Type quick fix diets into Google and it’s scary how easy it is to find out how to lose weight in a supposedly fast and easy way. And with the Safer Sex Ball coming up, where all of Exeter will see you in a state you normally reserve for just you and the bathroom mirror, it’s completely understandable that you might feel tempted to resort to dangerous measures, such as ‘starvation diets’, just to look good for one night of the year.
However, employing a starvation diet to lose weight has so many debilitating side effects that could seriously damage your body in the long term. Not eating for even a week can lead to depressive thoughts, malnutrition and ultimately gaining any weight you may have lost back; severely restricting your food intake slows your metabolism, the part of you which is responsible for burning calories. Therefore once you begin eating regularly again, you will gain the weight back. The hunger you will feel will be so acute that often your body will react by binge eating, which due to a slower metabolism, will do far more harm than it has ever done before. Your immune system will also suffer. You thought fresher’s flu was bad? People who starve themselves generally always feel sick.
Any weight loss you do experience due to a ‘starvation diet’ will be mostly due to the loss of water, not fat loss. Worryingly, prolonged fasting for a week can cause dehydration and electrolytic imbalances, which can lead to side effects such as headaches and dizziness. A geography student Lucy* wanted to lose a few pounds before her girly summer holiday. She says ‘I knew photos of me in my bikini would be all over Facebook and that terrified me. I didn’t see the problem with cutting out food, only for a short amount of time, and surviving on energy drinks’. However, Lucy began to develop sleeping problems, which is a common side effect of starvation diets. Lack of sleep can cause hormonal imbalances and stomach fat gain, exactly the opposite of what you were trying to achieve. ‘I will never do it again’, Lucy told me, ‘I was so sleep deprived and grumpy, and I had a headache all the time.’
Shockingly, when you starve yourself, the body will begin to break down fats and release ketones. This is called ketosis, where extremely bad smells are released from the body either through the lungs, giving you incredibly bad breath, or through urination. You may also grow fine hair all over your body while losing the hair on your head. The lack of nutrients in your system could also lead to poor skin and nails, as well as skin discolouration and rotting teeth. Not really the belle of the ball.
These side effects are not experienced by people who have severe eating disorders, with emaciated faces and jutting bones, but girls like you and me, who simply want to lose a little weight in a few quick steps. Of course you want to look your best on the night, but do you really want to be smelly, hairy, ravenous and most importantly unhappy for a night out which is just supposed to be a bit of fun?
Coming Soon: Simple, easy, healthy recipes to set you up for SSB
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