One morning, standing on the scales, you decided that it was imperative to lose weight. There are only 2 cardinal methods of getting rid of extra pounds - fasting and a strict diet. Everyone is used to it, if you starve for a certain time, then excess weight will be lost, the body will be cleansed of toxins and toxins. Let's try to figure out: are fasting and strict diets good for our health?
In medical practice, two types of therapeutic fasting are used: periodic and complete. Periodic fasting means refusing food for one day, that is, it is a fasting day for the body. This fasting does not bring significant harm, however, and the effect is very small: no one has lost weight by starving 1 day per week or month. If a person goes on hunger strike for longer and without medical supervision, then huge health problems can arise, including a life threat. With complete starvation, very obese people lose 1.5-3 kilograms per week.
Our fasting became popular thanks to fashionable passions for the religions of the East and yoga back in the 80s of the 20th century. But for some reason no one pays attention to the fact that yogis have been preparing the body for this intense stress for a long time, eating foods rich in vitamins and nutrients.
There are a large number of indications for use in the medical practice of fasting, however, there are also a large number of contraindications. Extremely harmful is starvation for people with tuberculosis, diseases of the thyroid gland, digestive tract, and increased irritability. Fasting has a large number of side effects that are life threatening. In addition, starvation is an unpleasant, rather painful process.
The most dangerous form of fasting is dry: a person also refuses to use liquid, which leads to the accumulation of toxic substances that are excreted during normal fasting with liquid.
Regular fasting causes the occurrence of anorexia nervosa, in which there is a complete loss of appetite, a conscious refusal of food due to the obsessive fear of getting better is also possible.
Today, nutritionists advise to abandon starvation (weight loss) completely and choose the right, balanced diet to reduce weight. Of course, the effect will be achieved over a longer period, however, in favorable conditions for the body. And most importantly, the results will last much longer.
A strict diet differs from fasting in that it is allowed to receive 50-100 kcal with food daily. The menu is obtained with a very limited selection of products, meager. A strict diet does not cause serious harm to health only the first 2 weeks. However, is it necessary? Despite the prevailing opinion, a strict diet gives a very insignificant effect.
The short duration, as well as the set of foods that are allowed to be used when it is observed, which is unusual for the digestive tract, unfortunately, does not create conditions for normalizing eating habits, and accordingly, the weight lost during the diet will return very soon.
The main reason for weight loss while following a strict diet is the rapid decrease in the body's water and glycogen content, as well as a small amount of protein, which causes a person to lose 3-5 kg in weight during the first week, and then another 2–3 kg after the second week . But after filling the lack of glycogen and water, the lost weight returns. In addition, after such a strict diet, people eat intensely, which causes an even greater postponement of fat reserves, and hence, weight gain.
Remember, no strict diet can help you lose weight for a long time, but your health condition can be “spoiled” significantly.