8 Unhealthy Ways to Lose Weight Fast

Are you thinking of ways to lose weight fast? Probably you also looked online for some shortcut tips for fastest way to lose weight. Well, there’s all kind of information online about the fast ways to lose weight. Being desperate, people are willing to do anything, even resort to unhealthy ways to lose weight fast because of lack of awareness. If you adopt them, then you risk landing yourself in trouble and invite many diseases. In any cost, you should avoid the tempting trap of losing weight rapidly. The weight loss methods you use should be carefully researched and scrutinized. Here are some such examples so you know what not to do. This is the updated version of an old popular post on this blog. ~ Ed.

Shortcuts may not always lead you to success. The same goes for your desire to lose weight fast.

Are you aware that most of the quick weight loss tips available online are actually unhealthy ways to lose weight?

No, I didn’t. Simply because many of these weight loss methods are considered normal as we often hear people using them.

It is very important to know that if the approach you adopt to lose weight is indeed the healthy way. But how can you make out the unhealthy ways to lose weight from the healthy ones?

Before you choose and finalize your preferred ways to lose weight, find out if you really need to lose weight in the first place. Maybe you just need to stay fit and not become slim – they often require different approaches or methods.

If you think you need to lose weight – then read on.

My Ways to Lose Weight

My doctor told me to lose weight so I ventured online to find the best and healthy ways to do so.

I was shocked to learn that the ways to lose weight that I thought were alright, were in fact harmful. There are so many myths and practices of wrong ways of losing weight in prevalence that it becomes difficult to discern the right from the wrong.

One thumb rule to follow to follow is that if something seems too good to be true, put your skeptic guards on! If you read about any ways to lose weight without being active or exercising, without following a balanced diet or living a healthier lifestyle, then you need to consult the experts. The advertised fastest way to lose weight could either be fake or even harmful!

In this post, I’ve compiled all the negative aspects of losing weight fast that I found during my research. I hope you do not practice any of these unhealthy ways to lose weight fast.

Meanwhile, here are some of the right ways to lose weight that are healthy and I follow them too.

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”

Jim Rohn

Why Do You Need to Lose Weight

Interesting question – isn’t it?

Well, with life becoming so fast-paced and hectic nowadays, and with most of us leading a sedentary lifestyle, we are faced with the problem of weight gain.

If you do not control the increasing body weight, you run the risk of harboring many diseases.

This warning is not only for the obese, but even those who lie on the borderline of the normal health index and are at high risk of falling in the obese group.

Those who have an ideal weight and are physically fit may not need to look for ways to lose weight. However, they also need to follow a healthy lifestyle to maintain their weight and health.

You especially need to lose weight if you have medical conditions like osteoarthritis, diabetes, or cardiovascular diseases.

Did you know that for every pound of weight gain, your body exerts an added pressure of four pounds on your knees? This could either wreck your knees or cause difficulty in walking.

This shouldn’t scare you because if you follow the right ways to lose weight, you must be able to maintain your ideal body weight.

However, some people become so obsessed and desperate to lose weight fast that they go to any extremes. And they start searching for the fastest way to lose weight online. This is bad and can cause more harm than good to you.

“Those who have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”

Edward Stanley

8 Unhealthy Ways to Lose Weight Fast That You Should Avoid

While finding the healthy ways to lose weight, I came across these unhealthy ways to get skinny and was rather amazed to see the extent to which people go to achieve their objectives.

Trying to Lose Weight by Starving and Skipping Meals

To be honest with you, once upon a time I also tried doing this to lose weight. But I now know that this is not a healthy method.

There is a major difference between fasting and starving. When you fast it cleanses and detoxifies the body. Moreover, a controlled fast normally lasts for a specific period after which we start eating normal food once again.

Starvation, on the other hand, means the restriction of food for a longer time period or people do it on a regular basis. What really happens is that your body doesn’t get the required calories or nutrients to function well.

Yes, you do lose some weight. However, you lose weight from all parts of your body, which also includes, fat, muscle, water, and even bone. I hope you realize that this is not of the ways to lose weight that you’d like to use.

As a matter of fact, you end up not only burning the fat in your body but also depleting the essential elements. You do more harm than good.

