In order to lose weight, your body must burn more calories than it takes in, but keep in mind that your body needs calories for energy and when you exercise; your body needs even more calories. Before I talk about energy, the first thing you must understand is that losing weight and losing fat is not the same thing. Just because you lose weight, does not mean you lose fat, and just because you lose fat, does not mean you lose weight. When people talk about losing weight, what the really want to do is lose the excess fat on their body and obtain an attractive figure.
When you eat, the body uses most of the calories for energy. If you eat more calories than the body uses, it will get stored as fat. If you do not consume enough calories per day you will lose weight, but you will also lose energy. When you do not consume enough energy (calories) for your body, it will start using up your energy stores to make up for the energy deficiency. Unfortunately, the energy stores used is not your stored fat, but instead it's protein and carbohydrates (carbs) that will supply most of the energy (stored fat makes up a very small percentage). Your body will take the protein and carbohydrates from your muscle cells; causing your muscle mass to reduce (say goodby to that toned attractive look) which forces your metabolism to decrease (a low metabolism = slow or no fat burning). When this happens your body requires less energy to maintain its new lower body weight (remember the body weight is lower because you loss muscle), which is why your body conserves energy by slowing down the metabolism. In other words, the body has adapted to the new lower energy (calorie) intake which means that you will no longer continue to lose weight.
Keep in mind that the weight you had lost in the first place was mostly water weight and you will eventually gain it back in the form of fat, not muscle (in order to get your muscle mass back to the way it was before, you have to work on rebuilding it). When carbohydrates and protein that are already in your body are used as the energy source, your body will lose water weight because both carbohydrates and protein hold water in the cells. In essence, you are dehydrating yourself to lose weight. So yes the scale will go down, but approximately 75% (if not more) of it is water instead of fat. And just so you know, exercising while consuming a small calorie intake just makes the situation worse. This is because when you exercise, you start burning off more energy and the more you workout, the more energy your body needs. I already told you above where the energy comes from, and if you do not give your body the energy it needs, it will just feed on your muscles even quicker now that you are exercising. So eat more food! In addition to this, when you cut down too much on your calorie intake, your body will start storing calories because it doesn't know when you will eat again. The calories that are stored will be stored as fat. So in other words, when your body is storing energy, it's basically storing more fat.
To summarize my point: Not eating enough calories results in muscle loss, dehydration, slower fat burning, and your body will always adapt to a lower calorie intake.
Bottom Line: if you can't maintain that lower calorie intake for the rest of your life, you will gain your weight back when you get tired of starving yourself!
To lose weight properly (burning fat) you must increase your metabolism (weight training) and your need for oxygen (aerobics) while eating enough calories each day (nutritious diet) to give you energy and maintain the protein in your muscles because protein helps build muscles, which indirectly burns fat. This brings up another good point: When you build muscle your weight will increase because your muscles are made up of mostly water, but your body fat percentage will decrease because building muscles increase your metabolism (in other words, muscles way more than fat, but take up less space than fat). So keep in mind that losing body fat can't be measured by a scale; use a measuring tape and also look at yourself in the mirror, and then you will see the true results. One of the best ways to know if you are losing more body fat than water is by using a body fat analyzer.
Make sure that you focus on fat loss not weight loss. Your goal should be to lose weight by burning fat, not losing water from your muscles. Remember this when you choose your weight loss program.
This article was written by Vernita Sherman of Ultimate Fat Burning Secrets. Ultimate Fat Burning Secrets is an online resource dedicated to exposing fat burning secrets that weight loss companies are keeping from you. Vernita focuses on teaching you the truth about how to permanently lose weight the healthy way at http://www.ultimatefatburningsecrets.com
limousine Ackley .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareSo you're overweight, "fat"--to be honest--and you want to start... Read More
With all the excitement regarding high protein diets, one area... Read More
As a low carb dieter, you have probably been bombarded... Read More
As much as many of us who are over-weight do... Read More
Would you run out of fingers, and maybe even toes,... Read More
From the moment of birth your first emotional experiences establish... Read More
The first rule for successful weight loss and weight maintenance... Read More
More likely than not a diet with end up a... Read More
Do you tend to find your weight increases when you... Read More
Well, look at you go! You keep moving closer and... Read More
Okay, so you've read some of these articles, done your... Read More
If I were asked, "what is the most difficult thing... Read More
Information About Weight Training Routines For BeginnersSo you need to... Read More
Thankfully, winter does not last forever! In the spring there... Read More
What is the link between Hispanics and obesity? Are people... Read More
1. Drink 8-10 glasses of water each dayOkay, for many... Read More
Diet information is everywhere. In advertisements, on TV, in magazines;... Read More
The Review Diaries She Unlimited MagazineThere are masses of carbohydrate... Read More
When we discover that we are heavier than we want... Read More
Stop Weight From Creeping Up By Staying AwareEveryone has small... Read More
Low carb beer and lite beer are two different animals.... Read More
There are several theories on the origins of Valentine's Day.... Read More
Gastric bypass patients often find themselves regaining weight soon after... Read More
Fasting, when done properly, can be a basic part of... Read More
If you are overweight and suffer from pain in your... Read More
shuttle from O'Hare Alexander ..Serious diet pills are intended for people who are overweight... Read More
If you're serious about losing weight and getting fit, you... Read More
Because the Internet allows so many millions of people to... Read More
Lose Weight - Grab A GlassIn childhood, we heard it:... Read More
I did it without starving myself or taking pills. How... Read More
You have been on diets before. You probably have lost... Read More
This little known secret has been used by bodybuilders for... Read More
Have you ever received those tempting ads that seem to... Read More
Adaptation is the most important concept I teach. The human... Read More
One common question I receive is, "What do you do... Read More
A reader recently wrote to ask why I don't include... Read More
Information About Weight Training Routines For BeginnersSo you need to... Read More
Now that everything from a tan to pantyhose comes in... Read More
Dietitians just plain don't like low-carb or high-protein diets.Whether it's... Read More
There are a few different ways to determine if you... Read More
What is "too young" to begin a weight loss program... Read More
Are you overweight?Most people are afraid to admit they are.It... Read More
Most people think of the Atkins diet when they hear... Read More
Ok... If you are reading this is because you do... Read More
What is low carb?We've all heard about the Atkins diet... Read More
The holidays are definitely a special time of year. These... Read More
In our society of fast food and long hours spent... Read More
Considering the US Center for Disease Control's advice is a... Read More
If you're always on a diet you probably spend half... Read More
If you want to reduce your body fat, focus on... Read More
Weight Loss |