Crash Dieting - The meaning is in the phrase "crash"
As girls we are programmed at an early age to maintain or loose weight. Working out is hard.
So what do we start doing, dieting. Dieting becomes a common word among us. And then we pickup a phrase called crash dieting. Probably shouldn't do anything that starts with the word crash (meaning: collide violently) - right? Why would anyone voluntarily want to violently collide?
A friend of mine triggered this article. She has struggled with her weight her entire life. Her trainer, who has been training her for 3 years wants her to loose weight, so he told her to go on a "crash diet" for 3 months to get her jump started. WHAT? Her biggest problem is that she has been on inconsistent diets all her life and they all end up the same way... She falls of the wagon and ends up getting worse results.
One thing I've learned is that if one deprives themselves of what they love, they crave it all the more. So why keep depriving ourselves? Why not have our cake and eat it too?
Based on your height, current weight and your weight loss goals it is very easy to calculate your ideal daily calorie intake. I used My Fitness Plan but there are many more tools out there. I can intake 1400 calories a day. Great! Now that I know that I'm armed to make choices. I don't have a big sweet tooth (thank the lord for small mercies), but I love chips, bacon, cheese, alcohol, fried foods, to name a few. And as I love them I am not willing to give them up. So I track what I eat (My Fitness Plan). I've now been doing this for 3 years and have a pretty good handle on it. I understand that if I am craving a big mac meal (890 calories), that means my breakfast, dinner & snacks can only be 510 calories. That means bare minimum food. So to satisfy my desire, I skip the fries (441 calories). Or if I want it all, then no wine glass in the evening and basically I know I have to eat vegetables and other very lean foods. But like in everything in life, its a choice and I made mine.
Most important is to manage your calorie intake to loose weight. Doesn't matter what you eat as long as you stay within your calorie count for the day . Of course eating less fatty foods is always better. But strictly for weight loss it doesn't matter.
Following this process helps you live a better and well balanced lifestyle and because you are not deprived its sustainable. Now whether I am traveling, at a party or a ball game I know I have choice and that I don't have to sit next to my husband and see him eat a hot dog and say "damn I can't eat it". Because I can, as I'm going to make a choice not to have a beer.
Below I linked articles that explain all the downsides of crash dieting.
https://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/do-extreme-crash-dieting-work.htm
