Going on crash diets can take a huge toll on your body in many ways. Marathon runner and fitness expert Chandra Gopalan warns you of the perils.
Move over beefcakes, the lean, mean, man-machine is all ready to take centre stage. A toned, lean look is in like never before, but unfortunately, as pleasing as it is to the eyes, it has sparked off a fad of crash diets as people worship at the altar of ‘body beautiful’.
Is it healthy? Hell, no! And we tell you, in exact detail, why not.
Yes, beauty does lie in the eyes of the beholder and your mother was right when she told you, “if they like you, it doesn’t matter what your biceps measure”. No, we’re not telling you to go and grab a Big Mac yet, but do steer clear of the fad diets that promise a ‘new and better, trim and lean’ body in a wink’.
The fat trap
Chandra Gopalan, founder director of Body in Harmony India Private Limited, the India Master Franchiser for Contours Express LLC. Contours Express, doesn’t mince her words when it comes to pointing out the pitfalls of crash diets. “Your body needs its nutrients from all food groups — carbohydrates, proteins, minerals and even a small amount of fat. What crash diets encourage one to do is to cut out one or more food groups entirely. This doesn’t work in the long run. For a while you see a drop in weight, but the body soon thinks it is in starvation mode.
And human bodies are wired to store fat in such situations.
Also, because the body is deprived of essential nutrients, there is a persistent lethargy and the metabolic rate drops. The more you starve yourself, the more jeopardy you put your body into and in the long run, most of what you eat gets turned into fat,” she says.
Action plan
For those looking to cut down on the bulk, Chandra recommends cardio activities. “People need to do high cardio activities — instead of hitting a gym, go outside, run, jog, cycle, play rigorous games, anything that puts the body through the paces. Aerobics is also a great cardio activity, so go for it. To supplement this however, do some strength training. When you do strength training, the lean muscles go up and they burn more calories. Your metabolic rate too, goes up. Do a mix of both cardio and strength activities and do remember to eat sensibly,” she recommends.
Eat right
A balanced diet with food from all the nutrient groups is a necessity. You can’t just cut out entire food groups. Chandra is of the opinion that an Indian diet is just right: “We have a bit of everything — proteins from dal and non-vegetarian food, our carbs from rotis and rice, a lot of vegetables in our curries and curd and the likes. So stay with it, instead of going in for a fad diet. What you should ideally do is exercise a portion control. What we don’t realise is we eat much more than our daily calorie requirements; and our bodies get used to that excess food. Cut down on portion sizes gradually, and see that you have enough calories and not an excess.”
Health alert
From a health point of view, crash diets are harbingers of many misfortunes. Repeated crash diets can significantly spike up cardiac stress. They are related to increase of cholesterol levels and up the risk of heart attacks. Crash diets also lead to atherosclerosis, and weaken the immune system. Such diets are linked to high risks of osteoporosis and since the body is nutrient-deprived, it starts burning muscle tissues and can lead to organ damage. And people suffer from hairloss and skin problems too. So eat right and stay wise. Life’s too short for avoidable risks.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}