3 WORST THINGS YOU DO TO LOSE WEIGHT

Are you among those who try and try to get rid of those rolls on your back or that extra inch that keeps you from fitting in those jeans? If yes then you must’ve adopted at least one of these desperate ways to cut down.

It’s a general misconception among people, specially the youngsters these days that losing weight makes them beautiful. They try things that not only fail to get them the results but end up causing serious troubles for themselves in the long term. Remember folks, it’s not just about losing weight, it’s about staying healthy.

First in the line is STARVING

A standard model of weight loss is, calories consumed vs calories burnt. To avoid running on treadmills or doing crunches, many people rather starve, themselves and hope to achieve their desired pounds. For those who might be unaware, our body components consist of fat and fat free mass. The fat is what you should avoid and fat free mass is what needs to be consumed and it includes proteins vitamins and minerals etc. Fat free mass is what builds bones, muscles and gives us strength to do day to day tasks. By starving not only do we cut down fat but the fat free mass as well. Check out these benefits of fats that makes you healthier.

According to a research, starving does cause an overall loss in weight however it comes with a cost. Along with the weight, organ size and muscle mass also deplete by 20% due to chronic starving. Except that, bone density also reduces which makes you prone to injuries. While being fat makes you slow, starving can cause you to just shut down.

Having a faster metabolism causes food to cut down and be digested quicker. A person with greater body mass will require more energy to function day to day, thus will have a larger basal metabolic rate (BMR). As weight decreases, so does BMR. This means that there’s a certain number of calories necessary to maintain your lean mass. If you go below this number, your body will be forced to break down these muscle stores in order to create energy.

Simply put, working out and increasing lean muscle will give you the appearance of being thinner, even if the number on the scale doesn’t move. That is because muscle is more compact than fat. So focusing on body composition, as opposed to fat loss, can help you improve your overall appearance and reduce body fat while increasing strength.

Then comes BULIMIA

Have you ever had a binge eat session where you eat till you’re full but end up feeling guilty and ashamed? You’re afraid that all this food will cause you to bloat and thus the first thought that comes to your mind is to throw up. Basically, purging or vomiting forcefully after having food is called BULIMIA.

Purging can lead to serious complications. Moreover, it does not reduce weight and may even contribute to weight gain in the long term. Not all calories are thrown up on purging. Around 50% are retained in our bodies. Once we feel our stomach is emptied, we might consume more food assuming the calories are not being absorbed. However this causes calories to pile up and cause weight gain instead of loss.

Just like Starving, Bulimia also results in deterioration of health. Apart from wrong balance of body mass that causes problems discussed in starving, self inflicted vomiting might result in other side effects too including severe dehydration that causes wrinkles and skin problems as well as it affects our kidneys.

Forceful vomits might cause acid reflux; where the acid in the stomach rises to the esophagus causing heart burn and chest pain. The acidic substance inflames the throat and makes it sore. It decays teeth and swells cheeks by damaging the parotid glands which causes bad breath and foul taste. Not only that, Women with bulimia are at risk for infrequent menstrual periods, known as oligomenorrhea, due to poor nutrition. This can affect fertility.

All these reasons are why next time you find yourself or a loved one running to the bathroom right after eating or you see scars on someone’s knuckles due to pushing fingers down their throats, you should immediately stop them and make them read this article.

Number 3; Extreme Workouts

We all know that regular exercise is essential. It can help you to maintain the ideal weight, burn down calories, improve your mental health, and reduce your risk of developing certain cancers. Research even shows that vigorous workouts could help you live longer. But too much of everything comes with a cost. Instead of actually increasing your life span, excessive amount of exercise can actually reduce it!

Spending hours in the gym, repeating the same routine every day can cause your body to become efficient and stop reacting to your workouts. You might stop seeing changes and all your hard work might go in the drain. That’s why professional trainers tend to change their clients routines on frequent bases. According to a 12 year study’s follow up, those who ran at a fast pace more than four hours a week for more than three days a week had about the same risk of dying as those who were sedentary and hardly exercised at all.

People who take workouts to an extreme tend to be at higher risk of developing abnormal heart rhythms, and may be more vulnerable to enlarged hearts, which are less efficient at pumping blood and delivering oxygen and removing waste than normal-sized organs. Constant exposure to the sun can also cause skin burns and even cancer which reduces life span. Soreness in muscles and chronic pain might be overlooked while working out but these might develop in serious injuries as your body needs proper time and food to repair. Hence don’t just burn down as soon as you consume!

Michele Olson, PhD, professor of kinesiology at Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama says “Exercise should boost you up, not bring you down. So if you’re feeling lethargic, you’re burned-out. You might even need a full week off so your body can rest and readjust.” Fatigue can lead to irritability, depression, reduced appetite, and sleep issues all of which can compound your low-energy woes.

Always remember guys, it’s not how we look that makes us attractive, it’s what is within. However if some of you still feel the need to cut down in order to feel better, you must always choose the more healthier way to do it. There’s no use of getting rid of the fat only to get even worse issues. With that being said, best of luck to all of you trying to keep a balance between that slice of cake and that set of crunches!