I have seen several women in the gym who literally starve themselves from not eating properly. They skip meals regularly in the hope of losing those unwanted pounds from their tummy quickly and naturally. Perhaps, these women get the idea of such a method from movies or TV shows where famous idols admit to doing the same to lose weight. Or perhaps they have read about it in a popular women’s magazine.
Whatever the reasons, I don’t think starving yourself is the best way to lose weight. Here are my 3 big reasons why I said so.
1. You will not lose weight
You’ll probably lose some weight by starving yourself, since you’re not consuming calories, in order for your body to stay alive, it must get the nutrients it needs elsewhere. It will consume your body fat and then your muscle (a good source of protein) to maintain bodily functions. However, in the long run, your body will “adapt” to your diet/starvation routine which will lower your metabolism to decrease the calories you need.
This is your body’s pre-programming mechanism thousands of years ago when our ancestors experienced hunger from time to time. Our body adapted to this scenario (hunger) by lowering metabolism.
In other words, you may find that the longer you practice starving yourself, the harder it is to lose weight.
2. You will be disappointed
This is in conjunction with the first reason I told you. By starving ourselves, our body’s metabolism slows down, therefore slowing down the rate at which we lose weight. When we realize this fact, frustration and disappointment sink into our brain. This plus the fact that we force ourselves not to eat the delicious food we love to eat makes it even worse!
After a few weeks and months of enduring the emotional and mental anguish of not eating enough food, you will finally give up. What will you do next? Obviously, you will eat like there is no tomorrow. You are frustrated, you are hungry and you are going to eat a lot. What will happen after that? You will gain everything you lost and you will gain more kilos.
3. You could get sick
Since you’re not feeding your body the necessary foods it needs, you’re not getting enough nutrients to fend off airborne bacteria and viruses. Your body’s immune system will eventually drop due to food deficiency due to starvation. Once your body’s defenses are lowered, you are now very vulnerable to disease and more.
These are just a few of the side effects and worse things that can happen to your body from trying to lose weight the wrong way. You can lose unwanted fat, but you need to focus on the things that will benefit your body in the long run.
