The consequences of weight gain are well documented as in my own book, "Transforming Body, Mind and Spirit - The NonDiet Way to Live Fit, Trim, Healthy for Life" (Strategic). But the following info cites the consequences of rapid weight loss, which are rarely documented...
BBC Documentary on Rapid Weight Loss Shows Health Issues
In the BBC America documentary film, called "Super Skinny Me," two average-size British journalists agreed to a radical experiment -- drop five dress sizes in just five weeks. The goal was to show the drastic and sometimes deadly lengths women will go to just to be thin.
Burke, 29, weighed 129 pounds, and had never before tried to lose weight. She turned to magazines for the latest fad diets. One week she drank only protein shakes, another week she ate no carbs.
Weighing in at just under 144 pounds, 37-year-old Spicer said she wanted to understand why women go to such extremes to lose weight.
Spicer followed a radical diet of lemonade with maple syrup and cayenne pepper. She stayed away from solid foods and ran for an hour a day.
Burke, who began working out with a trainer two hours a day, tried another extreme weight loss tactic.
"Apparently if you swim in freezing cold water it speeds up your metabolism," she said
In just one week, though, both women saw dramatic results. But the experiment began to take a drastic physical toll.
Burke had "pins and needles sensation" while lying in bed and how her fingernails turned blue and said she became less productive at work and stopped spending time with her boyfriend.
Spicer, too, spiraled downward. A dinner out with friends led to bingeing. And as she became more obsessed with weight loss, Spicer's binges gave way to purging. Her doctor tells her she will become bulimic if she continues that way and was advised to drop out of the experiment a week early. She lost 17 pounds, going from a healthy size 12 to a scary size 6.
Burke lost 14 pounds over five weeks but said losing that much weight so quickly "sent me into depression really, and I've never been like that before, ever!"
Both women have sworn off dieting and obsessive exercise. Spicer is still working toward finding a healthy balance, and Burke is back to eating everything in moderation.
Asked if she would take part in the weight loss experiment again, Burke said, "No, never! I would never recommend extreme diets again.''
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The consequences of weight gain are well documented as in my own book, "Transforming Body, Mind and Spirit - The NonDiet Way to Live Fit, Trim, Healthy for Life" (Strategic). But the following info cites the consequences of rapid weight loss, which are rarely documented...
June 2, 2009 - 10:53amBBC Documentary on Rapid Weight Loss Shows Health Issues
In the BBC America documentary film, called "Super Skinny Me," two average-size British journalists agreed to a radical experiment -- drop five dress sizes in just five weeks. The goal was to show the drastic and sometimes deadly lengths women will go to just to be thin.
Burke, 29, weighed 129 pounds, and had never before tried to lose weight. She turned to magazines for the latest fad diets. One week she drank only protein shakes, another week she ate no carbs.
Weighing in at just under 144 pounds, 37-year-old Spicer said she wanted to understand why women go to such extremes to lose weight.
Spicer followed a radical diet of lemonade with maple syrup and cayenne pepper. She stayed away from solid foods and ran for an hour a day.
Burke, who began working out with a trainer two hours a day, tried another extreme weight loss tactic.
"Apparently if you swim in freezing cold water it speeds up your metabolism," she said
In just one week, though, both women saw dramatic results. But the experiment began to take a drastic physical toll.
Burke had "pins and needles sensation" while lying in bed and how her fingernails turned blue and said she became less productive at work and stopped spending time with her boyfriend.
Spicer, too, spiraled downward. A dinner out with friends led to bingeing. And as she became more obsessed with weight loss, Spicer's binges gave way to purging. Her doctor tells her she will become bulimic if she continues that way and was advised to drop out of the experiment a week early. She lost 17 pounds, going from a healthy size 12 to a scary size 6.
Burke lost 14 pounds over five weeks but said losing that much weight so quickly "sent me into depression really, and I've never been like that before, ever!"
Both women have sworn off dieting and obsessive exercise. Spicer is still working toward finding a healthy balance, and Burke is back to eating everything in moderation.
Asked if she would take part in the weight loss experiment again, Burke said, "No, never! I would never recommend extreme diets again.''
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