Negative Effects of Dieting

When a person wishes to engage in a diet, they will be restricting what they eat or drink with the goal to either become healthier or lose weight.

Healthy dieting practices can improve the overall health of a dieter, as well as prevent complications such as diabetes and heart disease.

However, when this process of dieting is not properly done, the individual may fall victim to some of the negative effects of dieting, such as a weakened immune system.

This negative effect of dieting can hinder the body’s ability to cope with the changes caused by dieting and adapting new behaviors.

In order to understand some of the negative effects of dieting, you will have to understand some of the variables that are encountered within the body that makes the difference in your dieting failure or success.

Calories

Calories are needed to provide energy and aid in the maintenance of proper bodily functions. If you consume too many calories during a diet, you will not only increase your body fat content, but you will notice a difference on the scale. Eating not enough calories causes your body to suffer for this deficit.

Carbohydrates

The negative effects of dieting when it comes to the consumption of carbohydrates can be seen when a dieter does not know how to distinguish between what is considered a "good carb," as opposed to a "bad carb."

Carbohydrates are a major source of energy for the human body. "Bad carbs" are found in foods filled with sugar, such as soft drinks and sweets.

To avoid the negative effects of dieting, you should choose carbohydrates that are readily available in whole grain cereals, rice and corn.

Fiber

Negative effects of dieting occur when a dieter does not get enough fiber into their system. Fiber can be found in grain products, nuts, as well as numerous beans like pinto and kidney.

Soluble fiber positively affects a dieter’s health because it can lower cholesterol levels. Insoluble fiber combats constipation and hemorrhoids.

Protein

If a dieter does not consume enough foods containing protein, then they will experience a few negative effects of dieting.

It is suggested that 10% to 20% of the calories consumed each day should contain protein. Proteins are used to create red blood cells, as well as regulate enzymes and hormones. Protein can be found in meat, milk, cheese and eggs. A dieter will be at a loss when avoiding such foods.

When a person begins a diet, one of the main goals they are trying to achieve is to lose weight to enhance or improve their appearance.

Unhealthy and Dangerous Weight Loss

One of the negative effects of dieting occurs when a dieter goes overboard and their attempt to lose weight becomes drastically unhealthy and dangerous. This may lead to life threatening conditions, such as bulimia nervosa, anorexia, as well as binge eating.

Bulimia is a negative effect of dieting because a dieter turns to reoccurring cycles of binge eating and purging which is not good for the body. Bulimics will often vomit, abuse laxatives and diuretics to achieve a certain look. Many bulimics often suffer from depression.

Anorexia is when a dieter struggles with the intense fear of becoming overweight.

One of the negative effects of dieting in this way is that these individuals attempt to maintain an emaciated body weight. This can lead to a host of problems that attack the body due to this style of dieting.

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