Crash diets can be an effective way to achieve short-term weight loss. But professionals familiar with the practice say the pounds often come back quickly, and that crash dieting can harm a person’s health.
People go on crash diets seeking to lose weight “really fast in a short period of time by reducing their daily calorie intake to as low as
700 calories a day,” said ReachSelf. Crash dieters typically intend to reach a certain weight level by a specific time, such as the date of a party or wedding. Crash dieting offers a chance within a few days to drop 5 to 20 pounds, though the experience can be uncomfortable, ReachSelf said.
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Crash diets are less effective for those trying to achieve long-term weight loss.
WebMD said that when people initiate and follow diets that cut their daily calorie intake to less than 1,000, “Sure enough, the pounds melt away. But when you eat so few calories, you train your metabolism to slow down. Once the diet is over, you have a body that burns calories more slowly, and you usually regain the weight.”
Even worse,
CNN said, many people who go on crash diets unknowingly harm their health and possibly their hearts. CNN’s website quoted author, physician and medical school professor Isadore Rosenfeld as saying that crash diets – in addition to slowing metabolism – can weaken your immune system, deprive your body of the nutrition it needs, and raise your risk of heart palpitations and cardiac stress. Rosenfeld added: "A crash diet once won't hurt your heart. But crash dieting repeatedly increases the risk of heart attacks."
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