45 Words: 7 Why Unrealistic Weight Loss can cause Failure

2399 Words: 459
“I’d like to lose 10 pounds a week, maybe 20.” This statement is not only a bad idea, but also unlikely to be achieved. Even if you could achieve it, there is very little chance of you actually succeeding long term in such a stringent diet. The following are reasons why unrealistic weight loss can cause failure.
It is understandable why someone would want to lose weight quickly. Diets can be difficult, and everyone wants to see results right away. You have to realistic about the speed that you can lose weight as well as what your goal should be. If you do not, you are likely to have problems.
Much of the time, a good diet might only lose 1-2 pounds per week. This might not seem like a lot but it adds up over time. If you lose weight too quickly, it is often because you are doing too much, either by cutting down too much on food or exercising too much. If you are doing this then you cold be damaging your body. First of all, your body needs a certain amount of calories to be healthy. If you are cutting down too much then your body can actually go into starvation mode. This will make it more difficult to lose weight. Also, if you are cutting out too much food, you run the risk of becoming anorexic. This is a very dangerous disease that can have serious consequences, even death. If you are unrealistic about how fast you are going to lose weight then you might end up with one of these problems. You ca also overdo it with exercise as well.
The other issue with cutting out so much food in order to lose weight that quick is that it is usually not sustainable. You might deprive yourself so much that although you might be able to keep it up for a short time, you will soon revert back to your original habits. The weight is likely to come right back on.
It can also be a problem if you have an unrealistic end goal. Many girls and women look at the size 0 girls on the cover of the magazines and long for such a figure. For most, this is not realistic because many of us are just not built that way. If you are longing to be thinner than is healthy for your body, then you might never get there and then would become frustrated and again the diet might fail.
Losing weight can be a challenge, but most can be successful if they put forth the time and effort. It is important to have a realistic goal on how much weight to lose per week as well as an end goal.
Updated On: 04/10/2010 Published On: 04/10/2010 Foodborne illness prevention