While it is suggested that you try to maintain a healthy weight, quick fix approaches can be detrimental to your health. A lot of people are lured by fad diets but they are usually not and healthy. A general rule of thumb is that if a diet sounds too good to be true, you should steer clear of it. Sometimes people get so obsessed with weight loss that they potentially do harmful things that can compromise their health. Below we discuss the things to avoid when losing weight.
1- Starvation And Low-Calorie Diets:
You might lose weight by severely cutting down on calories, but you may end up losing muscle too. Low-calorie diets can also slow down your metabolism. Severe calories restriction may also result in a higher percentage of body fat that can make you more susceptible to type 3 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Do not restrict yourself to 1,200 calories a day unless medically supervised. Otherwise, your body will not get enough nutrients to perform at an optimum level. The weight that is lost quickly often comes back with more fat and muscle.
2- Detox Plans:
Cleanses make you lose water and stool weight. They can be potentially dangerous and result in electrolyte imbalance and dehydration. It can be risky to lose a lot of fluids and gets even riskier when it is combined with fasting. Your body is naturally programmed to detoxify and eliminate toxins. Going on extreme cleanses can seriously mess up with your body’s system and lead to complications. Try to be more mindful of your everyday diet instead of detoxifying. Drink a lot of water and eat fiber-rich food to cleanse your body.
3- Supplements:
Unlike prescription drugs, supplements are not always tested for the safety and efficacy. Weight loss pills can sometimes be dangerous and pose harmful side effects such as high blood pressure, increased heart rate, diarrhea, liver damage, kidney problems, and sleeplessness. Always consult a healthcare professional before ingesting any weight loss supplement.
4- Purging:
Purging is an eating disorder which includes self-induced vomiting, spitting out food after chewing it, and misusing laxatives. These are all unhealthy and unsafe behaviors and may lead to an excess fluid loss that causes severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.
5- Extreme exercise
The idea of doing hardcore exercise for extreme amounts to drop unwanted weight is a flawed argument. Successfully losing weight is the result of making permanent changes in one’s life. Even though, all adults are recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week and that obese people, most probably, should exceed this limit, there is no reason to go crazy on exercise. For best long-term results, just reduce the number of calorie intake through a healthy diet and do physical activity.
6- Working out on an empty stomach burns fat
The body needs energy for working out. The fact that body burns fat when working out with an empty stomach is just a rumor. Instead the body uses the sugar stored in the, which causes muscle breakdown.
7- Cutting out carbs
There is a lower chance of gaining weight from carbs if the diet is free from butter, cream cheese, and similar foods. When dieting, whole-grain carbs like brown rice and whole grain bread raise fiber intake. As mentioned, do not burn your starches by working out on an empty stomach to lose weight because this can result in the accumulation of advanced glycation end products, and weight gain through excessive fat and calories.
8- Switching to diet soda
People think that diet sodas would help them in weight loss just because they are low on calories, or sometimes even calorie-free. Experts on the other hand believe that diet sodas have artificial sweeteners that may cause weight gain because they increase sugar cravings and sugar dependency. Researchers found out that high quantities of artificially sweetened diet sodas consumption could lead to metabolic syndrome and abdominal obesity.
9- Diet pills help
Properly prescribed medications for weight loss do help, but there are over the counter, ineffective, unlicensed weight loss pills also present in the market in abundance. Moreover, fraudulent treatments like these also have harmful ingredients.
10- Smoking
The countless health risks of smoking are well known, and still some individuals, especially young adults, think smoking is good for dieting.
Even though, nicotine is known to be an appetite suppressant, there is no doubt that the health risks of smoking exceedingly outweigh any benefits, if any.
Smoking causes cancer, diseases like cardiovascular, respiratory, and others, and harms almost every organ of the body. Overall, it affects the health of the individual.
Additional to other health risks, weight gain is a side effect when smokers try to quit this addiction.
If you want to embark on a diet, consult your dietitian first. You can find and book an appointment with top Nutritionist in Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi through oladoc.com. You can also call our helpline at 042-3890-0939 for assistance to find the RIGHT Doctor for your health concerns.
