Losing weight and body image can take over our health negatively if not chosen the right way. In conversation with Ms. Sonal Talegaonkar, a Consultant Nutritionist, we get to know more about how a starvation diet should be a big no.

 

  1. Please walk us through the idea of a starvation diet.

When your caloric intake is below the recommended minimum and doesn't provide the body with the fuel it needs to function properly. If a person eats lesser than his BMR (basal metabolic rate) then it is considered starvation. An average 2-year-old needs 800-1000 calories, how can a 20-30-year-old survive on 800 calories that are almost like shutting down your body and inviting a medical emergency?

 

  1. Why do people choose to do it and why does it work?

We live in a world of immediate gratification. If you can’t hit your goals, what do many people do? Some turn to starvation diets, or extreme diets that restrict calories far below their daily energy needs.

Most of the time people are influenced by what they see on social media. X celebrity did a cabbage soup diet or only egg diet or only soup diet etc. and lost 10-20 kg and this makes people blindly follow such a trend without understanding science & one’s body.

 

  1. How many calories do people consume on a starvation diet?

A starvation diet starts from 600-1100 calories, where people skip meals or eat very less.

 

  1. What are the physical and emotional challenges people face while following this diet?

Physically, it starts with headaches, dehydration, cramps, depressed immunity, fainting, loss of menses, nausea, vomiting, brittle nails, greyish skin tone, electrolyte imbalances, reduced bone density, brain fog, mA starvation irritability, loss of focus, poor body image issues.

A starvation diet is basically like taxing your adrenal system due to increased internal stress the body goes through thereby increasing cortisol

The whole interplay between leptin (satiety hormone), ghrelin (hunger hormone), and cortisol (stress hormone) is affected thus taxing the adrenal system

This puts people into a yo-yo syndrome which is like eating less and quickly losing weight and then bingeing and then repeating. Starvation diets

 

  1. Most people say, a starving diet only leads you to weight gain after a while. Is it true?

Yes, it makes you eat very less, starve more, do excessive cardio lose a lot of weight (which is more muscle loss), and then when you get back on a normal diet, you binge and end up gaining a lot.

This was a quick fix; one needs a LIFESTYLE CHANGE that stays for good.