Grapefruit diet, baby food diet, and juice cleanses. We’re all familiar with crash diets that hail amazing results through intense and radical measures.
What they don’t mention however are the plethora of side-effects that they cause for dropping a size. The physiological and psychological aftermath is often hidden in the fine print, leaving dieters frustrated, weak, and often heavier than when they started.
We’ll discuss examples of crash diets, why they are harmful, and highlight the ones that you should avoid at all costs.
Definition: Crash Diets
A crash diet means undertaking a severe method of losing weight on a short-term basis. It involves a drastic reduction of daily calorie intake and is notoriously restrictive. Such diets promise outstanding results in as little as a few days or weeks. There is often a sense of urgency around these regimes as their focus is to produce rapid changes by often unhealthy means.
What are the risks associated with crash diets?
While such solutions can help you shed weight in a short period, they can negatively impact you in the long term. Here are the dangers of a quick-fix diet.
Dehydration
Water carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, regulates body temperature, and helps protect tissues and joints. Therefore, it’s something that we really shouldn’t skimp. Diets that are restrictive by nature cause dehydration. Low-carb crash diets cause the body to draw from its glycogen storage to break down carbs. While this leads to an effective loss of water weight this is not a reduction in body fat.
Muscle Atrophy & Slow Metabolism
Muscle mass and metabolism are closely linked.
One of the effects of rapid weight loss is reduced metabolic rate, which in turn, results in muscle atrophy. Energy intake is low and your metabolism slows to preserve what little energy stores you do have. While it may seem like you’ve shed some pounds by burning fat, your body has in fact lost lean muscle mass.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Extreme diets don’t just cut out our favorite cheat meal. Severe caloric restriction can lead to nutrient deficiencies. When we lack essential nutrients and vitamins, it can bring about internal and external side effects: brittle nails, lackluster hair, fatigue, and cardiac irregularities.
Yo-Yo Dieting
Yo-yo dieting or weight cycling resembles its namesake: constant up and down dieting, causing the repeated loss and gain of pounds.
Like with all lose-weight-easy schemes, the allure of a quick solution is tempting. However, after a year of yo-yo dieting, one in 3 dieters reported ending up at a heavier weight than when they started. And after 5, it’s virtually impossible to keep it off. Studies have shown that this unhealthy toing and froing has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and higher blood pressure.
How to avoid starting crash diets?
To avoid falling into fad diets, your journey should be approached with a balanced and realistic outlook. Here are some tips to help you:
Set Realistic Expectations
It’s great to be eager and rearing to kick off your weight loss journey. Realistic expectations are key to remaining motivated and consistent. Setting a weight-loss goal of 1-2 pounds per week is sustainable and most importantly, safe. Choose the best weight loss plan that works with your lifestyle and needs.
Seek Professional Guidance
Reaching out to seasoned nutritionists is a way to receive tailored advice and get invaluable input. Under their guidance, you can discover the best options for you and learn which are the most unhealthy diets to steer clear of.
Which crash diets should you avoid?
Crash diets in any format should be avoided. The following ones however are the most damaging.
The Master Cleanse
Proclaiming to rid the body of toxins and boost your happiness, the Master Cleanse (or the Lemon Diet) consists of drinking a lemon beverage for 10 days. The concoction consists of lemon juice, cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and water.
Following this solely liquid diet requires participants to drink a saltwater solution each morning and ingest a herbal laxative tea each evening. The cleanse is dangerously low in vital nutrients and calories, and participants may suffer from nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, and headaches.
If you have lemons, don’t make lemonade this time around.
The Baby Food Diet
The baby food diet does exactly what it says on the tin (or jar.) The outline varies but essentially involves replacing breakfast, lunch, and in-between snacks with 14 jars of baby food for 3 days. A regular dinner can be consumed in the evening.
This diet is not scientifically backed, is restrictive, and may result in nutritional imbalances.
The Cotton Ball Diet
The cotton ball diet emerged in the modeling industry. Cotton balls soaked in juice were ingested to curb appetite and cravings. Apart from being far from appetizing, it’s potentially lethal. Following this diet could mean intestinal obstructions, toxicity, and severe malnutrition.
If you have gotten a Spatz Gastric Balloon or are considering following our treatment, such unstable diets should be avoided. Their sudden and extreme nature can be jarring – they do not provide the stability required to adopt new eating habits that embrace long-term weight management.
Most Famous Crash Diets
With all the buzz generated by these methods, we’ve often found ourselves asking: do crash diets actually work? While they may be effective for short-term results, it comes with the risk of rebound weight gain and getting stuck in an endless dieting loop.
Here are some of the most famous and researched diets.
Atkins Diet
Created by Dr Robert Atkins in 1960, the Atkins diet has seen many versions throughout the decades. Yet its core concept of high-protein and low-carbohydrate intake has never budged. Running low on carbs is the catalyst for ketosis, causing the body to source energy from stored fat or protein from muscle.
While it is more dieter-friendly than some diets we’ve seen, it is quite restrictive with meals becoming repetitive. It has also raised concern over its permissible intake of high saturated fats. Although some benefits associated with the Atkins diet have been cited, it’s worth noting that this company filed for bankruptcy in 2005.
Keto Diet
The Keto diet follows a similar concept to Atkins and the Dr.Now Diet. It also entails high-fat consumption and reduced carbohydrate intake. While carbohydrate intake is steadily increased in the Atkins diet, it remains extremely low in Keto to keep your body in ketosis.
Carbohydrate intake is significantly reduced to 20 – 50g per day to trigger ketosis, making up less than 10% of the daily calorie intake. 10-30% should be sourced from protein, with the remaining 60-90% coming from fat. Nutrient deficiencies, keto flu, high-saturated fat intake, and sustainability are some of the concerns raised by this diet.
What happens when you abandon a crash diet?
Once a crash diet is abandoned, it is usually followed by a rebound in weight gain. Since it will take time to restore your previous metabolic rate and you are eating unrestricted, it is likely that you will regain body fat.
FAQ
What are the mental side effects of crash dieting?
Following a restrictive diet can lead to irritability, mood swings, increased cravings, and eventual overeating or undereating.
Can you crash diet safely?
While quick solutions and promises of rapid weight loss are tempting, a medical professional should always be consulted before attempting to achieve dramatic and drastic results.
Which is the most dangerous crash diet?
Though not technically a “diet”, the Tapeworm diet is the most drastic method. By swallowing a pill containing tapeworm eggs, the participant receives a tapeworm infection. Once the tapeworm hatches, it will begin to nurture itself from the body’s nutrients.
How many calories is a crash diet?
A crash diet is considered between the range of 700 – 1200 calories per day. The average for women is 2000 per day and 2500 for men per day.
