Sports And Nutrition — Physical Education STD 12 Commerce — Question

The Pitfalls of Dieting:Nowadays everybody wants to remain slim and trim. People who are overweight use various methods to lose weight. Most of them adhere to dieting. In the beginning, dieting produces good results or success. But after initial success it adds more weight later on. Even research studies indicate that 90% of the dieters gain all of their weight back and sometime more than that. In fact, we are all aware that shedding or losing weight is not as simple as it sounds. Eat less and exercise more to burn calories. We know this scientific fact but it is difficult to implement. In fact, there are some pitfalls/dangers of dieting that keep us away from losing or reducing weight. The major pitfalls of dieting are stated below.

1. Extreme Reduction of Calories: For dieting, intake of calories is reduced extremely. Research studies indicate that 1800 calories a day cannot meet all the nutritional requirements of an individual. If you reduce intake of calories it will result in a huge loss of weight. It can be dangerous for you. It will definitely lower your metabolism and as a result of this your body weight will not be reduced in a healthy manner.
2. Restriction on Some Nutrients: Generally some nutrients like carbohydrates and fats are restricted in dieting. In reality, your body needs all types of nutrients. If you don't take all the nutrients in required amounts, the proper functioning of the body will be impaired.
3. Skipping Meals: It is a fact that if you have good metabolic rate, you can maintain or lose weight. If your metabolic rate is slow you gain weight very easily. So, if you skip meals, it will lower your metabolism to conserve energy. So, skipping meals works against your weight-loss plans. Research studies also show if you skip one meal, you take more calories during the next meal.
4. Intake of Calories through Beverages: If you want to lose your weight, most probably, you lay stress on not to eat more and not on what you drink. In fact, beverages, coffee with cream and sugar, sweetened juices and sodas really contribute to weight gain.
5. Underestimating the Calories: It is a fact that most of the persons who go on dieting usually underestimate the number of calories they consume. So, it is essential to be more aware of the amount of calories you take in your diet.
6. Intake of Labelled Foods: Most of the persons who go on dieting usually go for such food products that carry the label 'lean', 'sugar free', 'low calories' or 'no fat or fat-free'. Such type of food is not always the best for losing weight. In addition, it does not meet all the nutrient requirements of your body. As a matter of fact, three chocolate biscuits contain 140 calories whereas three non-fat cookies contain 120 calories. This difference is insignificant. Apart from this, when you eat such products you think that these products have very few calories and so you tend to eat more, as a result of which, you end up consuming more calories.
7. Not Exercising: If you go on dieting and do not exercise, it will work against the weight-loss programme. Instead of losing weight you are likely to gain weight. As a matter of fact, exercise has a positive effect on metabolism and also helps to burn some extra calories. Exercise increases metabolic rate which ultimately reduces body weight. So, dieting is beneficial only if you exercise alongside.