A Crash Diet: what is it and why it's best to avoid it?

Losing a lot of weight in a short time is the promise of a crash diet. Often by eliminating carbohydrates from your diet or reducing your calorie intake severely below the minimum of what you actually need on a daily basis. These are drastic measures that crash diets are more than happy to promote. However, a crash diet is called this way for a reason, and you don't want to experience the crash that can result from such a diet. Not only can the result be lost, you may even be worse off compared to before you started.

Losing weight in a healthy way happens gradually. When your calorie intake is less than the energy used by the body, a calorie deficit occurs. This means that you burn more energy than you take in. Losing weight in a responsible and healthy way is certainly possible and the norm is to eat 10-15% fewer calories in a day than your body would need. Unfortunately, we don't always have as much patience as we should, and we want to see results faster. The promises of a crash diet will then be music to our ears.

Unfortunately, completely eliminating an element from your diet (such as fats or carbohydrates) is also often accompanied by nutrient deficiencies that disrupt hormone levels. These disturbed hormone levels in your body can in turn cause your metabolism to go haywire, and even lead to weight gain. Even when a completely healthy diet is maintained but extremely low amounts are consumed, your body can get into a stress reaction. When this happens and your body thinks it is in survival mode it can choose to store the few available nutrients, which makes the opposite effect of dieting true: you gain weight!

Losing weight takes time, no matter how you slice it. Being in balance while doing so will always be the healthiest and most sustainable option for the long term. So eat healthily and get enough exercise. Don't know how? Read more about it in our Get Fit Ebook. We always give this 65-page booklet away for free when you buy any supplement in our shop.