What happens to the body when you are on an extreme diet

Many people go on extreme diets to get quick results. But, unfortunately, they often do not achieve what they hoped for. In the short term, extreme diets can help you lose weight, but they can negatively affect your health and well-being. In addition, often after an exhausting diet, the weight returns to its previous values or even increases.

Here are some of the changes that occur in your body when you go on an extreme diet and deprive your body of the calories it needs to function properly.

You are losing water

Instant success on an extreme diet is just an illusion because the weight loss comes from water, not body fat. Therefore, after three days of restrictions, the body loses too much fluid, and dehydration sets in, which is accompanied by various unpleasant symptoms: headache, lethargy, dry mouth, breathing problems, fainting, and so on.

Decreases muscle mass

During a slow and steady weight loss, most of the pounds lost (even if you didn’t lose as much as you wanted) is fat, and the rest is water and muscle.

However, if you reduce the usual calorie intake too significantly, for example, from 2000 to 800, then for the sake of energy, the body will begin to break down muscle tissue proteins.

So even if you lose weight, your physique will not improve. In addition, due to prolonged strict diets, a very important muscle – the heart muscle can atrophy, undoubtedly leading to diseases.

Blood sugar is out of control

On extreme diets, there is no stable and sufficient supply of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to the body, preventing it from maintaining normal blood glucose levels. For example, various cleansing and detox diets can lead to spikes in blood sugar, making you feel hungry and lazy, leading to breakdowns.

So don’t be too surprised if, after a couple of days on celery juice alone, you find yourself at McDonald’s with a huge burger, fries, 20 nuggets, and a large milkshake. Also, strict diets are associated with frequent weight fluctuations, contributing to the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Metabolism slows down

With a decrease in muscle mass, the metabolic rate inevitably decreases. This means you will burn fewer calories even during intense workouts.

As a result, the metabolism can slow down so much that any weight loss stops, and you will feel constant weakness, irritation, and uncontrollable hunger. Often, due to strict diets, people have a permanent lack of food for a long time: even after eating a lot, they do not feel full.