6 Extreme Weight Loss Programs to Be Avoided

Some programs such as skipping meals, eliminating certain food groups or even relying on supplements to fix a junk food diet are among the best ways to lose weight, but such behaviour are unlikely to cause significant health consequences. However, other dieting tactics can be downright risky and can cause serious health issues.

People get so focused on weight loss that they are willing to undertake unproven and potentially dangerous things. Extreme dieting can also increase the risk of developing eating disorders. Here are other extreme weight loss programs that should be avoided:



Cleanses or detox plans: Cleansing for a colonoscopy is necessary to check your colon, but cleansing to clean out your body's system of toxins is unnecessary. Cleanses cause weight loss from water and stool weight, at best, but they carry the risk of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Losing lots of fluid without medical supervision is dangerous especially when it's combined with fasting practises.

Your body is uniquely fine-tuned to detoxify and excrete toxins, so cleanses are unnecessary and can lead to serious complications by messing with your body's finely tuned system. Instead of detoxifying, be more mindful of what you eat. If you want to cleanse or detoxify your body, drink plenty of water and eat lots of high-fiber foods.

Starvation, Low-calorie diets, or Fasting: To drastically reduce your calories intake to loss weight, may lead to lost weight through precious muscle mass which poses healthy risk. Rapid weight loss by critical calorie restriction cause water, fat and muscle loss; which ultimately decreases body metabolism for survival. It also causes a shift towards a higher percentage of body fat, which increases the risk for metabolism syndrome.

Don't cut calories intake below 1,200 per day; otherwise you will struggle to fuel activity, meet nutrient needs and satisfy hunger. When you lose weight quickly, you tend to pack it back on with more fat and less muscle, which lowers your metabolism and calorie needs.

Tobacco uses: For years, public health officials have discouraged smoking because of its health risks, yet some people use it as a diet strategy. Nicotine is an appetite suppressant yet the dangers of smoking outweigh any supposed benefits.

Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causes cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Beyond the health risks, weight gain is often a side effect when smokers try to kick the addictive habit.

Extreme Exercises: It may work for good reality television but in the real world, it can be hazardous to your health. Intense exercise is physically exhaustive and may cause severe wear and tear, increasing the risk of injury, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and psychologically, it makes the exercise feel like a punishment.

It's advisable to do a 30 minutes moderately intense cardio five days a week or 20 minutes of vigorous intense cardio three days a week. Also, do eight to ten strength-training exercises, 8 to twelve repetitions twice a week.

Despite these recommendations, some people think more is better and go way beyond what healthy with a obssession controlling their lives. Engage in regular physical activity for all the health benefits, including stress relief because if you ignore the stressors in your life, it can cause the release of hormones such as cortisol that increase appetite and fat storage.

Over-the-counter diet pills and questionable supplements: If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Potions, diet pills and concoctions bought over the counter are not necessarily safe or capable of delivering on the exaggerated promises. They may not seem to be dangerous, but they can still cause harm.

Most of these diet pills are nothing more than a quick fix loaded with caffeine and diuretics that can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

All forms of Purging: Purging includes making yourself vomit, chewing food and spitting it out and abusing laxatives. These pose serious health problems and are the first step in the development of eating disorders. Stomach contents are meant to stay in the stomach. Regular purging causes excess fluid loss that can cause serious dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. However, If you cannot control your behaviour, seek help.

Here are tips to make sure you're after the best weight loss practices:

• choose a diet that works for your lifestyle. The best diet is one you can stick with for long-term.
• Use common sense, listen to your body.
• be mindful of what you eat and pass on unproven expensive, weight loss schemes or products.
• Seek advice from a doctor, a registered dietician or a lifestyle and weight management expert if you are concerned that your weight loss methods may be branded extreme or unhealthy.