Managing weight effectively (which for many people begins with losing a little), is really not that difficult. However, taking extra pounds off in a hurry is. Our bodies are simply not wired for fast weight loss. Here’s why:
Long ago, when our ancestors had to hunt for food, feast and famine were a fact of life. To prepare for the long, cold winter ahead, our predecessors’ bodies learned to make the most of each meal, storing energy as fat, for use when food was scarce.
When food was not readily available, the body’s metabolism would slow down to conserve energy and obtain the maximum value from each calorie consumed.
Breaking the Diet Code
Just like our ancestors, if we cut back significantly on calorie intake, our bodies presume that food is scarce. The result, a lowered metabolic rate, causes the body to conserve energy as fat.
The secret to losing weight (fat) is to increase the metabolic rate through exercise and the associated increase of muscle mass. (Muscles burn almost twice as much energy per day than that burned by fat.) Trimming calories by a very small margin (50 - 100 calories a day) will avoid the “famine response” and still result in significant weight loss over the long term.
Becoming More Active
Activity helps raise the metabolic level and burn more calories. Even small bursts of activity throughout the day can add up to weight loss over a few months, provided this activity is in addition to your normal energy expenditure.
A half hour walk (or half hour increase in your daily walking regime), five times a week, adds up to a weight loss of between 4.5 and 6.0 kilograms (approximately 10 to 13 pounds) over a year. The half hour does not have to be taken all at once. Two 15-minute walks are just as effective.
Combining a small reduction in calories with an increase in physical activity is a sure-fire way to increase weight loss and achieve your goals sooner!
Taking it Slowly
As Aesop would tell you, Slow and steady wins the race. Studies show that the slower a person takes weight off, the more likely he or she is to maintain that weight loss. This is likely because the body has had time to adjust to the reduced calorie/ increased activity regime and has not slowed down its metabolic rate in response to sudden deprivation. While it may be tempting to try to lose weight quickly, those pounds that have been “lost” are all too quickly found again, as the body strives to put right what it perceives to be wrong.
Research has shown that when caloric intake is severely curtailed, we tend to develop cravings for the foods that the weight-conscious normally stay away from - fats and sugars. In addition to this physical response is its psychological counterpart: We tend to crave the foods we know we should not have.
The Yo-Yo Syndrome
Diets that severely restrict calories are rarely successful. As soon as the person loses weight (assuming he is both motivated and successful), the body reduces its metabolic rate. The person then returns to normal eating, and the lost pounds pile back on, with a few extra for good company. This pattern is usually repeated as the dieter becomes more and more frustrated with his weight. As a result, the weight slowly increases.
By contrast, cutting out 50-100 calories a day is hardly noticeable (replacing cream with low-fat milk in your daily coffee, or eliminating one slice of bread, for example), and is far more likely to result in long-term success.
A Little Motivation...
If the new dress you plan on buying, or the class reunion is not enough motivation to watch your food intake and increase your activity level, consider this:
After a three-year review of medical studies, the U.S. based National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) concluded that obesity is associated with:
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Gallbladder disease
- Heart disease
- Hypertension
- Elevated cholesterol and triglycerides
- Cancer of the breast, uterus, prostate and colon
- Incontinence
- Osteoarthritis
- Pregnancy complications
- Sleep apnea
If you are already obese (women with body fat of over 30 percent, men with body fat in excess of 25 percent), or are watching the pounds gradually increasing, it’s time to take action.