We now live in a society where people have become obsessed with the way they look. We are so desperate to look like the photoshopped model in our favorite magazine that we are willing to do almost anything to lose weight. Not only is this approach dangerous, but it can lead you to a downward spiral that is virtually impossible to break free from.
If you are looking to lose weight, here are 7 things you should never do, and what you should do instead.
Go On A “Diet”
Dieting is temporary. Dieting will make your life miserable and it will never help you to change your dietary habits. It is tough to come across a happy person who is on a diet. Most people who go on “diets” always come off the diet eventually, go back to “eating as usual,” and regain the weight they lost and then some.
This isn't about dieting – it's about living a healthy lifestyle
You don’t need another diet, you need a new mindset
Every new diet you try, takes you further from your ultimate goal
Success starts and ends with lifestyle habit changes.Starve Yourself
It is quite surprising the amount of people who think starving themselves is the best way to lose weight. Let’s be very clear….It is NOT!
According to LiveStrong, when you starve yourself you ruin your metabolism and end up losing muscle mass instead of fat.
What’s worse is once your metabolism slows down your body will start to hold on to fat instead of burning it. This means you will more than likely end up gaining more weight in the long run.
A better option is to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. Doing so will rev up your metabolism and turn your body into a fat burning machine.
Purge
Purging is another dangerous attempt at controlling weight, and has been rumored as commonplace in runway modeling. Purging is a process by which an individual will vomit up anything they eat. Not only is this method unhealthy, but it is also extremely dangerous.
Purging can lead to severe cases of dehydration. It can also cause your body to become so weak that your organs start to fail. People who purge will often suffer from kidney failure, a slowing heart rate, and hair loss.
In addition, those pretty white teeth you once had, well you can kiss those babies goodbye too. The constant vomiting will erode the enamel on your teeth and lead to cavities and decay. In severe cases, the damage done to organs can lead to death.
Instead of purging, take the time to create a healthy meal plan that will help you get the results you are after.
Take Laxatives
Laxatives can come in the form of pills, powders, suppositories, and even tea. Even though they can result in the loss of a few pounds, laxatives can cause complications in the abdomen and can damage the digestive system.
This is another very common method people will use to try to lose weight as quickly as possible. By taking a laxative, you are basically causing all of the food in your gut to get pushed out before your body has a chance to absorb it.
Repeated use of laxatives will eventually disrupt the internal mineral balance in your body. When this happens, your body will be depleted of healthy nutrients such as potassium and sodium, which can cause severe dehydration and vital organ damage. One of the side effects of laxatives is that those using them on a regular basis quickly find out that their bodies have become dependent on them and that they can’t have a bowel movement without taking a laxative.
Other side effects include an imbalance of electrolytes in the body, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pain.
Exercise Excessively
Excessive exercise is when an individual works out for 3 or 4 hours every single day. Moreover, while there is nothing wrong with working out every day, when you do so for hours on end you put your body and organs under a lot of stress.
When you put too much physical stress on your body, you put yourself at risk for injury, a weakened immune system, and insomnia. You may also find that you get sick more frequently.
Of all the ways you should not go about losing weight, over exercising is the one that can lead to some very serious injuries.
Instead of going to the gym for hours on end, consider finding a 30-minute, high intensity workout that you can do 4 or 5 times a week.
Make sure it includes a combination of cardio and resistance training. Combine a regular workout routine with a healthy diet you will start to see your body transform in a relatively short amount of time.
Use Fad Diets
When it comes to fad diets there seems to be a new one every other day. You have the Tapeworm diet, the cabbage soup diet, baby food, grapefruit diet, fruit only, the one that has one cheat day where you stuff yourself, and a host of other diets that feature drastic, bizarre, and unsustainable methods for weight loss.
The problem with dieting is that people make the mistake of thinking it’s all about elimination, when in fact; it’s actually about changing habits from bad to good and living an overall healthy lifestyle.
In order for humans to properly function, we must get our nutrients from a variety of different sources. Whenever you eliminate an entire food group, you put yourself at risk for various deficiencies.
Instead of eating one particular food, or eliminating entire food groups, focus on eating a well-balanced diet. Include a small portion of a complex carb, healthy fat, and protein with every meal.
Also, when choosing an eating plan, make sure it’s right for you and your lifestyle choices. It should be one that you can turn into a lifestyle choice, not just a passing phase.
Refrain from trying quick and risky eating plans that will prove dangerous to your health. If unsure or confused about what’s right for you, talk to your doctor.
Use Extreme Detox and Cleanses
Getting rid of harmful toxins and processed chemicals is a great idea, but done via a diet that hasn’t been health certified is another matter. While cleansing may help you shed a couple of pounds, the truth is, you’re only losing water and not actual fat.
In the process, you’re subjecting your body to vitamin deficiencies, heart palpitations, hair fall, mood swings, and abdominal pain.
All of that plus the fact that you’ll eventually gain back the weight you lost, if not more. Moreover, there are medical experts who aren’t fully convinced that these plans actually remove toxins from your body or improve your health in any way.