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This article might help you to understand how your body thinks...
Are You Starving Yourself To Fatness?
by: Dr. Diane Wakat Ph.D.
Can't seem to lose weight? Cutting your calories even more to see results? You may be starving yourself to fatness! As paradoxical as this may sound, it is rooted in physiological truth. Starvation or very restrictive dietary practices (i.e., 200-800 calories) will cause the body to initiate its 'survival' mode. This survival mode is characterized by changes in both brain biochemistry and energy-related hormone levels, to create a reduced energy utilization.
These changes will lower the basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the amount of calories that your body needs to maintain itself at rest. The BMR is also a reflection of how efficiently you will burn calories. When the body is threatened with starvation, intentional or not, it will lower the BMR, in essence reducing the number of calories it takes to survive. A low-calorie 'diet' is also a threat of starvation to the body, and the need for calories then becomes less. It becomes a vicious cycle, where reduction in intake is followed by a reduction in need. Oftentimes, the BMR can be reduced 25-35%.
Another change induced by survival mode is the increased loss of lean tissue (muscle). The body will, in essence, break down muscle to be used as fuel to meet its energy needs. When muscle stores are diminished, the BMR also decreases - since muscle metabolism comprises most of the daily energy expenditure. Thus, you won't be able to burn calories as efficiently as you did before the diet. These metabolic changes in response to restrictive dieting are also responsible for the rapid 'rebound' effect of weight gain that usually follows the cessation of a low-calorie diet.
Another negative aspect of reducing your calorie intake so much to invoke the survival mode is the possibility of nutrient deficiencies. Eating so few calories, even with nutrient supplementation, oftentimes leads to both short-term and long-term deficiencies. These deficiencies will slow the body's utilization of fat and prolong the body's conservation of fat resources. In other words, the body will not burn fat efficiently if many deficiencies are present.
Rather than starving yourself to fatness, think about another approach - one that is generally more effective, and certainly more sustainable. This improved strategy for fat loss is to simulate 'paradise'. With this strategy, you've got to eat enough to achieve an optimal nutrient balance, preventing the body from invoking its survival mode. Balanced eating in this case is consuming a variety of carbohydrates (45-60% of your calories), protein (15-20%), fats (20%), vitamins, minerals, and water.
Your caloric level should only be decreased by 500 calories per day below your maintenance requirement (i.e., if you are eating 2,500 calories per day, you would drop to 2,000 calories). This will allow for a weight loss of about 1 pound of fat per week (1 lb of fat equals 3500 calories). Although this doesn't sound like much, you need to remember that fat lost means inches lost! This will exhibit more noticeable results than just weight lost of primarily water and muscle. Besides, you only have fat to lose. Don't you?
Persuading your body to lose fat will prevent rapid weight regain, preserve lean mass, and lead to better long-term health. The bottom line on this is this: you've got to eat enough to lose weight! Hopefully, you haven't starved yourself into obesity already, making it harder now to be successful. |
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Wed Sep 01, 2004 6:31 pm |
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