Much has been made of Kirstie Alley’s mishaps on “Dancing with the Stars.” When her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy’s leg gave in as they made a move on the dance floor, what went through everyone’s mind was “Kirstie’s weight issues were to blame.” Whether or not that is true, the perception is reality and it had to be mortifying for the actress who has publicly battled with her weight for many years.
The emotional effects of such a public exhibition of one’s health struggles are probably on display in her desperate attempt to find a quick fix. Alley has gone on record as saying that she has been following a low-calorie diet. While calorie restriction is a must for weight loss, if it’s done to an extreme it can be dangerous, or at the very least, set one up for failure.
Alley took another big spill during a taping of “Dancing with the Stars,” this time falling off a stage.
“When I fell off the stage, I [saw] three stairs below me and I started going into slow motion and in my mind, I go, ‘okay there are three stairs, you have on heels, jump bitch’ because you’re either going to break something or you’re going to take control of this and that’s why I jumped.”
She blamed the incident on lack of sleep and not getting enough nutrition. The number of calories she has admitted to consuming is already small enough, but when you consider the fact that she is doing high-energy dancing it’s understandable that she could be a little faint.
The Dangers of Extreme Low-Calorie Dieting
While Kirstie Alley’s 1,400 calorie diet is not that extreme by fad diet standards, dieters should be wary of any plan that espouses calorie restriction that would lead to more than a sensible one to two pounds of weight loss each week. Some of the basic dangers of very low-calorie diets include:
- Putting your metabolism out of whack- generally slowing it down, so weight loss and bodily functions are compromised
- Destabilizing your blood sugar
- Losing lean muscle mass
- It is not a sustainable approach
For comparison sake, last year’s DWTS dancer and former star of The Bachelor Jake Pavelka lost 10 pounds while consuming a 3800 calorie diet. Fitness expert Mathue Johnson, and Jake’s The Bachelorette co-star, said “Each couple practice and rehearse for at least six hours a day, thus burning an enormous amount of calories. An intense hour of dancing burns 500 to 700 calories depending on your height, weight, and fitness level. So, let’s say Jake burns 700 calories an hour for six hours, that’s a grand total of 4,200 calories. No wonder he has lost so much weight!”
With that amount of burn going on, and the few calories that Kirstie is consuming, she is no doubt setting herself up for more trouble than this stumble.
So how many calories should you eat every day for consistent weight loss? There are several factors, including your body weight and height, age, gender, and how much you exercise.
To lose one pound of weight you must roughly burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Use our DietsInReview Health Calculator to figure out how many calories a day you need to maintain your body weight, and subtract 500 for steady, effective weight loss.
(via: Entertainment Weekly)