There’s one more thing. When you starve yourself or skip meals with the hope that you will lose weight permanently, the lost weight springs right back more and sooner than you can imagine!

Once you eat your meals the metabolism increases, and if you skip meals often, your metabolism slows down that may lead to weight gain.

When you try losing weight by following severe calorie restrictions, starvation, or anorexia, know that you follow unhealthy ways to lose weight fast that works but are dangerous.

This can affect you adversely and often leads to the inability to concentrate, fatigue, light-headedness, and often fainting.

If carried on it can lead to loss of muscle mass, hair loss, dry skin, brittle nails, or other problems. Thus, long-term repercussions of following this fast weight loss method can be life-threatening at times.

Therefore, instead of looking for the fastest way to lose weight, search for the safest ways to lose weight.

Weight Loss Dieting without Consideration

Perhaps you all may have tried dieting some time or the other or followed some diet plan to lose weight. But doesn’t the weight come back after you stop following that diet?

I did try it once by following a diet plan for a month. Sure, I sure did lose a few kilos, but it came right back when I stopped taking this diet! I didn’t let it get past more than what it was earlier but realized that such things never work.

There are so many fad diets like Atkins diet, Hoodia diet, Zone diet, which people follow without consultation as the ways to lose weight.

Sometimes people get fed up of one diet and switch to another without completing one, so they never get to know if it really works or not.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), any kind of fad or crash diets for losing weight rapidly is not good. You tend to regain the weight when you stop the diet.

Such diets, according to AHA cause gastrointestinal problems, damage your health and can lead to malnutrition, especially those that lay stress on eating a particular kind of food and eliminate others.

Let’s face it; our body needs a good balance of fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and all the essential minerals. In fact, our body needs healthy fats, which actually help you burn the excess or unhealthy fat.

However, some people love to follow the no-calorie diet or zero-calorie diets where they even consume artificial sweeteners as the fastest way to lose weight.

That’s bad because you gain weight if you consume diet drinks. Your body stores the fat and reacts to sweetness just as it would if you had something sweet.

Losing Weight by Consuming Drugs and Pills without Consultation

Even though we know there are no magic pills for losing weight, yet we take them.

Drugs like cocaine, crack, and methamphetamines (speed) are mostly used as ways to lose weight fast. If these drugs are taken for long-term, they can damage your brain and heart.

Celebrities are often prescribed drugs like Adderall and ADHA Ritalin for weight loss too.

Some supplements help in burning fat, but they must be accompanied with healthy eating and exercises. Moreover, healthy eating should include healthy supplements that are whole-food based.

Some people use illicit diet drugs that can cause irregular heartbeat, dehydration, and even be a cause of yo-yo diet syndrome just because they wanted a fastest way to lose weight.

These diet drugs cause acidity and toxicity in the body. Also, as our brain is affected by such things, it can lead to lack of concentration and irritability as well.

In terms of weight loss, these drugs affect only until they are consumed. Often, when such drugs are discontinued, it can lead to withdrawal symptoms and regaining of lost weight.

Fast Weight Loss by Purging the Food

To purge means to vomit the food from the stomach soon after eating.

Sometimes people who eat large amounts of food, as in the case of eating disorder bulimia nervosa, are known to purge the food from their stomach. Believe me, many people consider this as the fastest way to lose weight. Shocking!

The main concept behind purging is that the person is satisfied by eating the food, but doesn’t absorb the calories, thus will not gain weight.

This method is normally used after eating extremely large meals. However, the important fact that you miss is that you also lose the essential nutrients from the diet while purging.

Also, the repeated exposure to vomit’s acid can damage the glands in the mouth, your teeth, the stomach and esophagus as per the advisory of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

It can lead to serious problems of the esophagus and stomach like tears, ruptures, and ulcers. Though rare, chronic purging can lead to cancer or esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Those who practice purging are at a risk for pancreatitis, irregular heartbeats, heart failures, and death from bodily chemical imbalances.

Losing Weight fast by blindly using Laxatives

Laxatives are foods, drugs, supplements, or compounds that loosen the stool or induce bowel movement. These come in the form of pills, powders suppositories, liquids, and teas.

