Life after Crash Diets
I started on lighter life in 2005 when my weight was close to 24 stone inspired by family members who had done this crash diet! With what seemed to be fantastic results! So I began my journey!
The diet was easy as there is no thinking required because you don't eat normal food you only take on 600 calories per day in the form of shakes & bars, which I believe now has changed with some low calorie meals being added. On top of this you must drink a minimum of 4 litres of water per day so that your body starts to feed off your body fats and sugars within the muscles to survive. I was seeing results including weekly weight loss in excess of 7lbs, I reached my goal of 14st 7lbs in 5 months which I maintained for around a year. But unfortunately I then slipped back into old habits which saw my weight rise to 18st plus!
So, for me the only answer was to go back onto the diet! This time time it was the Cambridge diet which was the same as lighter life but a lot cheaper! I also found out how to cheat on the diet, as the more water I drank the more weight I would lose so I began drinking 8-10 litres a day, even though I was advised it was dangerous and each time I went on the diet I would see massive weight loss of over a stone in the first week which meant less time on the diet! so for me it was a win win but in reality this was the start of the addiction.
Sadly there were also a number of side affects with this diet, including bad breath & chronic constipation which required medication. This crash diet then became my crutch for the next 11 years with me using it to keep my weight ‘in check!’ I'd bounce on and off this diet 2-3 or even 4 times a year depending on my weight at the time, this was no longer a habit but my addiction!! Every time I went on the diet the harder it become, mentally it was so difficult even depressing but I was driven by the easy weight loss!
Finally I realised something had to change as mentally & physically I couldn't continue on this path or diet! Having used this weight loss method for so long it was having drastic, negative effects both physically and mentally, had left me with depleted muscles and an obsession with food. Even now when I put a little weight on, in my mind I need to go back on the diet, I haven't but this how it draws you in!
Looking back for me personally it got my weight down fast, being as big as I was, I don't think I would have done a normal diet where you lose 1-2lbs a week but if I had only done this crash diet once, lost the weight, changed my lifestyle, understood where I was going wrong, and changed my mindset, it may have been worth it. Unfortunately it's not that simple because without the knowledge and understanding of where your going wrong, like me you will be unlikely to keep the weight off!
So for all the reasons above this crash diet is addictive!
It is not a safe way to lose weight, so I would advise you to seek professional help on how to make the right choices with food, control portion sizes and exercise. I have done exactly that, since 2016 I have been working with Personal Trainer & Nutritionist Shelley at META Evolution Gym on not only the physical damage but also the mental damage caused by my addiction to crash dieting! It’s 2020 and my journey is not over as I continue to become healthier and stronger in every way which has been my biggest challenge to date and with Shelley’s help I know I'm on the right path.
Client S