to get rid of unnecessary kilograms as quickly as possible, but even quickly “losing” just five to seven kilograms is fraught with a number of dangers.
What are the harms and dangers of losing weight quickly?
Sudden weight loss can cause a large number of different disorders in the body. Above we examined only a small part of the possible negative effects. It should also be said about the other most common ones:
- Problems with the functioning of the endocrine system caused by disturbances in the functioning of the adrenal glands and thyroid gland.
- Due to increased blood pressure, headaches often appear, weakness appears, and a person quickly gets tired.
- The efficiency of the body's defense system decreases, so it becomes vulnerable to various pathogens.
- The skin loses its former elasticity, which leads to the appearance of folds and numerous sagging.
- After stopping the use of extreme weight loss methods, the risk of regaining the previous weight is high.
- The body in such a situation experiences severe stress, which negatively affects the psycho-emotional state.
- Problems arise with the functioning of the digestive system. The acidity level of the stomach changes, the list cannot cope with the increased load.
- The body experiences a deficiency of micronutrients, especially fat-soluble ones.
- Chronic illnesses are getting worse.
- If pharmaceutical dietary supplements are used for weight loss, allergic reactions may develop.
Inducing vomiting after eating: what can happen to a person
Disillusioned with the consequences of weight loss diets, such as relapses and the return of lost pounds, some people decide to take a desperate step. They try to induce vomiting every time after a heavy meal. For example, drinking a glass of water with potassium permanganate or taking pills.
It turns out to kill two birds with one stone: enjoy the taste of high-calorie food and lose weight. But the joy does not last long.
Vomiting for weight loss can lead to the following consequences:
- thinning of tooth enamel due to constant exposure to gastric juice, which is highly acidic;
- weakening of the food sphincter - in the future, vomiting will begin to occur involuntarily;
- inflammatory processes on the walls of the larynx and esophagus (up to the occurrence of cancer);
- disruption of the pancreas, since it continues to produce hormones and enzymes even after food has left the stomach;
- deterioration in appearance, chronic fatigue, mental problems - due to the resulting deficiency of vitamins and minerals.
Many people who practice forced gastric emptying eventually develop bulimia. This is a serious mental illness. Its main symptoms are an obsessive desire to overeat and exhaustion of the body.
What happens to the skin and muscles during rapid weight loss?
This is the main cause of loss of elasticity, which in turn leads to the appearance of stretch marks. The muscles also become flabby, this is especially noticeable in the absence of physical activity. As you can see, the harm and dangers of losing weight quickly are obvious and must be avoided. It is quite obvious that for this you only need to lose weight correctly. To solve this problem, you need to follow only three simple principles:
- It is necessary to get rid of excess weight gradually.
- Be sure to drink enough water.
- Dietary programs should be combined with exercise.
Remember, extreme diet programs can only provide short-term improvements. Very quickly you will not be glad that you started using them. It is enough to remember the harm and dangers of rapid weight loss that await you. When a person loses weight, he needs to drink three liters of water daily. In turn, to create a beautiful sexy figure, physical activity is necessary, otherwise the muscles will become flabby.
The danger of pills
The greatest danger is posed by various dietary supplements and pills taken for weight loss. These drugs are designed to block appetite. Studies often show that such drugs contain stimulants and psychotropic substances that cause addiction. These pills have a huge list of side effects. After stopping taking them, the person gains weight even more.
How to lose weight correctly? You need to lose weight at the same speed as you gain extra pounds. Nutritionists say that the most physiological is weight loss, which involves losing up to 1.5–2 kg per month. At this rate, the metabolism is completely rebuilt, and the extra pounds don’t come back. Losing weight faster is fraught with problems.
The most dangerous weight loss methods
Unfortunately, for many women, their figure comes first, but they don’t think about health at all. I would like to repeat that extreme methods of combating excess weight can only give temporary results. The possible harm and dangers of rapid weight loss significantly outweigh the positive aspects. Among the most dangerous weight loss methods, it should be noted:
- Starvation.
