How your January crash diet ‘destroys your metabolism forever’ and makes you pile on weight
THOSE of us trying to kick-start our weight loss journey this January may be tempted to try out a crash diet.
While it’s true the diets can help shed the pounds, and fast – they often do more harm than good.
In reality, crash diets may actually work against you – and can make weight loss harder in the long run.
Crash diets, also called fad diets, touted by celebrities and influencers, have been popular for years.
These diets drastically change the way people eat, usually by slashing calorie intake to 800-1,200 calories a day for a few weeks at a time.
Some prominent examples include the Atkins diet, the keto diet and the raw food diet.
“By doing these [diets] you risk negatively impacting your metabolism,” warns nutritional therapist VJ Hamilton.
Metabolism refers to the chemical processes that takes place as your body converts foods and drinks into energy, and stores any surplus energy as fat.
Your metabolism is affected by many things – including diet, exercise and your hormones. Crash diets affect all these components.
“Drastic calorie reduction prompts the body to conserve energy by slowing metabolism as a survival mechanism,” VJ tells the Sun.
“This adaptive response can persist even after returning to regular eating, making weight regain more likely.”
This could make sense of why around 80 per cent of diets fail – with the person ultimately putting all the weight they shed back on, or even gaining more weight than they lost.
While you’re losing fat, you’re also losing muscle.
Now, this is an issue because muscle is actually very useful when it comes to losing weight and burning calories, according to VJ.
“Losing lean body mass reduces the body’s ability to burn calories efficiently since muscles burn more calories at rest than fat,” she says.
Cutting down your calories can also increase levels of stress hormone cortisol, studies suggest.
“Psychological stress, such as elevating cortisol levels, can contribute to weight gain, particularly around the abdominal area,” the expert explains.
And when you inevitably start eating normally again, chances are you’ll put back all the hard-lost weight strain back on.
“When we are doing very low-calorie crash our body learns to preserve energy,” explains nutritionist Kristen Stavridis (@nutritionistkristen).
“On returning to normal or higher caloric intakes at a later stage our bodies can then store more fat than usual as a precaution,” she tells the Sun.
At the same time, these diets can leave your hunger hormones out of whack.
Studies indicate that rapid weight loss can affect hormones like leptin and ghrelin which are responsible for hunger and appetite.
“Disrupting these appetite regulation and increasing the likelihood of overeating once standard eating resumes,” VJ adds.
Some research has shown these changes made to your metabolism can persist for years.
However, low-calorie diets have been shown to benefit some people.
One 2011 study found that very low-calorie diets may help people with type 2 diabetes.
The researchers from Newcastle University, found that 60 per cent of participants who ate 600 calories a day for eight put their type 2 diabetes into remission.
Healthy weight loss
If you’re trying to lose weight, the best strategy to use is following a long-term, gradual weight-loss diet.
These slower forms of weight loss have been found to be more sustainable and have a less damaging impact on your metabolic rate, compared with crash diets.
“Focusing on eating a whole-food diet rather than processed food and cooking from scratch is a great starting point.”
This means eating lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.
The NHS recommends that people eat five potions a day to maintain a balanced diet.
Eating foods high in protein, like turkey or beans, can help you feel fuller for longer, which can help with weight loss.
One study found that when a people’s diet consisted of 30 per cent protein, they consumed 441 calories less over the 12-week study period, when compared with those on a 15 per cent protein diet.
This ultimately led to 5kg weight loss, of which 3.7kg was fat loss.
Kristen suggests eating in a small caloric deficit.
“I recommend 150kcal a day deficit rather than slashing hundreds of calories suddenly.
“Although it may take longer to see results, you are much more likely to keep the weight off studies show,” she says.
Generally, the NHS recommended daily calorie intake is 2,000 calories a day for women and 2,500 for men.
Based on Kristen’s diet recommendations, this means men should cut their daily calories to 2,350, and women, 1850.
It is important to talk to your doctor before starting a calorie restriction diet, as it may not be right for everyone.
Once you’ve established a good diet, you can start building a consistent and regular exercise regime.
VJ recommends doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which involves bursts of hard, fast moves that take your heart rate up to 90 per cent.
“HIIT been shown to elevate metabolic rate and enhance fat oxidation, promoting the use of stored fat in the body,” the expert says.
It’s also important to learn how to rest, which includes getting lots of sleep and managing stress levels.
VJ says: “Getting adequate amounts of sleep can promote weight loss, as lack of sleep disrupts hormones linked to hunger and fullness, which can lead to overeating
“Incorporating stress management techniques like yoga, deep breathing, and medication can help lower cortisol in the body, which can otherwise contribute to weight gain.”