Crash and burn

Crash and burn

Research says women try out 61 different diets before they hit 40. Lets explore the various options

It's a crazy world out there! Over years, the media has done an excellent job of making you believe that you aren't perfect until you get that svelte bod and clear skin. It's a make believe world with ridiculously designed diets with false promises of getting you into get good shape. Celebs have gone on extreme crash diets setting a really nasty example to the millions of teenagers out there.

Research proves that women juggle with about a whopping 61 diets by the time they hit 40. But how many of them would actually see the desired effect? They also mention that many of their kids have asked them not to cook potatoes, bread or fruit. Most of this is out of peer pressure. Says Anjanaa Damodharan, a health freak, "In my opinion, crash diets are generally not a good idea because they don't let you eat what you want. And that causes irritation and physical change as well," She also says that you will pile back the weight you lost once you stop the diet.

Ambika Shekhar, a dietician, believes that crash diets bring about unnecessary health problems. "I know of girls who can't even withstand the cool air coming from a fan in a classroom, post a crash diet," says Ambika. "They lose their power of immunity and get affected really quickly!" She is also of the opinion that while diets are necessary to tone your body and stay healthy. She sets out explaining the situation using numbers and calories. "To burn one kg of body fat, you need to burn about 7700 kilo calories. When you walk for an hour, you burn 340 calories. And just by exercising it is difficult to lose those calories, which is why you need a practical and sensible diet pattern," explains Ambika. "According to normal standards, a proper diet should have a total of 2000 calories. If you're going to cut down 500 calories, you have to make sure that you still get the remaining 1500 calories through required nutrients."