- Strict dietary nutrition programs, including vegetarianism and mono-diets.
- Various weight loss supplements.
- Excessive physical activity.
- Special devices.
Various dietary supplements that can be bought in pharmacies deserve a separate discussion.
Nowadays the problem of excess weight is very relevant and new drugs are constantly appearing on the market, the creators of which guarantee rapid weight loss. However, they rarely talk about health, and even then their statements are at odds with reality. All these supplements are not able to provide a positive long-term effect. Most often, they contain diuretics, laxatives, stimulants, as well as components designed to suppress appetite. Let's figure out what happens in the body when using them, because the possible harm and dangers of rapid weight loss largely depend on the composition of dietary supplements.
Your appetite decreases and you begin to eat less food, which, however, is poorly digested and the body is not able to receive all the necessary nutrients. At the same time, ingredients with diuretic properties accelerate the process of fluid utilization. When the supplementation course is completed, everything returns to its previous state. Moreover, your appetite may even increase and you will gain even more than you did before starting the course of the drug. Let's not forget about new problems - constipation, high blood pressure, etc.
Nowadays, many women actively use not only dietary supplements, but also various new-fangled devices, for example, vibration belts, magnetic clips, etc. However, the uselessness of all these devices has been proven through scientific research. At best, you will waste money on purchasing them.
For example, electromuscular stimulators have become very popular devices for rapid weight loss today. They are designed to increase muscle tone and blood flow, causing the muscles to actively contract. But the device cannot in any way affect the processes of lipolysis. Moreover, sometimes such devices cause serious health problems.
Safe weight loss rate
The rate of weight loss depends not only on the chosen method of losing weight, but also on the initial body weight, as well as the individual characteristics of the body. And therefore it is difficult to give an exact answer and indicate the number of kilograms. But many nutritionists take percentages as a basis. So, in the first month, a loss of 10-15% of the initial weight is considered safe for the body. Then the speed will begin to decrease and reach approximately 5-7%.
Drying: what is it?
This term comes from bodybuilding, where drying is one of the stages of preparing athletes for tournaments. Today many people talk about this without understanding the very essence of the process. Often in fitness centers you can hear from girls that they are starting to “dry out.” The main principle of this process in bodybuilding is to sharply reduce the amount of carbohydrates in the diet. Moreover, sometimes bodybuilders completely abandon this nutrient. In the second case, they use ketone nutrition programs. However, you must understand that the duration of drying should not be long and you should not resort to it often, as it can cause serious harm to the body.
Sports medicine experts recommend drying no more than once a year, and the maximum duration of the process should not exceed one month. Moreover, during this period of time it is necessary to actively train, and this should be done correctly. Since there are few carbohydrates in the diet, the body does not receive the required amount of energy.
This causes it to activate catabolic processes, during which muscles are destroyed. The purpose of training in such conditions is to accelerate the synthesis of protein compounds in order to prevent the body from destroying muscle tissue. If you do not exercise while cutting, the muscles will again become flabby, and the amount of muscle mass will also decrease.
At this stage of preparation for competitions, bodybuilders have special dietary requirements. Protein compounds become the main nutrient. At this time, bodybuilders greatly limit themselves in food products and allow themselves to consume low-fat meat varieties, seafood, low-fat dairy products, and non-starchy vegetables.
I would like to warn all women that drying is not a good solution for losing weight. It can cause deterioration in health. If professional athletes pay attention to this only secondarily, it is much more important for them to take a high place. In your case, it is absolutely not necessary to sacrifice your health. It's better to lose weight slowly but safely.
How to lose weight correctly?
Finally, it is worth listing the basic rules for proper and, very important, safe weight loss:
- Even if you decide to lose weight at home, you should seek advice from an experienced specialist or at least study in detail useful information about losing weight. But in the latter case, it is better to give preference to competent opinion and trusted sources, rather than amateurs and “self-taught” people, of whom there are a lot on the World Wide Web.
- You should not sharply limit yourself in food, this can lead to disruptions and slowdown of metabolism, which will interfere with weight loss.
