On a resent trip away I did what every self-respecting person does and got a couple of health and fitness magazines to give me something to do on a budget airline flight! What came to mind when going through one of these magazines was that there is so much advertising, no big shocker there. But then I counted the pages that only had advertising on them there were 48 full page advertisements in a magazine that only has 146pgs! Over a third, but I guess they have to make money and we like pretty pictures. This was just me been a geek about content with no substance!
One article caught my attention. Crash diets! It gave reputable evidence to show that crash dieting could be a better motivator for those trying to get those extra kilograms off! The evidence came from a study done by the University of Melbourne where a group of obese adults were asked to drop 12.5% of their body weight in 12 weeks. The group was split, one half being put on a rapid weight loss diet (crash diet) the other half were allowed a slower approach with 36 weeks being their target deadline. The outcome of the study showed, that 80% of the crash dieters reached their goal weight. Only 50% of the steady group reached their weight loss goal. Not mentioned in the article, was that 71% of both groups regained the weight after a 3 year period!
I am not going to dispute the evidence that they have gotten from their study. It makes sense that achieving a result in a shorter time frame would be a big motivator for a person to stick to any diet! My concern is that people reading this article will not look at the big picture! This study was done on morbidly obese people, not individuals that need to lose a couple of kg! The difference is that people that are clinically obese have to lose huge %’s of their overall body weight for health purposes. For them its less about aesthetics and more about life or death (not being to dramatic).
A big concern is the picture these articles paint, that losing weight can be easy and fast. At no stage is “keeping the weight off” being raised! I know its all been covered before but Let me put it in simple terms. If you are a couple of kilos overweight and you go on a crash diet, more than likely you will lose weight! The weight lost will consist of fluid, muscle mass with only some fat loss. More then likely this will not concern you as the lower kgs on the scales will confirm that you have lost some weight. Job done! Crash diets are very limiting and soon you will be craving all the foods you have deprived your body of. I guarantee you, you will go back to your old routine and eating habits faster than you can say juice cleanse and those pesky little kilos are back. Those regained kilos will be a little more stubborn to shed this time around. Naturally you are tempted to go back on the crash diet as it has worked so well last time. Very soon you’ll realize for some reason its not as easy as the first time to lose that weight.
And that’s how the cycle begins. Every time you crash diet it will get harder to loose the weight! The reason is your body’s metabolic rate has slowed down and is not as fast as it was when you first started your trend of crash dieting. When you go back to eating the foods you used to eat, your body can’t process them as fast as it used too. One of two things can happen. You get an upset stomach and you don’t feel well or the excess saturated fat, sugar and refined carbs stick around as stored energy. FAT. This is the “watered down” version of what you can expect to happen.
If it sounds like I am going off on “a rant” about this, it is because I am! I see people struggle with weight on a daily basis and it is not easy trying to get them to retrain their perception of food. Having a healthy relationship with food and all types of food. Making them realize that it isn’t about “good” or “bad” foods but how to have a well balanced diet.
Body image, mental state and self confidence are very fragile human traits which are influenced by so many things around us. We often get influenced by those external factors rather then what makes us feel better, when it comes to making a decision about our own bodies.
What ever your goal is, sit down and consider why you doing it. YOU should be the biggest influence in setting it because you are the biggest influence in achieving it! With that done do a little research and never take anything at face value.
Remember if it sounds to good to be true there is a high probability that it is!