Is Starvation an Effective Weight Loss
Strategy?
No. Even total starvation is not a particularly
spectacular way to lose weight. After the rapid initial weight-loss phase,
people who have starved themselves completely lose weight only at the
rate of 4-5 pounds a week. The body by that time, of course, is really
closing things down, slowing it's metabolism and desperately trying to
conserve its fat stores and stay alive.
Also, the weight loss which happens in
conditions of total starvation is highly undesirable. About half the weight
lost is not fat at all, but lean tissue: the body starts burning up its
own muscles. By comparison, of the weight lost on a diet of 1000 calories,
three-quarters is fat and only a quarter is lean tissue. This is why drastic
very-low-calorie diets make no sense whatsoever. You're engaged in a struggle
with your body which you can't win. The more severe the diet, the more
desperately the body tries to hang on to every ounce of fat. The steady-weight-loss
approach wins hands down every time!
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