So, what's a starvation diet? Well it is when you DRASTICALLY cut calories to a ridiculously low amount in order to lose weight. Now before we carry on I want you to understand a few things.
The first point I want to make is that weight loss and fat loss are NOT equal, I've blogged on this before so I won't go into much detail, but this picture sums it up nicely;
For my second point I want to ask you, "What is a calorie?". Calories are not a bunch of fat cells that blow up every time you eat, no, not at all. A calorie indicates how much energy it takes to change the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. To put it in the most basic terms, a calorie is a measure of energy. If you are taking in more energy than you are expending, the excess energy is going to be stored as fat.
The final point I want to talk about is BMR. BMR stands for Basal metabolic rate. This is the amount of calories (energy) your body will burn if you stayed in bed all day and didn't move an inch. When you breathe, you're burning calories, when your heart beats, you're burning calories, when your digesting food, your burning calories. Your BMR determines how many calories your body needs to simply function/stay alive.
Now let me get back to the reason I started blogging about this topic...
When people get desperate they will look for any quick fix and jump on the first fad diet they come across. Social networking sites like twitter have their pros and cons. A pro being that it gives people like me, people who care about your health and fitness, a platform to help educate, teach and motive. However a major con is that it also gives a platform for all these fad diet companies who simply want to take your money. They promote quick fixes, "magic slimming pills" and loads of other ridiculous "plans" knowing that they do nothing positive for your health.
Unfortunately, it takes one photoshopped before and after picture to draw the attention of someone who is desperate to lose weight...
"Wow, how did they do that!?"
"I must do that, I want to become like her"
Once people are drawn in they will try anything and everything, even if it means eating under 900 calories a day! And THIS is why I am doing today's post, THIS is what I consider to be extremely dangerous in the long run and THIS is why so many females who go on these "diets" will never be happy with their figures.
So what's so bad about these starvation diets?
Well lets start with the obvious point - You will be STARVING! This can lead to mood swings (due to low energy/blood sugar levels), headaches, dizziness, muscle cramps (all from lack of nutrients) and even insomnia.
Also, you will be ruining your figure. When you starve yourself by eating too few calories your metabolism will drastically slow down and your body will end up using protein for energy, which results in a loss of muscle mass. This is why people tend to lose loads of weight when on these dangerously low calorie diets. The moment you start losing muscle, your metabolism will drop and you will become whats commonly known as "skinny fat". Skinny fat is a term used for those who have more fat than muscle (especially round the tummy). Muscle helps add shape to your figure and boosts your metabolism. The more muscle you have, the more calories you will be able to burn at rest. This is why I always promote strength training and advise females to up their quality protein intake. It's important for both health and fitness! So for those thinking drastically cutting calories will help them get a flat lean tummy... it won't, it'll do the opposite!
The next issue I want to raise is a much more serious one. It's the one that SHOULD mean the most to you and that is your health! We talked about BMR in my third point and i'll tell you why it's so important. The average 5ft 4, 9.5 stone, 25 years old woman would have a BMR at around 1400. (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ - Sure the online calculators are not pin point exact, but they are a decent general guide to follow. How many calories you should eat a day is another blog post in itself, so i'll touch on that another day). So if your BMR is 1400 and you are consuming just 900 calories a day for weeks on end, how is your body meant to perform it's basic functions? As you can imagine, this over time will promote huge health complications. Now you can see why I am so against them!
To finish, I don't want people thinking I'm turning into someone who rants all day and night about things, because that's not my aim. My aim is to try and help/educate as many people as I can, to live a healthier, fitter life. If we all cared a little more about our own health and less about what everyone else does and thinks, we would all live a lot happier.
Have short term targets and a long term goal. Simple targets like making sure you start to plan/prepare meals, including more vegetables into meals, ensuring you dedicate time for exercise, it's little changes like these that will make the world of difference.
Be patient. Be motivated. Be positive. Be driven. Be more!
Hadee x
"Rome wasn't built in a day, but it will be remembered forever!"
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