If you think about the basic idea of weight loss, it would only make sense that eating basically nothing will give you results the fastest? Right? WRONG!  Some people believe that if they just stop eating or only eat a tiny little bit, they will lose weight really fast.  Heck, after all being anorexic helped some of those celebrities and super models lose weight!

There are so many things wrong with the starvation diet that I don’t even know where to begin.  Let’s start by looking at the short-term effects of the starvation diet.  By not eating, you become irritable, moody, annoyed, depressed, etc.  Our bodies are designed to want to eat, and by restricting yourself, you are going against your body’s natural desire to consume food.

By stopping eating, you are slowing your metabolism down almost to a dead stop.  By eating less, your body just adjusts by burning fewer calories.  If you go back to your normal eating habits again, your body will continue burning fewer calories and odds are that you will gain even more weight than you had before!

Another reason that the starvation diet is a terrible idea is because it is not a sustainable diet by any means.  You can’t keep the starvation diet up for the rest of your life.  Starving yourself is not a good eating habit, and especially cannot be continued for long periods of time without serious health repercussions.  It is a much better strategy to find a diet that you enjoy and can live with for basically the rest of your life.  The problem with most diets is that people can’t stick to them, and once they change their eating habits back, they gain all the weight back.  Weight loss is a life-long commitment, not just a one-time push to lose a few pounds.

Finally, if you have decided that you are going to just stay on the starvation diet for the rest of your life, you are in for a real treat: this is called Anorexia Nervosa.  This is a disease that kills plenty of people each year.   There are a lot more side effects such as malnutrition, hair loss, etc that accompany this disease.  It is best to avoid falling into this disease in the first place, but if you are already locked in, there are people who can help.  Talk to your doctor and let them know about your unhealthy diet.  It is a tough process to break out of, but can certainly be done.

The best approach is to slowly transition your way into a sustainable diet and exercise routine.  You probably won’t see results as fast, but you will certainly keep the results longer and for a lower price.