Why Diets Sucks
New Year, new resolutions and new diets. How many of you have decided to lose weight by reducing calories, cutting on some kind of food?
Usually these decisions are made because we are simply not happy with the way we look. Too much fat in some parts of our bodies is the biggest driving factor.
Did you know that fatter people don’t have more fat cells than thinner people? Their fat cells just contain more fat.
The most frustrating thing in dieting is the goal to reduce only certain parts of our bodies. Why? Because we tend to focus on these parts and they only appear big to us. Bigger than the rest of our bodies.
You should know when losing weight fat comes off everywhere, but not necessary from your trouble area.
Because of that, these certain areas look even bigger compared to the rest of your body.
FACT! Once fat cells have developed they are there for life.
If you have been overweight at some point and you managed to lose weight, it might come back when you allow it to happen.
Anyway, decision has been maid. Do you know where to start and what to do?
At this point, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the information from magazines, advertisements or friend’s recommendations about latest miracle diets.
FACT! Most diets are based on reducing calorie intake.
To lose weight your calorie expenditure must be greater than calorie intake.
Where is the problem then?
Most diets advice extreme calorie restrictions in order to get short-term success. This approach will make you fail.
Let me explain that;
PROFILE
Female
Age 35
Height 1.7m (5ft 6 in)
Weight 70 kg (11 st)
She wishes to go on diet to lose ‘some weight’. Her favourite magazine advices her to try a 1000 kcal per day diet. According to it she should be able to lose around 6-8 lbs in just one week.
Let’s do numbers;
Her basic metabolic rate
BMR- 8.3 x 70 + 846 = 1427 kcal
This is how many calories she needs when doing nothing. Just to make sure her body keep functioning properly.
Because she not physically active person, her calorie requirements will be as follow;
1427 kcal x 1.4 (inactive)= 1998 kcal
This is how much she needs to consume with her current lifestyle to remain her weight.
Diet from magazine suggested 1000 kcal.
What does that mean?
1000 kcal suggests that she needs to cut her daily requirements by 50%. From 1998 kcal to 1000 kcal.
Her BMR( basic metabolic rate, a number of calories she needs just to keep her organs working) is 1427 kcal. 1000kcal from magazine is suggesting that it is way below survival zone.
Her body will get clear message – body starvation – and it will switch to survival mode.
Survival mode is when your body response to life-threatening situation. When you are in survival mode state, your body will do whatever it takes to survive.
During the first few days of your 1000 kcal diet;
- Your body will be desperate for glycogen. It can be stored maximum of 250 g of it (liver and muscles)
- Plus glycogen in more liquid form
250 g glycogen (muscles and liver) + 3×250 g in blood = 1 kg (2,2lb) of total weight loss.
- Your body starts to slow down and your BMR drops too.
Let’s see. Your BMR originally was 1427 kcal. Now it probably went down by 20%
1427-20%= 1427 -285= 1142 kcal
What’s next?
- glucose stores are empty now
- your body uses amino acids from muscles to produce glycogen
FACT! Production of small amount of glycogen from 100 g requires 500g of lean muscle mass.
Total mass loss 1.5 kg (3lb) on a bathroom scale. It is not FAT. In that number, you have got water, glycogen and lean muscle tissue.
FACT! You are not using fat stores for energy yet because;
To burn fat in amount of 0.5 kg (1lb) per week you will have to put your body on daily deficit of 500 kcal up to 750 kcal.
What happens next if you follow 1000kcal diet:
- you will feel fatigue
- have huge headaches
- feel thirsty all the time
- urinate a lot
- you will feel nauseous
- you breathing rate will increase
- later your weekly weight loss will slow down to protect further muscle mass loss
- plateau will appear
Now you have two options;
- to cut calories further and intensify all that symptoms from above
- to start eating normally
You can imagine what will happen if you will cut more calories.
If you start eating (seriously how long you imagine you can continue 1000 kcal? You will be desperate to eat something normal) your body will see it as a feast.
The extra calories from your normal food will be stored as FAT for bad days. Just in case the starvation happens again. As a result, your weight will go up, possibly higher than before you have started that extreme diet.
Now, is it worth it? Weeks, months of starving, eating less than normal, feeling low and looking awful?
What if you could lose all that extra weight by eating normal and just changing your plate content a little bit? Imagine that.
My advice: don’t listen to others unless they are professionals and they know what they are doing.
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