10 Reasons Starvation is a Bad Way to Lose Weight by Adrienne Carlson

It’s a problem that most of us are plagued by on a lifelong basis, this battle we wage with our weight. And in trying all kinds of methods to reduce those excess pounds, we resort to a few that are idiotic too. Yes, they may seem to work, but only on the surface, like starvation or not eating enough. You would think that the math is simple – eat less and lose more weight. If only life were that simple! When you deprive your body of food in order to lose weight, you will lose weight, but then, you’re likely to face a host of new problems as well:

• Your metabolism slows down: When your body does not get the amount of food it is used to, it begins to slow down and conserve what it already has. And this means your metabolic rate becomes lower, something that you don’t want when you’re trying to lose weight.
• Your body holds on to fat: The more you deprive your body of food, the more it tends to hold on to your reserves of fat as a self-preservation mechanism. It is trying to keep you alive for as long as possible.
• Your bones and muscles become weak: When no nutrients are forthcoming from the outside, your body draws what it needs from the inside. So your bones and muscles become weak and you’re prone to accidental falls and diseases like arthritis and osteoporosis.
• Your body does not get the required nutrients: When you don’t eat, your body does not get the nutrients it requires, so it begins to go into a state of decline.
• You begin to look old and gaunt: When you don’t provide your body with the nutrients it needs, you lose water content and your skin begins to shrivel and take on the appearance of an elderly person. Besides, starvation brings about an unhealthy and gaunt look, like that of a sick person.
• You have mood swings: When you don’t eat, your brain is deprived of certain chemicals and this makes you prone to mood swings. Hunger pangs can make you cranky as well, and your blood pressure shoots up.
• You have no energy: It’s a foregone conclusion to starvation that you are left with hardly any energy to go about your work, because we eat to provide out bodes with enough fuel to carry us through the day.
• You start to lose hair: Because your body’s calcium and protein supplies decrease, your nails become brittle and your hair starts to fall out in clumps.
• You tend to fall sick: Your immune system takes a severe beating when there are no nutrients to sustain it, and you are likely to be affected by constipation, irregular heart rhythm, low blood pressure, dehydration and missed periods if you are a woman.
• You’re likely to start bingeing: And last, but certainly not the least, you are most likely to start binging on foods that are not good for you because your hunger can drive you to such extremes. This is not good for your body, so eat sensibly and exercise regularly to lose weight. Weight loss must be a way of life rather than a fad to be followed for a while.

Copyright 2009 Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of nurse practitioner schools . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address.