We will not tell you why it is harmful to sit on strict diets. And do not even write once again that a balanced diet, and not training for wear and a limited diet – the key to an ideal figure and excellent health. Instead, we’ll tell you what happens to your body when you decide to go on a diet. In an hour, a day, a week and a month.
12 hours
In fact, so far, almost nothing happens. At least, nothing that could disturb you or make you change the usual regime and plans for the evening. The first 12-18 hours on a diet is a time when the body slowly but surely plunges into a fasting regime. Then he uses the maximum amount of stored energy (glycogen).
24 hours
As energy reserves are reduced, the level of cortisol in the body naturally increases. First, we remember that cortisol is a stress hormone, so that even minor faults of others will start to irritate you, and you yourself will be constantly, as they say, in a platoon. Secondly, if we talk about internal processes, cortisol will cause the body to retain more water. This, in turn, will lead to edema, discomfort in the legs, a feeling of “bloatedness” that women are familiar with on the first days of the menstrual cycle. In addition, already at this stage the body’s response to the preservation of a stable temperature (thermogenesis) decreases, which can manifest as a tremor and chill.
2 days
At this stage, the energy reserves in the body are completely depleted, and, since the body can not distinguish between the realized shortage of food and hunger, it slows the metabolism to save energy. This is because human bodies are “equipped” with an amazing survival mechanism that automatically reduces energy costs. Simply put, at this time the body begins to store fat in case of acute necessity, and you feel an unusual lethargy and a constant desire to lie down.
3 days
Metabolism is slowed down as much as possible, so it becomes especially difficult to burn calories, even if you are making enough effort. Due to inhibition of metabolic processes the body continues to store fat, extremely reluctantly parting with small portions of it, but muscle tissue – prepare to be surprised – just begins to thin out. Add to this and the fact that in three days a meager diet affects the function of the thyroid gland, adrenaline secretion decreases, which makes you feel worse mentally and physically.
1 Week
In the first two weeks of a diet, there is a high probability that at least 50% of the weight that you lost is muscle mass. From now on, you are also likely to begin to lose important nutrients such as protein, vitamin B12 and iron, which will immediately affect the immune system, mental abilities and general health. Plus, the hatred for food that you are trying to inspire will affect your personal and social life. Just because no one likes to communicate with a man who looks contemptuously at his plate or, which is probably worse, with a person who constantly thinks and speaks only about food.
1 month
By this point you are a “man who is losing weight”. Hormones of appetite have long ago escaped control, so you are constantly in a bad mood, because everything that could please you now is a piece of cake. And it, of course, you can not, and this is obviously a vicious circle, full of despondency and pain.
It is possible that you have already broken several times on the “banned”, then tried to work out the calories on the stationary bike. And this is extremely dangerous, as episodes of compulsive overeating in the diet process – a signal that it’s time to stop mocking your body, bet on a full-fledged diet, but moderate servings.
Another important point: after losing a significant part of the muscle mass, the body turns into a car to absorb fat, which it will draw from any food and store for energy. And the body, accustomed to store fat, will do this after, believe me, since “body memory” in such processes means more than we think. This explains the fact that people who manage to lose weight on strict diets, rarely manage to maintain the ideal weight.
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