If you're like most people who want to lose weight, you want to lose weight quickly . Therefore, you may want to make significant changes to your diet to significantly reduce the number of calories you consume. But what you may not know is that eating too few calories can actually backfire and sabotage your weight loss efforts.
Stopping eating makes sense, but it actually works in the opposite way.
Calories and your health
The most effective way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you consume, creating a calorie deficit. However, if your calorie intake drops too low, your body may go into starvation mode. Your body will start storing fat because it thinks it's not going to get any and you'll be at a point where your body is at rest.
When your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism slows to a crawl, burning calories as slowly as possible to conserve its energy stores. This is why people who cut calories too much may hit a plateau and stop losing weight.
Eating too few calories can be the start of a vicious cycle that leads to eating distress. When you cut calories so low that your metabolism slows down and you stop losing weight, you may feel frustrated that your efforts aren't paying off. This can lead to you overeating and ultimately gaining weight.
It's hard to sustain cutting calories and eating too little. What usually happens is people will go in the opposite direction; they'll get too hungry and go into binge eating mode and get frustrated because you're not seeing any weight loss, so you just throw in the towel.
In addition to sabotaging your weight loss efforts, eating too few calories can harm your health. When your body goes into starvation mode, you run the risk of:
- Abnormally low blood pressure and slow heart rate
- abnormal heart rhythm
- Electrolyte imbalance, especially potassium deficiency
- gallstones
- hair loss
- brittle nails
- Irregular menstruation in women
- Soft hair growth all over the body
- Dizziness
- unable to concentrate
- anemia
- swollen joints
- brittle bones
- frustrated
accept calories
Remember, calories are not your enemy. They are an important part of a healthy and vibrant life. Your body requires a certain amount of calories to function properly. That's why fad diets that force you to cut too many calories can leave you feeling lethargic, shaky, and ready to give up.
Rather than opting for a fad diet, find a sensible diet and exercise plan that will allow you to lose half to two pounds per week. Evidence shows that people who lose weight at this rate—by making better nutritional choices, eating smaller portions, and exercising—are also most likely to keep the weight off. Make a plan to develop new healthy habits that you'll be able to stick to indefinitely and always leave a little wiggle room for special occasions.
