The liquid diet
MANY serial dieters hop from one fad to another that promise quick weight loss with little effort. Many of these fad diets are dangerous, while there is some merit to others, if done carefully.
The liquid diet, according to Dr Winston Dawes, CEO of Mahogany Health and Fitness, involves drinking low-calorie drinks in place of meals with the resulting calorie deficit forcing the body to burn its fat stores thus resulting in weight loss.
“The liquid diet has been around in various forms for as long as people have sought to lose weight. Many companies offer various shakes and smoothies as meal replacements to tap into this multi-million dollar dietary plan,” he said.
But does the liquid diet really work?
Dr Dawes said the science behind the liquid diet is real.
“If you consume fewer calories than your daily requirements then the body draws from its energy stores and uses them as fuel. This will result in weight loss,” he explained.
However, Dr Dawes said the body stores energy as both fat and protein, and low-calorie diets that do not contain high enough levels of protein to protect the body’s protein stores (muscles) will see the dieter losing lean muscle mass.
“This will be seen as weight loss but this is unhealthy weight loss,” he said.
“In some extreme low-calorie liquid diets the body will go into starvation mode and store food extremely efficiently as fat as soon as the diet ends. This, plus the loss of muscle that normally burns fat, accounts for the rapid weight gain seen in these dieters,” he said.
Dr Dawes explained that the other downsides to an unsupervised liquid diet are vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
“It is easy to develop deficiencies if your diet entails liquids and not a full meal with all the different food groups. One has to check the nutritional information on the drinks and take them under medical supervision,” he said.
He explained that supplements are usually given with the liquid diets, and dieters are told to change their unhealthy lifestyles to get rid of the poor eating habits that got them overweight in the first place.
“If done properly, it will work. It’s simple: do it under medical supervision, change your lifestyle and don’t forget to include regular exercise.”
