When you consider the real risks of going on a diet it is hard to understand why modern women are ready to spend a small fortune seeking the body they crave. Then again, when you look at the scrawny anorexic super models and “media personalities” who stare out of magazines and newspapers at us perhaps it is easier to realise why today’s modern women are prepared to spend nearly the same amount as a bank in trouble demands from the government.

How many of you know that dieting can lead to eating disorders? Those of you that did can have a gold star. Those that didn’t had better pay attention!

If you go on a diet in an attempt to lose weight and you fail then you classify yourself as a failure. When you go on to a diet, the fuel that your body needs to function properly, FOOD becomes your number one enemy. The food that you like, cream cakes, chocolate, McDonalds are forbidden and the foods that you don’t like, rice cakes, low fat cheese are O.K. diet foods. A lot of dieters find that every encounter with food results in tension and stress. In an effort to reach their target weight the dieter is not prepared top stick by their diet. They adopt other tactics and maybe indulge in a bit of bulimia. Or when they look at a full length mirror instead of seeing “skinny Minnie” they see a little fat person and they welcome good old anorexia. Or they might think to themselves “Oh what the heck…” and then go on a binge eating session.

Of course, these are the extreme risks of going on a diet. However, other more common risks that occur include what happens to your body when you try to lose a substantial amount of weight in a short period of time. The heart of this risk isn’t with losing subcutaneous fat, (the pinch an inch fat) but with losing the fat which protects your lean organs such as your liver and kidneys. When this happens it puts a strain on these organs as they try to retain their normal function. Ultimately the dieter can suffer from organ failure. Imagine waiting for a liver transplant and some one asks you how you’re in this position. How stupid would anybody feel if the answer was “I overdid my diet.”

Diets which ban certain food groups such as low carbohydrate diets, nil fat diets, high protein diets etc are all unhealthy because they are depriving your body of the correct combination of essential food groups as are diets that prescribe 800 calories per day or 1000. A healthy diet typically requires 50% of your calories come from healthy carbohydrates, such as whole grains, vegetables and fruit. Similarly 20% comes from protein such as chicken, eggs, cheese and 30% from GOOD fats, mainly poly and monounsaturated fats but some saturated and fish oils.

If you deprive your body of carbohydrates you can actually promote malnutrition. If you go on a high protein diet you can stress your kidneys. A high fat diet can lead to heart disease. Whatever diet you follow, if it brags “lose a kilo a day” remember the initial weight loss will be mainly water. This in turn can lead to dehydration and ultimately muscle waste age. What do you need to help you burn fat? MUSCLE. No muscle equals negative fat burning.

No one who promotes diets informs you of the simplest fact of all, because if they did it would have a negative impact on their earnings. DIETS DO NOT WORK!

When you go on a diet you are cutting down the fuel your body needs for metabolism. (the number of calories your body needs to perform its everyday functions such as breathing, digesting food etc.) When this happens your metabolic rate slows down. (Therefore you don’t need as many calories!) You hit your target weight and you start eating normally again. HOWEVER you r metabolism is still running at its reduced weight. Guess what happens next? You got it! The excess calories you take in are stored as fat and then what happens? Have you got it? That’s right, it is stored as fat and bingo, and you now weigh more than you did when you went on the diet! Ah well, better go on a better diet this time! Guess what, the same thing will keep happening until you change your lifestyle.

Change your lifestyle! What do you mean? What I mean is changing the food that you eat. Cut out the unhealthy sugary, processed, trans fat laden junk that you have been eating in the past and start eating healthily. Don’t sit on your butt all day! Go out and EXERCISE. Start gently and gradually and build up to it. Also do a bit of weight lifting to build muscle. Remember what we said earlier on, muscle helps burn fat!

Don’t look at rapid weight loss, aim for a pound per week. If you don’t like weighing yourself measure your waist, and see how soon you can fit those great pants, skirt or dress you haven’t got in to for a couple of years. If you do weigh yourself do it at the same time on the same scales on the same day every week.

Remember an exercise regime plus healthy diet beats dieting every time (AND you don’t have to go hungry!!)

Finally, a word of caution. If you are seriously overweight before you do anything IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING.