Crash diets rarely last for the long term. The best diet plan is one that stresses realistic long-term expectations.
One of the worst things you can do when attempting to reach a healthier body weight is to follow a “crash” diet. Crash dieting takes on many forms – fasting, detox programs, yo-yo diets, cleanses, Keto, or perhaps extremely low-calorie liquid diets. Unfortunately, each one is unsustainable and an example of radical calorie or macronutrient deprivation, all in the name of losing weight quickly.
My take on crash dieting
I’m not a fan of crash dieting. Plain and simple. Yet, many people will still rely on these weight loss methods. And when people ask my opinion of the latest crazy crash diet circulating on social media, this is what I tell them and what I am telling you: If the diet is followed as written, there’s no doubt you will lose some weight fairly rapidly – but at a cost to your health, metabolism, muscle mass, and ability to sustain weight loss long-term.
Nutrition and health professionals know keeping weight loss off long-term after following a crash diet rarely works. Once you go off the diet, weight regain begins. You end up feeling like a failure until the next trending crash diet comes along, promising yet another “easy” solution setting you up, once again, for frustration and defeat.
Crash diets depend on selling you “quick” weight loss. They’re designed that way for a reason. Immediate gratification is motivating. You experience speedy success with a quick drop in weight, a thrilling and intoxicating influence. But, the rapid drop in pounds is most likely water weight loss. In addition, shedding weight too fast can lead to muscle mass loss, eventually slowing down your metabolism and weakening strength and endurance.
Achieving and maintaining optimal body weight is challenging. Wanting to succeed at improving your health and well-being is admirable and should be encouraged. When the goal is to lose a few pounds, it requires understanding the physiology and psychology of how to lose weight successfully and sustainably.
However, if you follow a crash diet lacking competence and a realistic strategy, your prospect of long-term success in keeping whatever weight you lose off for good will likely be thwarted.