Our generation thrives on instant gratification. For most of us, time is a precious commodity we can’t afford to waste. People with a flair for entrepreneurship capitalize on this to provide us with everything instant. From food to clothing to fat loss, “instant” became part of our culture. In terms of fat loss, when we employ fad diets, we not only lose fat. We also lose muscles and water which sabotage our chance of making it in the long term. “Instant” and “fast” does not equal “excellent”. In fat loss, “instant” and “fast” always come with knotted strings attached. Knots which you’ll later find out are stumbling blocks in your long term fat loss plan.
Going on a severe diet compromises your metabolism. Bodybuilders reduce caloric intake for fat loss but on a prolonged basis. The most that you can go without compromising metabolic activity is three days on an extremely low caloric intake. You have to get back on a high volume diet by the fourth day. Otherwise, your metabolism slows down. A low caloric diet will decrease your energy for work as well as exercise. When this happens, your workout routine suffers and results will be compromised. Instead of burning the fat, you are starving it, which is not the best approach if you want to slim down for good.
The most disastrous consequence of dieting is the loss of muscle tissue. The body tries to conserve energy and muscle is active tissue. The body cannot afford to sustain many of them because they utilize so much energy. Instead it will use muscles for energy in a process called gluconeogenesis. Low calorie diets also encourage the activity of the chief fat storing enzyme called Lipoprotein Lipase. The thyroid gland, which is mainly responsible fro your basal metabolic rate is also affected. When the active thyroid hormone is decreased, basal metabolic rate is decreased.
Almost 95% of people who go on a diet eventually gain it back. Why? It’s because dieting is not sustainable. You are bound to go back to your regular diet but this time you have lost some of your muscles which could have helped burn the excess calories. Your metabolism is slower making you store more fat. When you’re on a low calorie diet, you’re going to have cravings that may turn into binges. It’s not for lack of willpower but a legitimate need of the body for more food.
Diets deprive you of nutrients that makes for optimum body functioning. Your stored fat did not get there overnight and it’s not going to disappear just like that. Dieting will let you lose weight at first but you bet it’s going to come back. When it does, you’ll be in a much worse shape than when you started. The better option is to eat healthy and exercise. Oh, yes, it’s going to take time but you can bet it’s time well spent.
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