Are you at risk?
Yo-yo dieting is particularly dangerous and ineffective, because it decreases the metabolism, leading to an immediate weight gain once the caloric restrictions are eased.
Many over-the-counter (OTC) and prescribed medications have been proven to be extremely hazardous to the health and consequently withdrawn from sale, so consumers need to be wary.While anyone can lose weight by fasting (temporarily stopping one’s food intake altogether), it is an extremely dangerous practice. When concentration camp survivors, who involuntarily suffered famine as a result of the horrendous living conditions, were examined by doctors, what little weight they had was mostly fat, with practically no muscle.
The reason for the muscle loss is due to the fact that the brain cannot rely on fat for fuel. The brain can only rely on glucose and, to an extent, ketones to fuel itself. Ketones can be made from fats. When carbohydrates are initially limited, the brain still relies heavily on glucose for fuel, but after roughly 2-3 weeks the brain will gradually change its fuel usage to ketones. However, the brain can never use ketones to fuel itself 100%; at least 15% of its fuel must come from glucose. Due to the fact that fasts, very low calorie diets, and low-carbohydrate diets restrict the intake of carbohydrates, glucose must be obtained from some other source. Therefore, the body creates glucose from the available amino acids. These, in turn, are derived from dietary protein or from muscle, if dietary protein is insufficient. For this reason, any low carbohydrate diet is potentially hazardous: if protein intake is not adequate, muscle loss will result. This conversion of amino acids to glucose is called gluconeogenesis.
A very low calorie diet that restricts all carbohydrates and non-essential fats, while providing just enough dietary protein to prevent muscle loss, is termed a protein sparing modified fast or PSMF. This is possible when dietary protein is sufficient to meet the body’s glucose needs via gluconeogenesis conversion, thus sparing muscle protein. After a good deal of experimentation, it was found that a protein intake of 1 – 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of ideal bodyweight prevented the loss of body protein. A somewhat “safer” (although higher calorie) intake of .8 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound of LBM is often recommended, with even greater requirements for active individuals. Thus, a PSMF allows for rapid fat loss due to the severe caloric deficit that is created when nearly all carbohydrates and fats are removed from the diet. As with any VLCD, the PSMF is an extreme dieting technique subject to the same potential hazards: hormonal changes, rapid metabolic slowdown, nutrient deficiencies, and other side effects, and should be used with extreme caution.
The “safest” method of weight loss, to avoid rapid metabolic slowdown and possible muscle loss, is to eat a sensible, healthy diet while moderately decreasing caloric intake, and to increase exercise gradually until weight loss results. A good guideline to follow would be to create a calorie deficit of roughly 20% of normal daily caloric intake (calculate your daily caloric intake). Half of the deficit should be created through diet and the other half through exercise. This should allow one to lose fat, and maintain muscle mass, therefore curbing the metabolic slowdown associated with a reduction in bodyweight. Weight lifting is also a good guideline to follow as it has been shown to cause a response in the body to maintain muscle stores, and even stimulate muscle growth in untrained individuals, while on a caloric deficit.
Side effects of dieting
prolonged hunger
depression
reduced sex drive
fatigue
irritability
preoccupation with food intake and exercise
Lisa Angelettie, M.S.W., is a psychotherapist, author, and life coach. She has been helping people make smarter life choices since 1998. Get more free tips like this when you subscribe to the GirlShrink newsletter .
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