OCD diet, a diet method similar to fasting

Some time ago, the OCD diet was loved by the public because of its claims that it can lose weight quickly. Unfortunately, many health and nutrition experts do not agree with this diet program. Here's the explanation

What is the OCD diet?

The OCD diet is basically a variation of the fasting diet method (intermittent fasting) which emphasizes a system of eating time - when you can eat and when to stop eating, aka "fasting". Usually this method recommends eating fast for 16 hours, but you can set the time yourself.

For example, if you want to divide 16 hours of fasting time and 8 hours of food consumption. Then you are allowed to eat whatever you like from 1pm to 9pm, then continue fasting for the next 16 hours. During this fasting time, you are not allowed to eat anything except plain water.

Benefits of doing an OCD diet

According to research neuroscientist Mark Mattson, this OCD diet is claimed to be able to lose weight. Moreover, the calories that are included when you do this diet are estimated to be only about 500 calories a day, if you do the meal window within 6 hours.

In addition, as quoted by Prevention, this diet can help lower blood sugar levels, reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. It's even believed that this diet can help your brain ward off neurogenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, while improving mood and memory.

However, the OCD diet should not be routinely done every day

The OCD diet basically trains the body to only consume calories as needed so that it is too much. But basically the reduction in body weight is just a bonus.

What needs to be understood, even simple physical activities, such as walking or thinking, require energy from calories burned by the body. If your calorie intake is less than enough, it can actually interfere with your daily activities. Moreover, when you are just starting out on the OCD diet, your body is not used to hunger or new eating patterns. Hunger can also reduce activity performance if you don't meet your daily nutritional needs.

Then, there are also side effects that accompany such as headaches and changes in sleeping hours. Although these effects may occur when you have just started a diet and are only temporary, lack of energy and sleep can certainly have a direct impact on your body.

Careless OCD diet actually makes you gain weight

The OCD diet emphasizes restricting food intake. The metabolic rate affects how quickly your body burns the calories it gets from food. If you have a little food intake, your metabolism will run slowly so that the body will also process calories from food more slowly than usual to store energy reserves. This in turn causes the body to store more calories, causing you to gain weight.

Also, a very low calorie intake can cause the body to lose a lot of muscle mass. A little muscle mass makes the body burn only a few calories in. As a result, the body will store excess calories in the form of fat. So, people who diet only limit their food intake, they actually lose muscle mass not fat mass in the body. In fact, what should be reduced during a weight loss diet is fat mass. This can happen because restricting food intake is not accompanied by exercise.

Who shouldn't be on the OCD diet?

Before trying this diet, it's better to talk to your doctor or nutritionist. You need to make sure that you eat the right foods during this diet and fasting, in order to prevent body malnutrition.

You also need to make sure there is no history of health problems that prevent you from fasting, for example if you have ulcer disease. It is also not recommended that you do this diet if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or under the age of 20.