Crash Diets

[REBEL BOY]

Hello,
A friend of mine read Cofederates in the Attic (despite my protests, as he was looking for lagitimate references to gear and uniforms), but it is an interesting read and he had a few questions. He was asking me about crash dieting. I never really got that either. If anyone has tried crash dieting, does it work? I know it's not healthy and sometimes dangerous, but how long does it take to see results? This is a stupid question, I know.

[slreb]

If he wants to get sick, lose muscle and then put more fat on later without the muscle, why not?
Bill Feuchtenberger
Co.H
1st South Carolina Volunteers

[Spinster]

How fast?

Not in time for Shiloh.

And you'd be too sick to march when you got there.

[Poor Private]

Thats one way of getting out of morning drill.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

As shared, "crash dieting" usually can end up causing illness.

Depending upon your body and state of health, "crash diets" (aka low calorie diets) can be unhealthy and counter-productive.

Very short term, yes one can lose a few pounds. Same as with the growing fad of "purges." (Often more just water loss)

1. Professional literature and studies have shown that upsetting your nutritional balances can cause shortages of potassium, magnesium, and copper have been suggested as possible causes of arrhythmias and other heart problems, as well as drops in blood pressure and sodium depletion. Not to mention other nutrients.

2. One loses energy because one's metabolism slows down. And, one's body often over-compensates when you start eating again, so you eat more, and gain back more weight than was lost. (Or, in the case of diet pills, they have stimulants to boost sagging metabolism and burn more energy- but they can effect and damage the heart. Some cause addiction.)

3. Intially the body scrounges for fuel, and starts to cannibalize muscle as well as fat.

Americans are big fans of improper diets and fad dieting, or yo-yo dieting. Because, "they' run in cycles of weight-loss and weight-gain and do not "eat healthier" and "exercise" at a healthy enough level to balance calories going in with energy/exertion to burn them up before they get stored as fat. Without a life style change, for most all folks, it is just yo-yo'ing.

Others' mleage should not vary...

Curt

[RJSamp]

I'll ditto all of the above.....

Diets don't work.....it's a life style change.

Exercise Daily (hour walk at lunch time or first thing in the morning starting TODAY not a bad idea).
TONS of water
No processed foods, alcohol, soda.
low sodium (plenty in all the foods you eat)
1 ingredient foods as much as possible (for example, an apple is a 1 ingredient food as it only has 'apple' in it).
My salads start with a half head of lettuce....
palm sized lean protein (that's about 4 ounces)
low fat (not non-fat)
low carbohydrates (not non-carbs, but realize you are eating readily converted to belly fat food, i.e.: 1/2 a baked potato not 'a mess' of hash browns)
no food after 7PM at night (if you are hungry drink a big glass of hot water with lemon)
8+ hours of sleep
a target of 1500ish calories a day (tough to attain) and the above decisions yielded a 72 pound weight loss in 9 months.

You'll lose 10 pounds safely by Shiloh.....and about 2 pounds per week after that.....

And yes see your doctor first about the above, although just about anything you are doing now is simply wrong.

I'm convinced that the reason that we have so many obese reenactors is the same reason they are reenacting in the first place: escapism and the chance to avoid reality by becoming someone else for a couple of days. The ultimate vacation Fantasy Island style.

Truth be known, it's a lot easier and more fun to reenact without the weight.....

Dieting: Your mileage will not vary.....over 80 per cent of people who have lost significant amounts of weight gain it back (I've already re-gained 31 pounds of the 70 lost.....).

[Quickstep]

Nice post, RJ. Proof that great minds think alike. I was composing the following when you posted yours:

It's not hard to lose weight or keep it off--what's hard is redefining your relationship with food. Too many of us see fattening and unhealthy foods as a reward, as entertainment, or even a birthright.

Think of food as just what it is--fuel for the body. Only eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Avoid junk food, pastries, candy, alcohol, soda, and anything made with high fructose corn syrup. You know what foods are evil--don't eat them. It helps not to eat at night. Make 8:00 pm your cut off point. The weight will come off. If you exercise it will speed things up. You can drop 20-30 pounds of fat within a couple of months just by eating sensibly and avoiding certain foods. You will feel the difference within a few days and see results in a week or two. And if you continue to do so, it will stay off.

You don't need weird diets, special menus, mail order food, or support groups. This isn't rocket science, and there is no magic diet out there. The formula is simple and it works: Eat less, eat healthy, and lead an active life. That's really all it takes.

I lost 40 pounds two years ago by following this simple philosophy and have not gained any of it back.

[RJSamp]

Cool stuff Claude! A warning.....the body doesn't tell you that you are full until a while after you have 'had enough' to eat.... the 'stop' signal comes much later\after you are 'full'. Portion control.....plan what you eat, and stick to the plan. Everything in moderation.

[Dbackfed]

Same with what everyone else said. Diet AND excercise are the two most important things. Starving yourself says to the body, "I have no food. Therefore, next time I do eat you need to store as much as possible (as fat) for future consumption because who knows when I'll eat again".

One more thing; The goal of only losing pounds is complete bull*&#$. He should drop his bodyfat %. You can have two people at 180 pounds, and they will look completely different based on what their body fat % is. Women drive me nuts with the classic line: "I need to lose 10 pounds".

[Greenjacket]

Maybe you ought to talk to, say, your doctor? I would say he is more qualified than gathering opinions off of a reenacting site.
Mike Pearson