134. Don’t Crash Diet
In their great zeal to be thin, many dieters put their health in jeopardy by trying to lose too much weight too fast. Eating too few calories and rapidly shedding pounds can be unsafe. Your body and your frame of mind can be adversely affected by such drastic changes in eating.
For one thing, dropping 5 to 10 pounds in just a couple of weeks doesn’t allow enough time to learn new eating behaviors, so chances are old eating patterns–and the weight–will return. For another, losing weight too rapidly is a strain on your heart and other vital organs, zaps your energy, and increases the risk of nutritional deficiencies. In addition, losing weight rapidly increases muscle loss, which makes it more likely that you will regain the weight.
The following may be signs that you’re losing too much weight too fast.
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•Anemia.
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•Apathy.
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•Depression.
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•Hair loss.
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•Headaches.
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•Irritability.
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•Kidney stones.
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•Lethargy.
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•Listlessness.
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•Liver impairment.
If you are uncertain about the calorie content of foods, purchase a calorie guide to make sure your intake does not fall below the levels that physicians say are safe.
