Physical Education · Ch 5 — Sports and Nutrition
The Pitfalls of Dieting
The Pitfalls of Dieting
The Pitfalls of Dieting
Maintaining a calorie deficit always leads to weight loss. Without exercise, that deficit has to be created by lowering calorie intake alone - and this is where "dieting alone" runs into trouble. The main problem is the sacrifice needed to sustain a very low-calorie intake over a long period, which is simply too much for most people to keep up. On a very low-calorie diet, most people eventually break down and return to their old habits, so any weight they lost comes back quickly.
The body's own reaction to dieting also works against the dieter. When calorie intake is cut suddenly and drastically, the body adjusts its metabolism to match. Eating very few calories for a long time pushes the body into "starvation mode" - it slows down its metabolic processes as a way of protecting itself against long periods with little or no food. In this state the body drastically cuts its energy requirements, and the person stops losing weight despite eating very little.
Do you know? - Anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder marked by an abnormally low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of one's own weight. People with anorexia place enormous value on controlling their weight and shape, using extreme measures that seriously interfere with their lives. To prevent weight gain or to keep losing weight, they usually severely restrict how much they eat, and may control calorie intake by vomiting after meals or misusing laxatives, diet aids, diuretics or enemas; some also exercise excessively. No matter how much weight is lost, the fear of gaining weight remains.
Diets - especially fad diets or "quick-fix" pills and plans - often lead to failure. Diets that cut out entire food groups, such as all carbohydrates or all fat, are impractical and unhealthy; the key is moderation. Plans that severely slash calories, forbid certain foods, or rely on ready-made meals may work in the short term, but they include no strategy for maintaining weight afterwards, so the lost weight quickly returns. A severely restricted diet also causes deficiencies of many other nutrients. Once normal eating resumes, weight is regained until the metabolism recovers. …