Do crash diets work?
Each of us years to lose weight fast. Either there’s a party around the corner and you want to wear that great dress you bought or you’re getting married soon. Often it is due to a long-term diet that is difficult for you to maintain. Fad crash diets seem to be the easiest and most popular option. We have all been guilty of this at some point in our lives.
The bad news is that fad crash diets don’t work. Health and fitness experts have said it all along and it hasn’t changed! If a diet program uses words like guaranteed, secret, and promises fantastic results, it’s probably just a fad diet. Fad diets often involve eating cabbage or grapefruit soup, taking diet pills and laxatives, replacing meals with supplements, or fasting; also known as starvation diets.
Losing weight in the style of fad crash diets is through cutting calories. Plummeting your daily calories below 1,000 would surely tip the scales, but it will backfire later. Without enough calories, you can’t exercise effectively. This is due to muscle burning which makes you weak. As you burn muscle, you are slowing down your metabolic rate. Once you stop dieting, your metabolism stays the same and you burn calories more slowly than ever before. You will regain the lost weight and more, faster!
Do Fad Crash Diets Help You Lose Weight Without Exercise?
The good news is that you can lose weight quickly even without using fad crash diets. However, you need to do it safely and commit to sticking with it for the long haul. It’s very simple: you simply burn more calories than you consume! However, you cannot achieve effective weight loss just by dieting. Eating fewer calories with a good combination of increasing physical activity is sure to shed body fat:
- You will need almost an hour of moderate exercise a day. The most effective exercise for burning calories is cardiovascular exercises, such as running, biking, swimming, aerobics, brisk walking, and anything that gets your heart rate up.
- Increase the intensity of your exercise so that you sweat throughout the hour. If you can’t get through a full hour of exercise, break it up into morning and evening workouts.
- Interval training capable of burning more calories in less time. Spend a short period pacing through a high-intensity routine (such as running or biking uphill) and drop to a low intensity before repeating the cycle again.
- Include a few hours a week of strength training to build and strengthen your muscles, which increases your metabolism.
Aren’t fad diets smart diets?
- When you’re on a diet, what you eat is just as important as how much you eat. Don’t blindly reduce your total food intake like fad crash diets might. It’s smarter to cut back on certain types of foods that add the most calories to your daily diet:
- Reduce your intake of carbohydrates (rice, noodles, breads, potatoes and cereals) and you should not cut them out altogether as carbohydrates provide us with energy for our daily responsibilities. Better yet, opt for whole grain-based foods.
- Cut back on sugary foods and avoid adding sugar to drinks.
- Choose low-fat dairy products and lean meat.
- Eat a good daily serving of fresh fruits and vegetables, egg whites, soy products, and fish. Protein gives you energy with fewer calories from fat.
- Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated for physical exercises. It also helps simulate a feeling of fullness.
Moderate exercise routines with healthier eating habits should comfortably reduce your total daily intake by at least 500 calories. By being disciplined and following a moderately intense but safe diet plan, you could lose at least 3lbs (1.5kg) per week. Stay away from fad crash diets. Fad diets are just fad. If you need to lose some unwanted weight, choose a scientifically proven weight loss method with a healthy diet and plenty of exercise.