- Set achievable goals and don't rush things. Weight loss should be harmonious and gradual.
- Make sure your diet is healthy, varied and balanced, this will ensure that your body receives the nutrients necessary for its normal functioning.
You shouldn't lose weight suddenly. Lose weight gradually and take care of your health.
Activated carbon diet
Activated carbon is a drug widely used in medical practice and is a recognized agent with an absorbent effect. Proponents of losing weight using this cheap product say that with its help you can get rid of “everything unnecessary”; just calculate your “dosage” - 1 tablet for every 10 kg of weight. Taking the drug, in their opinion, will improve intestinal function, speed up the elimination of toxins and promote weight loss.
What will happen in reality? Activated carbon is a really useful remedy, but not in terms of weight loss. It does not affect the absorption of fats in the body and does not “remove” excess calories. This means you won’t be able to lose weight with it! In addition, abuse of activated carbon can lead to problems in the gastrointestinal tract.
Why is the Dukan diet dangerous and harmful?
Disadvantages of the Dukan Diet
- The Dukan diet has a negative impact on all metabolic processes in the body. But the gastrointestinal tract suffers most from such nutrition. Since the digestive system begins to work very poorly, food stays inside a person for a long time and provokes bloating, constipation and inflammatory processes.
- Weight loss with this diet occurs mainly due to fluid loss. Since the body does not receive enough carbohydrates, it begins to compensate for them from muscle mass. But against this background, glucose reserves in the body begin to rapidly decrease and dehydration develops. And what a person perceives as first achievements turns out to be a rather alarming symptom in practice.
- After some time, the condition may worsen even further, and a person losing weight may experience muscle weakness, bad breath and very strong drowsiness.
Why is a low-carbohydrate diet dangerous and harmful?
The harm of a low-carbohydrate diet
- Almost all people consider carbohydrates harmful to the body, so they think that if you reduce their consumption, it will not only help you lose weight, but also improve your internal organs. But in practice, everything turns out to be the opposite. Since among carbohydrates there are also beneficial and harmful ones, completely excluding them from the diet leads to the appearance of some problems.
- For example, carbohydrates, which are found in honey, wholemeal wheat and sweet fruits, are vital for our orgasm to function properly. Their deficiency can lead to the development of gastritis, stomach ulcers, hepatosis and an increase in amino acid levels in the body.
- All this leads to the fact that a person loses weight not because he eats right, but because of diseases that slowly deplete his body. And due to the fact that less normal fiber enters the body, food begins to linger and rot in the intestines, thereby causing problems with the immune system.
- For this reason, people on a low-carbohydrate diet are more susceptible to contracting seasonal viral diseases than others.
Bad mood
You should be happy with every kilo you lose, so why are you so sad? The fact is that we expect immediate results from losing weight - an instant improvement in well-being, excellent endurance and lightness throughout the body. Alas, after one or two lost kilograms, you are unlikely to immediately notice the difference. How can you not be upset! Your step: Get good sleep and eat healthier. This will give you the strength to cope with problems. If the whole process of losing weight has become too obsessive - you refuse to meet with friends to go to the gym, endlessly counting calories - seek help from a psychologist. You should do the same if signs of depression appear: sadness, isolation from others, loss of interest in your favorite activities.
Exercises to help you lose weight
There is no special complex that will help you speed up losing extra pounds. This is more of an element of additional activity.
It is quite possible that you have free exercise equipment in your yard that anyone can use. This is a great solution! After all, it combines a walk in the air and physical activity, after which, as a rule, a brutal appetite develops.
You can quench your hunger with a handful of dried apricots or a few nuts. You just need to be careful with these products. They are quite high in calories.
Fatty, sweet and floury and we
Why do we even eat fatty, sweet and starchy foods? There's nothing special about this food. The same “healthy set” of oatmeal pancake, a spoonful of peanut butter and a banana - at the same time fatty, sweet, and starchy. But for some reason this set is considered a panacea for weight loss, and a simple pancake, grabbed at a gas station once a week, is a complete nightmare.
