It’s easy to look at an actor that’s lost up to ten pounds or more in a week and say “they’re dedicated”. It’s also just as easy to say that they’re tearing up their body for their craft. Rapid weight loss and weight gain is impressive only to those that don’t seem to understand what the implications are. If more people knew what it takes to actually lose that kind of weight and what it does to the body they might not praise actors for their dedication and discipline.
Here are just a few reasons why rapid weight gain and loss aren’t that impressive.
It can affect how your organs function.
If you put on too much weight it’s more work for your lungs to fill up and expand, meaning you’ll start noticing breathing problems eventually. Should you go the other way and lose too much too fast then you run the risk of throwing your body’s fluid balance out of whack. This can eventually result in damage to the internal organs such as the liver and the heart. Believe it or not you need those to exist.
Losing weight too fast can affect your metabolism.
If you start losing the pounds too quickly, no matter how you do it, your body will go into what’s called “survival mode”. This means you’re not getting enough nourishment and as a result the body will start storing calories so that it won’t begin to shut down. In this case you’re actually bound to gain weight rather than lose any more.
Gaining weight too fast can damage your joints and put undue pressure on your bone structure.
Ever see a person that can’t run, walk, or even hobble their way down the street because they weigh so much? Some of those people might have a problem with their glands, but others just don’t know how to gain weight evenly or put the snacks down. Gaining weight too fast puts more weight, and therefore more pressure on your joints, which are needed to help you move about. The more pressure you put on your knees in particular, the less time it’s going to take for something to pop out of socket or just give up entirely, which could result in serious injury.
Whether you gain weight or lose weight too fast, your energy levels will fluctuate at a dangerous rate.
Your body depends on a certain amount of fuel to be present to operate at optimal efficiency. The less you eat the less energy you’ll have. In the same breath if you eat too much and pack it on too fast your body will lack the proper nutrition to keep working the way it should. A healthy balance is what is needed in order to keep your body running the way it should.
A lot of us have seen stars such as Robert DeNiro, Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, and even Natalie Portman lose or gain insane amounts of weight to prep for a role. What people need to realize is that as much as they’re trying to stay true to their character, they’re also doing a large amount of damage to their bodies that will eventually catch up with them.
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