Published By: Puja Sinha

Say No to Low-Calorie Diets

Difficult to maintain, a low-calorie diet often gets into your way of living well

 

Such a diet systematically reduces the healthy amount of calories you are required to consume per day bearing negative results even if you are dedicatedly adhering to a nutritionist’s suggestion.

 

Reduced Metabolism

You are inducing your body to switch on its survival mode by eliminating calories from the diet which further prolongs the process of weight loss. Slow metabolism actually triggers weight loss. A sluggish metabolism consistently refuses to improve even long after you have done away with low-calorie diet fad.

 

 Muscle Loss

When you are depriving your body of essential calories it needs to function, it resorts to stored energy or fat. The process gnaws at the energy from muscle tissues reducing its mass which negatively affects strength and physical mobility. The problem of muscle loss aggravates as you age as it results in poor cardiovascular health and an increased risk of obesity. High protein diets and regular workouts, however, reverse the loss and instil mass which helps in generating energy.

 

Dizziness and Lethargy

Nausea and dizziness could be both signs of over-eating and eating abnormally less. Body functions by utilising the calories extracted from food. This enables you to execute the day to day functions even digesting food. If you persistently refuse calories or consume far below what your body needs, you will inevitably feel worn out and easily tired. This renders you unproductive and vulnerable to diseases.

 

Compromised Immunity 

Restricted intake of calories weakens your body and you end up catching flues and ailments easily. This research debunks myths that vouch for a low-calorie diet as a key to long life. You are more prone to contract bacterial infection particularly.

 

Nutritional Deficiencies

With low intake of calories, you are letting go of minerals, iron, biotin and thiamine, folate, fibre and vitamins thereby cutting corners with nutritional intake and inducing fatigue. Calorie-restricted diet ultimately consequent in anaemia and weakened immunity. Prolonged deficiency breeds a range of skin disorders, defective or stunted bone growth, indigestions and dementia in rare cases. Osteoporosis is extremely prevalent which results from calcium deficiency—one of the distinct consequences of avoiding calorie-rich foods.

 

Weak Bones

 

With stunted production of oestrogen and testosterone hormones, bones tend to deform and turn brittle. If you are coupling exercises with a prolonged low-calorie diet, you are more likely to suffer from bouts of stress and nervous breakdown. Since bone loss is mostly irreversible and can lead to painful fractures, resorting to food choices with dwindling calorie levels is never a smart plan!