Trying to decide on the right weight loss plan? Choose the right one not the fastest

Are you tempted by advertisements that promise instant and drastic weight loss? Beware of serious side-effects if you fall prey to such claims.

Nowadays, there are also some non-invasive and minimally invasive procedures that uses radio frequencies to tighten your hanging skin.. ©Shutterstock

You might feel like it is better to lose weight quickly and then just maintain it for the rest of your life. And countless advertisements promising miraculous weight loss in just days help to reinforce this belief in you. But what these advertisements are not revealing is the health cost of these weight loss plans. If you follow these claims blindly, you may end up losing more than just your weight.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, it is better to lose weight slowly instead of getting rid of the extra kilos in just a week. Your body is not made to handle that kind of pressure. These over-the-top plans make you go through some tough starvation techniques, which can have some severe side-effects. And, what if I tell you that you will not lose any weight from these plans? According to a study published in the journal American Psychologist, researchers have found that two-thirds of people who initially drop their weight through these programmes, gain even more with time.

Your body is like a child. You need to teach it slowly and repeat your instructions. Only then can it understand the point you want to make. Pushing it will only make the situation worse. Losing weight slowly, teaches the body how it can get the nutrients it wants. Lose weight quickly and the body rejects the programmes and turns back to its original self.

Here are some other side-effects of losing your weight too quickly.

You may face nutritional deficiency

Rigid starvation techniques that are introduced in these plans often lead to cutting down of some essential nutrients from your diet. These nutrients are important in the functioning of the body. For example, if you take up a dairy-free diet, you may face calcium deficiency. On the other hand, if you go for a low-carbs diet, you may increase the risk of fibre deficiency. Reducing your nutrient intake without giving any warning to the body can lead to decreased energy, brittle hair and nails, hair loss and a compromised immune system.

Your metabolism may become slow

When you cut the food supply, your body starts rationing. The body sees the lack of food as a sign of starvation and starts conserving energy and fat. The same fat that you were trying to lose is now being protected by your own body. Once the metabolism becomes slow, it retains more calories. Since the diet plan you are following is only for a few days, your body will gain more calories once you go back to your regular diet.

You may be losing muscle mass and not fat

When a person says he/she wants to lose weight, it means the removal of adipose tissue (loose connective tissue that store fat) and not the removal of muscle mass or tone. Losing weight doesn't mean that your bones must protrude from your skin. If you cut your calories, it will affect your muscle tone. Muscles are metabolically smart. They store nutrients and calories in exchange of muscle mass. So, what might look like weight loss is actually loss of muscle and the fat is still there in the system.