Your weight is over the limit. You find it difficult to do your day to day activities. Your knees hurt when you walk. Your friends tell you that being obese is unhealthy and you need to lose weight.
So, you want a quick fix. You plan to lose 2 kilos in a week. You wonder how to achieve that goal. You search the internet and find an attractive solution, that is taking laxatives. Would it help? Maybe, for a short period.
There are some unhealthy ways to lose weight. Trying those methods will not help you in the long run. They may give you some serious side effects. The following unhealthy methods are commonly used by people to quickly lose weight.
Laxatives are medications used to treat constipation. They are available over the counter. You don't need a prescription from your doctor to buy them.
Laxatives are meant to relieve constipation, nothing else. However, many people use laxative as a weight loss supplement. It is a harmful method. It can cause serious consequences.
When you take laxatives, you get loose motions. That means you are losing lots of water from your body. It will make you dehydrated.
If you jump on the scales after using laxatives for a week, you will notice some weight reduction. However, you will gain that weight in a few days time.
Diuretics also known as water pills make you pass more urine. That means you lose more water from your body. One litre of water equals one kg of body weight. So if you lose five litres of water, you will lose 5 kg of your body weight.
Good calculation. But, is it good for your body? Can you sustain the weight loss?
Excessive use of diuretics will make you dehydrated. In addition, they can cause electrolyte imbalance. You will lose lots of potassium from your body. It will cause muscle cramps and weakness.
The electrolyte imbalance can stop your heart.
Fasting is a common practice among people who want a quick weight loss. Total fasting for a few days can help reduce your weight very quickly. However, you will gain the lost kilos in a week or two when you start your normal diet.
Some people even avoid drinking water when they fast. It is not a healthy way. It can cause serious side effects such as kidney damage.
Instead of avoiding all the foods, you can avoid sweets and fatty foods. That is a healthy way of managing your body weight.
Breakfast is an important meal that gives you the energy and nutrients for the day. It boosts your metabolism. If you don't eat your breakfast, your metabolic rate will be slow down.
In addition, avoiding breakfast will increase the chance of unhealthy snacking. A recent study compared the effects of breakfast on body weight. The result shows people who ate breakfast lost more weight than people who ate the same number of calories but skipped their breakfast.
You need to include some fat in your diet. Fat is essential for many important functions of the body. It is necessary for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
In addition, fat reduces your appetite. Small amounts of fat in your diet does not make you obese.
So, avoiding fat is a bad way of controlling your body weight. However, eating large amounts of unhealthy fats should be avoided.
Some people eat a lot, then put a finger in their throat and throw up. Don't do that. That is not a good idea.
Deliberately inducing vomiting can cause many health problems such as electrolyte imbalance, erosion of the teeth, and oesophageal tear.
Inducing vomiting to avoid weight gain is considered to be an eating disorder. It is called bulimia nervosa. If you have this problem, you need to see a psychologist.
Thyroxine is a hormone secreted by the thyroid gland in the neck. It controls our metabolic rate. Excess amounts of thyroid hormone will increase the metabolic rate and make you lose weight.
People who have underactive thyroid will gain weight. If you have this problem, taking thyroxine tablets will help you lose weight.
However, people with normal levels of thyroid hormone should not take thyroxine tablets. It can cause cardiac arrhythmias, even death.
You should know the meaning of dieting. It does not mean eating less or avoiding healthy foods. You should eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, and meat.
You need to have enough carbs, proteins, fat, vitamins and minerals. Avoiding healthy foods will lead to nutritional deficiencies and anaemia. It can cause hair loss, poor memory, and wrinkled skin.
Spending many hours every day in the gym is not the right way. Regular exercise such as walking is an important aspect of weight management.
However, too much physical exercise may not be appropriate. There are many reasons for that. It is very tiring and you can't continue it for a long time. When you stop your workouts for a few weeks, you will gain weight.
In addition, strenuous exercise can affect your joints. It will cause osteoarthritis at an early age.
Tapeworms are ribbon-like parasites that found in the small intestines of cows, sheep, and pigs. Sometimes they infect human beings through undercooked meat from infected animals.
They obtain nutrients from the digestive tract. Some people eat tapeworms to lose weight. Disgusting!
Tapeworms do not help lose weight. Never try this method.
Tapeworms can cause serious health issues such as vitamin deficiencies, abdominal pain, and intestinal obstruction.
