Watermelon Diet Risks
As many of you already know, I’m not a big fan of diets. I’ve recently discovered one type of diet that made me do a double take, it is called the Watermelon Diet. In its strictest form, this diet requires you to eat only Watermelon for a number of days (usually no more than 3). The result is quick weight loss, followed by quick weight gain after. This diet has become popular int eh US and Canada because it is effective at losing weight. However you’re losing the weight by cutting back from a 1500 to 2000 calorie diet to a 150 to 200 calorie diet.
Since an average 140 lb woman burns 1500 calories in a day without exercising, if she is adds in about an hour of cardio she can easily get her calories burned in a day up to 2400. When she is on this diet this is a result of 2250 calories lost in a day. One pound equals 3500 calories so a 140 lb woman could easily lose 2 pounds in 3 days. This rapid weight loss technique is very appealing for the speed at which pounds can be shed, and some woman will continue on this diet for weeks.
Using the Watermelon Diet for prolonged periods of time is very dangerous. When consuming only 150 to 200 calories in a day you might as well consider yourself fasting. This minimal calorie intake is useless in sustaining your body, and you will soon lose the energy to exercise, and eventually your body will have difficulty fighting off disease and just maintaining itself. Typically after a few days on the strict version of this diet people will begin to experience diarrhea and bloating since they’re consuming large quantities of water as well. If used for too long this diet may even lead to serious health risks such as hypovolemic shock. As soon as you get off the diet the weight is typically gained back quickly since your body isn’t used to calorie rich food.
A healthier version of the Watermelon Diet requires you to substitute a cup of watermelon for one meal a day. As far as your body is concerned, this is just about the same as skipping a meal. While it can help you lose weight in a pinch, over the long term you will have many of the problems associated with the more strict version of the Watermelon Diet. If you have an event you need to lose weight for the most reliable and healthiest method to lose weight is to plan ahead. Set a goal for yourself two or more months out and identify how many calories you will need to burn in a day to meet your goal.
If you add an extra 30 minutes to your exercise routine each day you will find that you will not only lose more weight than you will on the Watermelon Diet, but over the long term you won’t gain it back. Diet and Cardio alone are not enough if you have a large amount of weight you want to lose. Add weight training as this will increase the number of calories your body burns at rest. Before beginning the Watermelon Diet or another other diet it is important that you consult your doctor as everyone has unique medical requirements, and your doctor is the expert at identifying them and suggesting a course of action that will not only result in you losing weight, but being healthier too.
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I’ve been on the Watermelon Diet for about 2 weeks now and I feel really run down. I’ve been buying a watermelon every day and eating it throughout the day whenever I feel hungry. At first my stomach really didn’t like it. I had diarrhea for the first few days, but after I adjusted I’ve been feeling better.
It has been over a week since I was feeling better but the past two days I have felt tired all the time and I have a really bad headache. I feel light headed an nauseous frequently. I know your article says that you shouldn’t stay on the diet for more than 3 days, so maybe I’ll try to add in some normal food for one meal. I’ve been losing a lot of weight these past two weeks. I’m down from 180 to 160 and I want to keep going!
JP, I know the weight loss feels good but it isn’t natural. I highly recommend you consult your doctor immediately. The nausea and headaches could be a sign of serious medical problems.
The Watermelon Diet is not a healthy diet and can cause serious medical risks if you stay on it for too long.
Hi there, I found your blog via Google while searching for first aid for a heart attack and your post looks very interesting.
This is some very helpful information to assist me in my quest to find that perfect diet to lose my midsection. Much appreciated – Thanks!
if i go on this diet for three days we’ll i gain all the weight back ?
It really depends on your body. If you’ve ever done a fasting diet before, I’d expect you would see similar results. Since you won’t be eating much of anything for three days it would empty out your belly and your entire system. Once you begin eating like normal your belly will fill back up and you’ll gain most of the weight back.
Depending on how your body handles the change you may end up gaining less weight back than you lost, for a net loss in weight. It is also possible that after three days your body will have entered starvation mode and will be reserving as much food as possible. This could result in a weight gain after you get off the diet.
If I wanted to lose weight in 3 days I’d excercise more. I’d probably use every hour of daylight to be outside doing something active. If you really push yourself, and maybe even get a personal trainer for a few hours to point you in the right direction it is amazing what you can do with excercise. As always it all depends on your specific body, so I’d suggest speaking with your doctor before doing anything.
Thank you for the Watermelon Diet Facts. I found your article very helpful. A good friend was trying to convince me to try this diet with her and thanks to your article I will be avoiding it. To me, it sounds like using the Watermelon Diet Weight Loss tecnique is a complete waste of time. I wonder if anyone has tried it and found that they lost weight on the diet. I’d also be interested to hear what food they ate on the diet.