You hear it again and again: Who want to lose weight, just eat half of it. In this blog article I will explain why this is not true and why it can even be dangerous. I also go into what “Eat Half” (FDH) means for your body and what you should do instead.
The diet form “FDH” is called as it is commonly carried out is that strictly only half of everything is eaten. This is a great saving in calories from which one should actually lose a lot. In theory, that sounds perfectly logical. You can find out why you should stay away from this method here:
1. The calorie deficit is far too big.
Because with the FDH diet, you get your calories straight away very strongly (namely by 50 percent), your body will react and take countermeasures in order to compensate for the sudden “emergency situation”. The consequences are:
- great hunger
- strong reduction in metabolism : Your body increases its calorie consumption over time as far down as possible. That means you burn fewer calories per day than you did before your diet.
- hormonal disorders : Food fulfills various functions in the body. One of them is hormone production, which can be massively disrupted by a shortage of food. Above all, a lack of essential fatty acids, which u. a. of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K are required, has a particularly negative effect.
2. “FDH” cannot be held out for long.
Due to the large calorie deficit (see point 1.), FDH is a so-called crash diet – success should be achieved quickly with a radical restriction. On the one hand, this principle is too simple and on the other hand nothing long-term.
If you think that with a large calorie deficit you can be quick lose weight, you’re only partially right. You forget that the body is counter-regulating (see point 1). That said, you will definitely lose weight. But because you can’t keep up FDH forever (the calorie deficit is too radical and too big), you will inevitably end up eating more at some point.
At this point your body has already reduced your metabolism far, i.e. H. he consumes much fewer calories than before the diet. If you now eat your “normal” amount again, you will inevitably gain weight. This leads to the so-called yo-yo effect: You weigh more after the diet than before.
3. The distribution of the macronutrients is not optimal.
The body needs certain amounts of all three macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, fat. You can read here how much you should eat in each case.
There are macronutrients whose amounts should be kept fairly constant: protein and fat. Carbohydrates can be reduced as part of a diet – they are not essential for the body. However, you should also be careful not to consume too little, unless you consciously decide on a low-carb or ketogenic diet variant.
With FDH, however, the macronutrient distribution is usually not thought through – the meals are simply halved so that the body suddenly only has half the amount of protein and half the amount of fat available . Each deficiency can have serious effects on the body because both macronutrients perform important functions. It should therefore not be taken lightly. You can read about the consequences for protein here and for fats here.
- Nutrient deficiency
- hormonal disorders
- low satiety
- lack of muscle protection
4 . “FDH” does not necessarily mean “healthy”.
What is usually completely ignored with FDH is the health aspect. This form of diet can be carried out with all foods – at McDonald’s a small bag of french fries instead of a large one, a scoop of ice cream instead of two, etc.
The result is that the body not only has to deal with a calorie deficit that is too large, but also with inferior food. The consequences are listed under point 3.
Conclusion
“Eat half” is a long-established practice to reduce body weight. According to current scientific knowledge and practical experience, the usefulness of this form of diet must be questioned. If you use FDH, you will lose weight – but at the cost of your health. So you should approach your diet smarter and above all not with a crowbar.
In addition to saving calories, a good diet also includes other aspects such as macronutrient distribution, sufficient intake of micronutrients and a reasonable, longer period of time. I would therefore strictly advise against FDH.
But if you design this diet in such a way that you only cut sweets by half, for example, it can at least be a start for weight loss. But you shouldn’t cut the important nutrients that your body urgently needs in half.