When it comes down to it, weight loss is a mixture of desire and habit-forming changes. Only when you shift your behavior can you gradually earn the results you’ve always wanted. The problem with healthy weight loss, for many, is that long-term results are often slower to achieve than expected. This can prompt a dangerous search for quicker ways to shed pounds — which can either end in weight regain, or serious harm.
Avoid these dangerous tactics to protect your body from long-term damage and distress, and adopt alternatives that take time — but end in weight loss that lasts.
1. Smoking
It’s hard to say exactly why smoking sometimes fends off weight gain. Cigarettes once contained appetite suppressants, says Livestrong.com, though it’s unlikely this is still the case. Smoking could replace extra calories you might consume when you’re bored or stressed as well. Though smokers tend to weigh less on average than non-smokers, it’s not a guaranteed side effect. Its other risks are much more likely, however.
2. A plastic tongue patch
Sometimes it feels like there’s no way to stop yourself from eating a second cookie other than sewing your mouth shut. This may be where the idea of the “tongue patch diet” came from. It’s a cosmetic weight-loss surgery like nothing you’ve swallowed before. According to The Huffington Post, the surgery involves sewing a marlex patch to the tongue. This patch makes eating so painful that recipients can only consume liquids for the 30 days or so the patch remains.
3. Stimulants
Fifty years ago, doctors prescribed amphetamines for weight loss. Though this practice was lawfully shut down upon realizing the addictive nature of these drugs, the concept hasn’t vanished. Verywell says many still attempt to use ADD/ADHD drugs like Adderall to lose weight. The “speed diet” might be effective, but it puts stress on your heart — especially if you become addicted.
4. Tapeworms
According to Medical News Today, it’s most common to get a tapeworm from raw meat. Unfortunately, you can buy pills with tapeworm eggs inside to purposefully swallow them. The idea behind this dangerous fad is that a tapeworm will “eat” the food you consume, making it possible to lose weight while eating whatever you want. It sounds too good to be true because it is.
A tapeworm is a parasite — and you do not want a parasite living inside you even for a short amount of time. Healthline says tapeworms can disrupt organ function, block bile and pancreatic ducts, and enter and damage your brain.
5. Tube feeding
The KE Diet is a rapid weight loss program that involves consuming 800 calories per day for 10 days. Very low-calorie diets aren’t unheard of, but this one’s a little different. Those 800 calories don’t come from solid food at all. Instead, they’re included in a protein-fat solution delivered to your stomach through a feeding tube.
6. Laxatives
Laxatives come in many forms — everything from pills to foods to enemas. They’re meant for relieving constipation, acting as stool softeners or inducing bowel movements. According to Everyday Health, most laxatives are intended for short-term use only. When using laxatives as a weight loss method, it’s likely you’ll overuse them. Laxative overuse side effects aren’t fun — and they’re probably not worth the risk.
7. Purging
When you eat food, your body absorbs its nutrients and eliminates waste. As a more drastic weight loss method, some attempt to eliminate the foods they eat before their bodies can properly absorb their calories. Eating Disorder Hope says purging can manifest in the forms of self-induced vomiting or laxative and/or diuretic abuse.
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, purging is a disordered eating behavior whether you have an accompanying eating disorder or not. The long-term consequences are the same — dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, organ damage, and even behavioral addiction.
8. Restricting calories
Since eating too much is often a major contributor to weight gain, it’s sometimes tempting to take the opposite approach to food — not eating anything at all, or at least, not eating nearly enough. Very low calorie diets, when used outside a medical setting, often restrict calories in an attempt to lose weight quickly. This, as you can imagine, changes the way your body uses the energy it has left — especially when you stop feeding it.
Fasting for a few hours might not do much harm, but depriving your body of nutrition won’t take long to promote negative consequences. What happens when you stop eating? Your body begins to break down fat, then protein. Your immune system all but stops fighting against disease. Starvation, if prolonged, can even lead to organ failure, cardiac arrest, and death. Weight loss isn’t usually fatal, but taken too far, the body has no choice but to give up.
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