Weight
Loss Primer Prt II - Calories!
This
is part II of our discussion on weight loss. Click
here to visit Part I of the weight loss article!
One
of the main problems with anything more than moderate calorie reduction
is simply this: severe caloric restriction triggers the body's self-preserving
defensive mode. Because it recognizes lean times as being threatening
to its survival and general welfare, it is less likely to burn calories,
and is more likely to hoard them.
Result?
Your
metabolism drops along with the lowered caloric intake. You eat
less, but your body requires less energy. Result? No weight loss.
Reduce
calories enough (the exact level will depend on your weight), and
you run the risk of losing lean muscle mass, bone density and even
organ mass (that even includes the heart). Obviously organs are
important, but lean body mass is critical as well.
Why?
Lean
muscle burns calories even while you are resting. The more lean
muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolism (that's
why any complete weight loss program includes weight training).
Of course, the reverse is true -- as you lose lean body mass, your
metabolism drops and you burn fewer calories while resting.
As
you can see, severe calorie-cutting is a double edged sword. Protecting
lean muscle mass is the most critical element of your success. Fat
on the other hand, is relatively inert - it has no caloric requirements.
This
is also why it is important to regularly track and measure your
LBM (lean body mass) while you progress along on your diet. Your
bathroom scales only measure what you weigh -- fat, muscle, skin,
bone, water, etc. A weight increase is not a bad thing if that weight
is mostly muscle, and a weight loss is not a good thing if that
loss is mostly muscle. The only way to truly measure your success
is to measure your body fat percentage regularly (I'll discuss how
later).
Now
that we've discussed why it's so important not to reduce calories
severely, let's move on to the next step...
What
should you be eating?