So, you want a quick fix. You plan to lose 2 kilos in a week. You wonder how to achieve that goal. You search the internet and find an attractive solution, that is taking laxatives. Would it help? Maybe, for a short period.
There are some unhealthy ways to lose weight. Trying those methods will not help you in the long run. They may give you some serious side effects. The following unhealthy methods are commonly used by people to quickly lose weight.
1. Taking laxatives
Laxatives are medications used to treat constipation. They are available over the counter. You don't need a prescription from your doctor to buy them.
Laxatives are meant to relieve constipation, nothing else. However, many people use laxative as a weight loss supplement. It is a harmful method. It can cause serious consequences.
When you take laxatives, you get loose motions. That means you are losing lots of water from your body. It will make you dehydrated.
If you jump on the scales after using laxatives for a week, you will notice some weight reduction. However, you will gain that weight in a few days time.
2. Taking water pills
Diuretics also known as water pills make you pass more urine. That means you lose more water from your body. One litre of water equals one kg of body weight. So if you lose five litres of water, you will lose 5 kg of your body weight.
Good calculation. But, is it good for your body? Can you sustain the weight loss?
Excessive use of diuretics will make you dehydrated. In addition, they can cause electrolyte imbalance. You will lose lots of potassium from your body. It will cause muscle cramps and weakness.
The electrolyte imbalance can stop your heart.
3. Fasting for a few days
Fasting is a common practice among people who want a quick weight loss. Total fasting for a few days can help reduce your weight very quickly. However, you will gain the lost kilos in a week or two when you start your normal diet.
Some people even avoid drinking water when they fast. It is not a healthy way. It can cause serious side effects such as kidney damage.
Instead of avoiding all the foods, you can avoid sweets and fatty foods. That is a healthy way of managing your body weight.
4. Skipping the breakfast
Breakfast is an important meal that gives you the energy and nutrients for the day. It boosts your metabolism. If you don't eat your breakfast, your metabolic rate will be slow down.
In addition, avoiding breakfast will increase the chance of unhealthy snacking. A recent study compared the effects of breakfast on body weight. The result shows people who ate breakfast lost more weight than people who ate the same number of calories but skipped their breakfast.
5. Avoiding fat altogether
You need to include some fat in your diet. Fat is essential for many important functions of the body. It is necessary for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
In addition, fat reduces your appetite. Small amounts of fat in your diet does not make you obese.
So, avoiding fat is a bad way of controlling your body weight. However, eating large amounts of unhealthy fats should be avoided.
6. Making yourself sick
Some people eat a lot, then put a finger in their throat and throw up. Don't do that. That is not a good idea.
Deliberately inducing vomiting can cause many health problems such as electrolyte imbalance, erosion of the teeth, and oesophageal tear.
Inducing vomiting to avoid weight gain is considered to be an eating disorder. It is called bulimia nervosa. If you have this problem, you need to see a psychologist.
7. Taking Thyroxine tablets
Thyroxine is a hormone secreted by the thyroid gland in the neck. It controls our metabolic rate. Excess amounts of thyroid hormone will increase the metabolic rate and make you lose weight.
People who have underactive thyroid will gain weight. If you have this problem, taking thyroxine tablets will help you lose weight.
However, people with normal levels of thyroid hormone should not take thyroxine tablets. It can cause cardiac arrhythmias, even death.
8. Avoiding healthy foods to lose weight
You should know the meaning of dieting. It does not mean eating less or avoiding healthy foods. You should eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, and meat.
You need to have enough carbs, proteins, fat, vitamins and minerals. Avoiding healthy foods will lead to nutritional deficiencies and anaemia. It can cause hair loss, poor memory, and wrinkled skin.
9. Too much exercise is unhealthy
Spending many hours every day in the gym is not the right way. Regular exercise such as walking is an important aspect of weight management.
However, too much physical exercise may not be appropriate. There are many reasons for that. It is very tiring and you can't continue it for a long time. When you stop your workouts for a few weeks, you will gain weight.
In addition, strenuous exercise can affect your joints. It will cause osteoarthritis at an early age.
10. Eating tapeworms is a weird way
Tapeworms are ribbon-like parasites that found in the small intestines of cows, sheep, and pigs. Sometimes they infect human beings through undercooked meat from infected animals.
They obtain nutrients from the digestive tract. Some people eat tapeworms to lose weight. Disgusting!
Tapeworms do not help lose weight. Never try this method.
Tapeworms can cause serious health issues such as vitamin deficiencies, abdominal pain, and intestinal obstruction.
