Nutritionists tirelessly repeat that short-term diets do not help to fight excess weight: it is much more important to constantly eat rationally. Nevertheless, among people suffering from excess weight, fast diets are very popular, for example, the Japanese diet, the results of which are really impressive. Such diets allow you to easily lose weight before any event, which is very convenient.

Why are short-term diets harmful?

Eating rationally throughout life is, of course, useful, but rather boring. The world is full of temptations, including gastronomic ones. And resisting these temptations is not easy. Therefore, most people choose short-term diets that will allow them to lose weight until a certain moment, for example, before a New Year’s corporate party or a responsible date.

Starting a short-term diet is much easier psychologically than making a lifelong decision to give up certain foods or at least limit their amount. In addition, on such a diet, the result is immediately noticeable, which increases self-esteem and helps to avoid breakdowns. But it should be remembered that such diets have serious drawbacks.

Short-term diets, including the Japanese diet, are quite strict. The daily caloric content rarely exceeds one thousand two hundred calories, and sometimes it is much lower. Meanwhile, it has been proven for a long time that during fasting it is mainly not fat that is burned, but muscle mass, that is, weight loss occurs at the expense of muscles. In addition, a low-calorie diet reduces metabolism: the body saves energy obtained from food, instead of burning fat deposits. This can manifest itself in different ways, for example, a person feels cold all the time or wants to sleep, becomes sedentary and passive. Getting used to a reduced caloric content can occur quite quickly, sometimes it takes only three or four days. As a result, when the caloric content increases to a normal level, the body continues to save energy, putting aside energy “for reserve” in the form of fat rolls on the hips and waist.

This creates an effect aptly named the “yo-yo effect” after the popular toy that jumps up and down on a rope. The weight lost during the diet returns as soon as the diet ends (usually this happens within two months). A person tries to lose weight again and again, but each time after the end of the diet, the lost kilograms return, and often new ones are added to them. The easiest way to get into this vicious circle is to start following a short-term diet.

In addition, it should be noted that such diets are usually unbalanced and do not contain many vital substances. Adhering to a strict short-term diet, you must additionally take vitamin complexes.

How to minimize the harm from a strict diet

Despite the fact that everyone in one way or another is aware of the dangers of strict diets, this method of losing weight remains popular. After all, rapid weight loss provides not only a slim figure, but also an increase in self-esteem and, as a result, an easy solution to many problems. Because slimming ladies follow short-term diets at their peril and risk. How to make the diet cause minimal harm?

Much depends on the right choice of diet. So, protein diets that significantly limit the consumption of carbohydrates — both simple and complex — are considered the most harmful. As a result, the work of the gastrointestinal tract is significantly disturbed, constipation occurs, and sometimes self-poisoning of the body. Fortunately, the Japanese diet, although it refers to proteins, contains a sufficient amount of vegetable fiber, which has a beneficial effect on digestion.

When losing weight, the body inevitably releases toxins that must be eliminated. For this, you must drink a lot of water (at least one and a half, and preferably two liters). Movement contributes to the removal of toxins, and it often happens quite simply leisurely walks. Massage and lymphatic drainage procedures are also very useful.

Bath and sauna are usually highly recommended for those who want to lose weight and cleanse their body of toxins. In the steam room, a lot of harmful substances are released with sweat, and as a result, a person feels fresh and renewed. However, those who adhere to the Japanese diet, such procedures are rather harmful. As you know, from then on, a person loses minerals that need to be replenished. It is no coincidence that after a bath, it is often advised to drink salty mineral water. If the diet prohibits salt, then it is very difficult to fill the sodium deficiency in the body. Therefore, you should refrain from baths, saunas, active sports and other types of activities that are accompanied by strong sweating.

The right exit from the diet

After a thirteen-day Japanese diet (which means thirteen days of strict restrictions), in no case should you lash out at food that you had to give up. First, in this case, the lost kilograms will return very quickly. Secondly, the reaction of the body, which has managed to wean itself from many products, may turn out to be unpredictable.

Return to a normal diet after the Japanese diet should be gradual. It is desirable that nutrition becomes healthier than it was before the beginning of the “Japanese diet”. Salt and sugar should be used very sparingly, and alcohol should be avoided altogether. Preference should be given to low-fat products. In the diet, as before, it is necessary to include salads from raw and boiled vegetables, rich in fiber.

No more than two new products can be added to the diet every day. Of course, it should not be hamburgers or cakes, but healthy food, for example, cereals and fermented milk products. It is undesirable to increase the portions, it contributes to the stretching of the stomach. Since during the Japanese diet it was necessary to eat only three, and sometimes even two times a day (a cup of coffee cannot be considered a full meal), it is advisable to increase the number of meals. Frequent fractional meals prevent the feeling of hunger and, as a result, save from overeating.