Don't Starve Yourself

There is a reason why starvation diets are called "crash" diets. When you deny yourself of the nutrition your body needs to function, you will "crash", literally, from fatigue and weakness. More than likely you will then "crash" into the pantry and eat everything in sight to satisfy your hunger.

In order to lose weight, you need to burn off more calories than you consume. A calorie is the standard unit of measurement for burning energy. To increase the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celcius, one calorie must be released. If a person consumes an average of 2000 calories per day, that person would need to expend enough energy to burn off more than that in order to lose weight.

It is the idea behind the starvation diet, therefore, to consume less than the daily recommended amount of calories to get through the day. By going through your regular routine and eating significantly less, you should be losing pounds every day, right? Not always.

You Need To Eat!

When you deny your body the food it needs to function, amazing things happen. Your body is equipped with its own natural security system that works to repair things that go wrong, or adjust to drastic situations like changes in temperature or lack of nutritition. When your body detects a dramatic decrease in food intake, it takes measure to ensure that you can still function.

When you starve yourself on purpose, your body seeks to preserve fuel. Therefore, your fat stores are preserved - the very same stores you are trying to burn away! As a result, the food you do intake in this time doesn't burn away as quickly as you would expect, because your body is hanging onto to every bit to save for later!

What is burned instead? Muscle. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat, and the body has to expend something in order to keep you moving. Therefore, starving yourself will do more harm than good. It may seem contradictory to your goals, but in order to lose weight you need to eat!