Fasting for Weight Loss, a Good or a Bad Thing?
Fasting has been practiced many years for various reasons, mostly for
religious causes and others for
weight loss issues. You will find many
articles and sites promising you that
fasting is something beneficial to
your body when it comes to
weight loss and it's true. Fasting makes you
lose
weight within a short amount of time but the consequences of
fasting can be harmful and in some cases devastating if it is practiced
for too long.
You've probably heard of cases where people shed 30 pound of fat within a
month or so. But what happens next? After a certain period of time they
gain back all the
weight and all the fat they had lost. Things get even
worse than before they had started fasting. Your cravings increase
because you've restricted your body from so many essential nutrients.
Therefore, you will eventually eat more and you will gain back all the
weight you had lost.
What Does Fasting Consist of?
The typical
weight loss plan consists of drinking only water, juice and
in some cases consuming laxatives which is really not a good idea if
it's combined with fasting. By fasting you're already restricting your
body from all the nutrients and energy your body needs and the purging
will just make you weak. Although, some plans do allow to consume some
solid foods but with very few calories.
Are all Fasts dangerous?
Not all fasts are dangerous. If you're a healthy adult and practice
religious fasting for a day or so, there is very little chance that it
can be dangerous and a risk for your health. Religious fasting will not
promote
weight loss since it's done for a very little time. If you're a
pregnant woman, a child, an older person, or someone with some type of
disease or condition, it is not recommended to practice these kind of
fasts. Keep in mind that if a fast is instructed by a physician, it is
perfectly safe to follow the fast as long as you're being supervised and
follow the instructions.
The real danger of fasting comes when you fast for more than 3 days. The
dangers of fasting are many and they range from
health problems to a
wide variety of illnesses.
Some of these include:
- weakness
- renal failure
- electrolyte imbalances
- hair thinning
- anorexia nervosa
- cardiac arrhythmias
...among many others.
You also burn calories more slowly when you're fasting since fasting
slow the metabolism. If you want to
lose weight the thing that you DO
NOT want to do is slow your metabolism. Your metabolism plays the key
role in your
weight and fat loss process. The initial
weight lost on a
fast is just pure body fluid and not fat.
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