Crash diets - why they never work?

Image by Boots WebMD

I have been on a diet most of my life. Cabbage diet, meat diet, fasting - I tried it all. Some of these crash diets give instant results - and you lose weight. But the moment you finish the diet and start eating normally, the weight comes back with a vengeance - and yes, you actually put on weight. What is the reason for that?
The explanation is very simple, once you understand the mechanics of your digestive system. If you start the crash diet, your body suddenly is faced with smaller portions to survive on, and a sparser selection. Therefore to protect itself, it slows down the metabolism - the speed in which the food is digested. It's like the defence programme. You can notice the transition on the first day of your diet, when you feel hungry, anxious, nervy, it's your body letting you know there's something wrong, the feeding routine is disturbed. But, on the second or third day of your diet, you feel better, your body gets used to smaller portions, it's because the digestive system slowed down and it burns the calories slower to distribute the energy for longer time.

Image by: wholefoods-diet.com

But hey, presto, you finish your diet - you have visibly lost weight and are happy with the results. When you want to treat yourself and have a well deserved Sunday roast, your body is still on the old digestive programme. Slow, steady one. So suddenly it is faced with roasted meat, fried potatoes and an ice cream...

Image by: beabondgrrl.com

Oh dear, it was unprepared for it! It can only digest that many calories, so the rest unfortunately will be kept as a storage, just in case of another scarce time. You know, like preparing provisions for the winter. Unfortunately, these provisions are stored in the form of fat, and we know where - on the hips, belly and thighs. This is a defence system of your body, and it is completely natural process.
Therefore short-term diets are just that - short term. They give you results, but they don't last. How to get long term results? We'll talk about that subject on Sunday - don't forget to visit us then!