Losing weight is somewhat mathematical. If you take in less calories than you burn up, you will lose weight over time.  The problem with crash diets is that they also cause you to lose muscle as well as burn fat.  According to studies, a body can realistically only burn up two pounds of fat in any given week. After that, you are more likely losing muscle and water.

Another problem with crash diets is that they actually end up hindering your attempts to lose weight because they cause your whole metabolism to slow down.  If you starve yourself, rather than shedding pounds, your body will go into survival mode.  It will slow down your metabolism in an effort to conserve the few precious calories that your body is taking in.  One way around this is to eat small meals more frequently, keeping your energy levels up all day long.

Crash diets also end up costing you in muscle mass. Remember that muscles use calories, it is the muscle in your body that burns up most of your calories. If you end up with less muscle mass, that is less calorie-burning muscle. So, with a crash diet you end up with two problems created; firstly your metabolism slows right down and you burn fewer calories, then you lose calorie burning muscles as well.

This is probably the main reason why so many people who go on fad diets end up regaining all of their weight back on again soon after because they don’t know how to lose belly fat or the right way to lose weight at all.  The best way to diet is to follow a proper diet plan that reduces caloric intake yet still gives you a healthy meal plan to follow. Aim at losing your weight over time, rather than all at once, and it will be more likely to stay off.