Crash diets fail for many different reasons but a common reason is simply because they don’t satisfy the appetite. Typically, you lose water weight instead of burning fat, you’re always hungry, you feel extremely weak, and your body isn't being provided the necessary vitamins and minerals that it needs. Often a fad diet does not have a variety of foods needed for good health and often promises fast and easy weight loss.
Your caloric intake change is off the wall.
Most crash diets are metabolically unsound. This means they change the way the body acts when we restrict calories. Often the body produces more LPL which promotes more storage and transfer of fat cells. It often takes the reduced calories and turns them into fat. When you start eating normally again you start to gain weight due to this change.
Your water weight is playing tricks on you.
Diets that give you a rapid weight loss often are just water weight. It is not fat loss but water weight. Sometimes it burns muscle weight which is harmful to the body. Because you are losing protein and water you often feel hungry or tired on a crash diet. There have been many different crash diets over the years. Most of them are not effective in the long run.
You actually need your fat.
Often they cut off the good fats along with the bad. These can lead to a deficiency in essential fatty acids. Eating the right fats when dieting is important to help maintain optimal health. Some fats help the body with the fat burning process. Fats aren't always the bad guys!
Many diets don’t take into consideration the relationship between carbohydrates, insulin and fat storage. Dieting often causes the blood sugar to drop causing you to become hungry. When you get hungry you may eat more snacks leading to poor food choices. Many crash diets have fewer calories than what men and women really need. Healthy weight loss is one or two pounds weekly. At times crash diets lead to dehydration.
Crash diets that have failed miserably:
1. The grapefruit diet
The grapefruit diet has been around for years. It claims that simply eating grapefruit burns fat. Not surprisingly, there is no scientific evidence to back their grapefruit claim. There are many versions of this diet and it may help you lose some weight but does not produce significant weight loss. These diets can interfere with certain medications so if you have a health condition you could run into problems.
2. The Scarsdale medical diet
Another diet is the Scarsdale Medical diet which was designed by a family doctor and cardiologist. It is high in protein, low in carbs and overall a low fat diet. The limited food choices make it hard to get the vitamins and nutrients that your body needs. It does not provide the body with enough calories to meet the necessary requirements. Most doctors strongly believe that the lack of meal options makes it difficult for most people to stick to it which just leads to the person putting the weight back on.
Fad diets can potentially help you lose a few pounds quickly, but the chance of gaining it back immediately after you end the diet is extremely high. These fad diets can cause weakness, hunger, dizziness, and various other symptoms. Some of these diets lead to dehydration and other serious medical conditions. If you have a serious illness check with your doctor before beginning any diet. Always ask a professional dietitian or nutritionist about a diet as they are knowledgeable about healthy diets. Just remember, If it seems too good to be true--it probably is.