How effective diets work is no longer a mystery.
It was not too long ago, that the best weight loss advice available was to "eat less and move more".
In the last few years, medical science has developed a real understanding of what causes weight gain; and the factors that come into play that make weight loss difficult. Weight gain, of course, happens when we consume more calories than we burn as energy; we have always known that. Fairly recently, it has been discovered that certain foods are more prone to affect weight gain or weight loss; and more so; that certain combinations of certain foods - and eating them at certain times throughout the day - are most likely to have an effect upon weight control programs.
Weight loss is primarily dictated by a system within us that controls the rate at which we burn calories; and that system is called the "metabolism".
The metabolism controls the rate at which we burn calories, and the metabolism operates upon the basis of what it expects to receive. If you eat on average 2000 calories per day; the metabolism expects to get 2000 calories per day; and it adjusts itself for that.
If you suddenly reduce your caloric intake to let's say, 1500 calories per day in order to lose weight, the body perceives that reduction as a threat of starvation; and it responds by slowing the metabolism in order to conserve calories, and maintain weight.
This is just a matter of self-preservation that is "hard wired" into us. You can experience the same effect by standing outside on a cold day; you will begin to shiver, and your teeth will start to chatter - your body is trying to protect itself from freezing, just as it will protect itself from starving.
How any diet works is by creating a "negative calorie balance". You must burn more calories than you consume.
How effective diets work is by combining a negative calorie balance with a program that will also create a condition wherein the metabolism runs in "high gear".
You can see an example below.
No comments:
Post a Comment