Experts warn CiCo diet may lead to unhealthy weight loss

Washington: Beware if you are trying to lose weight with the recently-introduced 'Calories In, Calories Out' (CiCo) diet, as according to experts because of the low nutrient value, a person is more likely to become anaemic and deficient in a host of vitamins and minerals.

According to experts, by counting a person's energy intake and expenditure, he/she can keep their calorie deficit and thus, lose weight. However, they also raised concerns that some people may ignore the nutritional value (or lack thereof) of what they are eating if they only care about calories.

"If we simply look at calories in versus calories out, we forget about some of the complexities of weight loss, nutrition and our relationship with food," said Aisling Pigott-Jones, a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, reports the Independent.

"But that should not be our sole focus when trying to become or stay fit and healthy," Pigott-Jones added.

The team explained if you could consume 1,500 kcal in Mars bars alone over the course of a day, thus creating a calorie deficit for yourself, then you won't be healthy because of the high sugar content, you will never feel full, always craving more satiation.

Pigott-Jones explained that because of the high saturated fat content, a person feels sluggish, because the diet contains no fibre, a person is likely to suffer constipation or other bowel issues and because of the low nutrient value, a person would soon become anaemic and deficient in a host of vitamins and minerals.

Pigott-Jones believes people will probably lose weight on the diet in the short term, but it's not sustainable as you'll end up feeling unwell so give it up, return to your normal diet and end up regaining weight.

At the end of the day, calorie-counting may help, but you need to make sure you're counting nutrients as well.