There is a point of view of official medicine on this. When we eat “regular food,” we simply increase our risk of developing “cholesterol disease.” There is too much “bad” cholesterol in our blood, which mechanically narrows the lumen of blood vessels. The heart is overstrained, we get sick. Let's give up sweets and starchy foods!
Now imagine a person who took it and refused. What has replaced it? While the “honeymoon of the diet” is underway, that is, its first days, apples, pears and dried fruits come to replace it. But then apples and pears start to make our teeth hurt (we didn’t heal them while we were trying to lose weight), dried fruits upset our intestines, and our hero realizes that somehow there’s something wrong with all this healthy lifestyle. A little later, the apple is forgotten at home, but the cakes are still sold in the nearest coffee shop. It is clear that the cake will disappear, but the disappointment will remain. It’s worth repeating this a couple of times, and adding to this the fact that we are losing weight slowly, and sometimes we may not see the result on the scale for weeks, the cakes come back.
When they return, usually the person tries to subconsciously “eat up.” Since he knows for sure that he should then return to the diet. And the diet means apples, bad teeth, and suffering. In general, we would not eat all this if possible. And if only they could replace all this with something that is truly satiating, tasty, and does not cause everyday inconvenience.
By losing weight too quickly and sharply, limiting the list of foods to apples, cucumbers, buckwheat and chicken, we provoke ourselves to overeat at the first opportunity. For some people, diet-relapse-gain cycles last for years. And all because they don’t count calories, and are not ready to accept the fact that the complete exclusion of fatty, sweet and starchy foods in our civilization is more a myth than the truth.
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Switching to synthetic sugar substitutes
The reason for extra pounds for many people is an excessive love of sweets. Not everyone can refuse the pleasure of pampering themselves with something tasty. In weight loss communities, they suggest solving this problem by replacing sweet foods with foods with artificial sugar substitutes, and eating diabetic foods for dessert. However, not everyone will be able to lose weight using this method!
What will happen in reality? The use of artificial sugar substitutes, as well as taking medications for diabetics, can play a cruel joke on a person. Even such a common drug as Aspartame can cause memory impairment, headaches, and contribute to strokes.
As for the drugs that are used in the treatment of diabetics, they affect the production of insulin and the uptake of glucose by cells. When prescribing them to a patient, the doctor takes into account the results of his laboratory tests and is guided by the principles of expediency. Healthy people do not need such drugs! Their independent use can lead to severe damage to the liver and kidneys and the appearance of dangerous side effects.
Why are diets dangerous and harmful for men?
Harmful diet for men
- Men, when going on a diet, usually set themselves two goals at once. They want to lose weight quickly and get pumped up at the same time. Because of this, they most often choose a lean diet, consisting mainly of lean meat, fish and vegetables. At first glance, it may seem that these products are quite enough for weight loss to take place correctly.
- In fact, with such a diet, dishes are prepared with virtually no fat; only the most minimal use of spread oil is permissible. And since the male body simply needs fats, it begins to suffer from a lack of them. Most often, men who eat low-fat foods develop problems with the gallbladder. Against the background of a diet, he begins to empty his bowels very rarely and this leads to stagnation of bile.
- It precipitates and over time the formation of stones begins. At first, these may be quite small pebbles that do not cause absolutely any discomfort at the first stage. But if a person continues to stubbornly limit himself to fatty foods, then they will become very large, and it is likely that they will have to be removed surgically.
Forced bowel cleansing
Enemas are considered one of the most accessible methods of bowel movement. Those losing weight who practice this method admit that it is possible to lose 10-15 kg within a couple of months. At the same time - no harm to health!
What will happen in reality? In addition to the unpleasant sensations associated with this “weight loss” technique, those who are losing weight may experience side effects. So, by regularly giving yourself enemas, a person is guaranteed to develop intestinal problems, as well as constipation. In addition, due to the removal of nutrients from the body, hair may begin to fall out, nails will become very fragile, and bone fragility will increase.