Watch out for these extreme diet methods
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Skipping meals and overeating later may lead to dangerous cycle, experts say
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When people begin dieting, they often become anxious if they do not see immediate physical changes or rapid weight loss. This can push them toward extreme dieting methods. But healthy weight loss does not usually happen in a short period of time.
Trying to lose too much weight too quickly can ultimately lead to the “yo-yo effect,” in which the body returns to its original weight or even gains more than before. The main causes are a drop in basal metabolic rate and muscle loss caused by severe calorie restriction.
The yo-yo effect occurs because the body interprets rapid weight loss as an emergency situation and tries to store more fat through a survival mechanism known as homeostasis.
Drawing on information from U.S. health and medical outlet Healthline, experts highlighted several dieting habits that commonly lead to rebound weight gain.
Fasting can produce short-term weight loss results. In healthy individuals, short-term fasting may even help lower cholesterol levels and improve insulin resistance.
However, long-term fasting involving only water and very low calorie intake can harm health and undermine weight loss efforts. Experts stress that maintaining a balanced diet is essential even during weight loss, though many people are tempted by crash diets.
Starvation diets force the body to use protein — including muscle tissue — as an energy source instead of fat. As muscle mass decreases, basal metabolic rate also declines.
Once metabolism slows, the body becomes less efficient at burning carbohydrates and fat, making weight gain easier. After fasting ends and normal eating resumes, weight tends to return rapidly.
Weight loss occurs when calorie expenditure exceeds calorie intake, meaning people can lose weight simply by eating less. The problem is that without exercise, muscle mass continues to decline.
Like starvation diets, dieting without exercise lowers basal metabolic rate and gradually shifts the body toward gaining weight more easily.
Basal metabolic rate accounts for roughly 60 to 70 percent of daily energy expenditure. A higher metabolic rate helps the body burn calories more efficiently, and muscle is one of the biggest contributors to that process.
For this reason, experts say exercise that helps maintain and build muscle is essential for sustainable weight loss without rebound gain.
Even while dieting, the body still needs protein, minerals, healthy carbohydrates and unsaturated fats. When people fail to consume enough nutrients, the body adapts to surviving on very little energy.
As the body reduces its energy expenditure, excess calories are more easily stored as fat. In this state, even ordinary meals can lead to weight gain, while overeating or binge eating becomes even more damaging.
Extreme restriction and fasting often lead directly to binge eating. Many people mistakenly believe weight loss is simply about suppressing appetite, but hunger is a basic human drive. When it is constantly suppressed, it often rebounds through cravings and overeating driven by psychological compensation.
Experts caution that thinking “one cheat day won’t matter” can gradually build unhealthy eating habits and ultimately contribute to yo-yo weight gain.
This article from Kormedi.com, Korea’s top health care and medical portal, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.