Fasting has been around for hundreds of years now and there are various dangers associated with the practice. You need to be aware of them before you blindly believe that this can help you to lose a lot of weight really fast. Most of the fasting routines have religious reasons but those that are designed strictly for weight loss purposes are growing in popularity at the moment. So many plans are available online, many claiming that you can lose up to 30 pounds in just one month.
Obviously fasting will lead to an automatic loss of weight on the short term. However, risks will outweigh benefits and the truth is that fasting will almost always lead towards a lot more harm than just good.
Weight Loss Plans Based On Fasting
The fasting regimens do vary based on different factors but in most cases we see a start that includes just water, laxatives or/and juice. Some solid foods are allowed in some fasting diets but they do not offer many calories.
Fasts that last just a couple of days are not dangerous for an adult that is healthy. In fact, such regimens are sometimes recommended by doctors and underwent through medical supervision. High risk individuals like children, pregnant women, some chronic diseases and the elderly are always recommended not to fast. Fasting dangers appear in the event that the period is prolonged, from 3 days to 1 month.
Weight Loss Fasting Dangers
Weight loss is quite normal since you drastically reduce calorie intake. However, this does lead to various health problems and can cause muscle loss. As you start to fast, the body enters a conservation mode. It will burn calories slowly. Most of the food intake is based on liquids and when you start to eat solid foods again, it is normal to put back on the pounds you shed in a short period of time. Unfortunately, most people actually end up putting on more weight because the metabolism ends up being slower.
The most common fasting side effects include:
- headaches
- muscle aches
- fatigue
- weakness
- low blood sugar
- dizziness
If you go through prolonged fasting, it is possible to end up with:
- kidney problems
- liver problems
- weak immune system
- anemia
- irregular heartbeat
- mineral deficiencies
- vitamin deficiencies
- diarrhea
- muscle breakdown
- dehydration and fluid imbalance if you also consume laxative concoctions
Keep in mind that we do not have any scientific proof that a fasting diet would cleanse the body from harmful substances. Those that recommend this diet will try to tell you that this is the case but that is definitely incorrect. In reality, such claims are just bogus.
Conclusions
On the whole, it is really important to understand the fact that fasting can be incredibly dangerous. Fasting has been proven to be much less effective for weight loss than the claims issued by those that recommend this approach. What you should do is modify your diet so that you have it as healthy as possible. Always talk to a physician if you want to go on a fasting plan so that you can at least be supervised.