What Happens when you Choose Starvation to Lose Weight?
06-09-2017 | Posted By: Chhavi | 4170 View(s)
So, you plan to go shopping with your friends and have a gala time. You start trying on the clothes, but soon you get irritated as the clothes are not complimenting you. And why is that? It’s because you have put on weight! Those of you who have gained weight can relate well to this situation where you have to spend a lot of time in finding that perfect dress because you don’t find anything that will make your tummy look flat. And so, you make a promise to yourself that you will go on a strict diet and will opt for starvation to lose weight.
But, is it the correct method? No, it’s not; unless a diet is strictly planned by a professional Dietician, you cannot go on a starvation diet as it will crash out. I have met so many people in my life who were fighting with obesity issues and had a misconception that if they starve themselves, they will burn calories, and believe me those people ended up ruining their health.
Now, I am not saying that do not go for dieting, but there is a difference between following a healthy, strict diet plan and starving yourself to shed a few pounds. So, you must know what happens to your body when you choose starvation to lose weight. And, well, the effects are not so good, my friends! So, let’s take a look here about what is starvation, and it’s side effects!
What is Starvation?
Starvation is a condition whereby an individual restricts calorie intake by cutting down food severely. It can be deliberate or may be due to the presence of other conditions like bulimia or anorexia. Some people have such a busy schedule that they are not able to take time out for exercise, and then dieting becomes their only ray of hope to lose weight. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing healthy foods over junk food and cutting down calories. But, when you start starving yourself and do not give any importance to your hunger pangs, dieting becomes dangerous.
Starvation is no ideal method to lose weight. Your body gets energy from the foods you eat, and so if you stop eating, you won’t be doing justice to your body. Starvation can lead to malnutrition, eating disorders, and even psychological problems. So, you should refrain yourself from starving yourself.
Adverse Effects of Starving Yourself to Lose Weight
1. Malnutrition
When you do not eat proper food, your body does not get the essential nutrients and minerals that it needs to function properly. If you choose starvation to lose weight, keep in mind that it will lead to malnutrition. This can further cause many major problems like night blindness, anaemia, scurvy and digestive problems.
2. Reduced Metabolic Rate
Starvation can make your metabolic rate go down drastically. The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the rate of energy expenditure per unit time while you are in a complete resting state. Various studies have shown that starvation can decrease your basal metabolic rate which in turn can cause a variety of severe health problems such as high blood sugar, hypertension and poor circulation of blood.
3. Dehydration
You all are aware that staying hydrated is highly essential for our health. Water flushes toxins out of our body and aids weight loss too by regulating body’s temperature and increasing metabolic rate. Water is essential for life and for losing weight too! If you refrain yourself from drinking water, then you would be dehydrating yourself which in turn will cause a lot of health problems, including skin conditions, constipation, weakness, fatigue and so on. Thus, it is important to stay hydrated if you want to keep yourself healthy and fit.
4.Irregular Menstruation
Ladies can feel the pain of irregular periods. So, girls if you are thinking to choose starvation to lose weight, please don’t! It can create many problems in your menstrual cycles. When you starve yourself, your body stops producing adequate estrogen, which is a reproductive hormone.
When the body lacks fat, it is not able to convert cholesterol to extra estrogen in a proper manner which in turn leads to irregular periods. Also, starvation can cause damage to the organs, and as body processes slow down, it causes menstruation to stop.
5. High Blood Pressure
When you refrain yourself from eating meals, you stop providing your body with essential nutrients such as vitamin D, potassium and so on. And you must be knowing that nutritional deficiency can lead to several health issues, and one such issue is high blood pressure. The lack of essential nutrition in the body raises your blood pressure. So, if you want to protect yourself from the dangers of High blood pressure, you must not starve yourself to lose weight.
6. It Decreases Cognitive Abilities
You must have heard this quote at least once, ‘A healthy mind resides in a healthy body.’ According to various studies, starving yourself can make you feel depressed and can negatively affect your cognitive abilities.
Do you feel frustrated and angry throughout the day when you skip your breakfast? You, do of course! When you do not eat food properly, and hunger pangs get you; you start observing physical symptoms such as fatigue, numbness and dehydration. Now, this does not just affects you physically, but also mentally.
It can impair your cognitive abilities and make you moody and irritated which might hamper your work. So, instead of refraining yourself from eating meals, it’s best to choose a healthy diet regimen to lose weight.
7. Bone Loss
You must be shocked to know that opting for starvation to lose weight can cause changes in your bone structure, making them fragile. When you do not eat healthy meals, it affects your bone too and leads to bone density loss.
When you cut down calories severely, your bones are remodelled as the old bones break down, and new bones form rapidly, But, the density of your bones reduces which leads to fragility. So, if you want healthy bones; stop starving yourself and follow a healthy diet plan to burn fat.
8. Fatigue
It is quite common to feel weak and tired when you don’t take proper meals. It is very obvious that eating a healthy diet gives you the energy to work throughout the day and also keep various diseases at bay by strengthening the body’s immune system.
When you starve yourself, your body gets deprived of all the essential vitamins it needs to work properly, which leads to fatigue and some people even feel light-headed. So, if you want to feel energetic throughout the day, make sure you do not opt for starvation to lose weight.
So, you can see that starving yourself is not at all an ideal way to lose weight. It is best that you eat healthy meals throughout the day, stay away from junk food and exercise for at least thirty minutes a day to shed a few pounds. There is no shortcut to weight loss journey; hence, you should adopt a healthy lifestyle regimen to burn fat healthily and effectively.