Laxatives have been used for weight loss for many years with the belief that these prevent the absorption of consumed foods.

By the time the laxative takes effect, the calories of the food consumed already make it to the bloodstream. It’s only the water weight that gets reduced from the use of laxatives.

Problems associated with laxatives taken short-term include dehydration and hemorrhoids. The long-term effects of using laxatives are renal failure, intestinal paralysis, pancreatitis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Other possible effects of losing weight quickly with laxatives include kidney and colon problems, heart failures, a weekend immune system, and muscle pain or spasms.

Simply put, using laxatives continually can cause abdomen problems and weaken your digestive system. Ah, would you think of it as one of the fastest way to lose weight? I’m sure not. 🙂

Unhealthy Weight Loss by Opting to Smoke

You might think why smoking is also included as one of the fast and unhealthy ways of losing weight. Well, that’s because smoking is a popular way to suppress hunger.

Smoking sends unclear signals to the brain that increases the metabolic rate, thus killing hunger. People who smoke excessively can skip meals and still not feel hungry.

However, using such ways to lose weight damages the body because the body becomes weak and there are more chances of catching infections and even cancer.

Adopting Weight Loss Method of Straining by Over-Exercising

Exercising is a healthy weight loss method. But if you are already dieting and are undernourished, then over-exercising becomes one of the unhealthy ways to lose weight.

Extensive cardio or doing everything in excess is harmful.  A little bit of strength training and burst training for a few minutes is good enough. Don’t treat over-exercising as the fastest way to lose weight – it can be counterproductive.

When you work out, you also need to stick to a healthy diet in order to lose weight in a healthy way.

Losing Weight incorrectly using Saunas and Sweat Suits

Weight loss by using sauna or sweat suits is totally water weight. Such suits are mainly used by athletes who want to reduce weight for competitions only.

However, sometimes they can cause dehydration and increase the temperature of your body, especially if it gets out of control.

Some more extreme ways to lose weight fast include the use of electronic belts that produce electronic rays that are harmful to your skin. You don’t achieve the desired results, instead, the deep penetration of the rays damage your internal organs.

Even tummy tucks or liposuctions are not very healthy ways to lose weight. They reduce weight, though only for some time.

Overall these unhealthy ways to lose weight are not natural, and anything that is unnatural is unhealthy.

You can lose weight permanently by making physical efforts and creating a mental discipline, but not by spending money on these unhealthy methods. So, beware of these unhealthy ways to lose weight and practice the healthy ways instead.

“A diet is a plan, generally hopeless, for reducing your weight, which tests your will power but does little for your waistline.”

Herbert B. Prochnow

How to Lose Weight Fast and Healthy

Just as I keep saying so often – it’s all in the mind. If you really wish to slim down then do not follow the above mentioned unhealthy ways to lose weight. Instead, try the following:

• Eat a well-balanced diet.
• Include more of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
• Limit the intake of fats, sugars, and carbohydrates.
• Reduce your meal size gradually to the least required.
• Drink lots of water and say no to fizzy and unhealthy drinks.
• Exercise daily, pick up some sport, or just walk, as walking has its own benefits. Just 30-40 minutes of brisk walking for five days a week does wonders.
• Always consult a nutritionist or dietitian before beginning any exercise or reducing your intake of food.

“Adopting a new healthier lifestyle can involve changing diet to include more fresh fruit and vegetables as well as increasing levels of exercise.”

Linford Christie

Wrapping Up

Remember, if you follow unhealthy ways to lose weight, temporarily it may seem that you’re successful but you’ll weaken your body and deplete it of the required and important nutrients.

Losing weight will not happen overnight. It isn’t meant to be a quick process. Do not be tempted to find the fastest way to lose weight. To lose weight, focus on eating nutritious and healthy food, and remain dedicated to your exercise routine. But don’t overdo it!

The weight loss regime takes time and patience, lots of hard work, and a strong will. You should aim at maintaining an appropriate weight – not more – not less.

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.”

La Rochefoucauld

Over to you

Have you tried any of these ways to lose weight? If so, which ones and what was the experience like. What healthy weight loss methods would you suggest? What are your views on any of the unhealthy ways to lose weight fast that are mentioned in this post? Share in the comments below.