How to lose fat when I a normal weight and exercising kicks off starvation mode?

Question
I read that there is no way to lose fat from a certain body part. That the only way to lose fat is to exercise and the weight would hopefully fall off the part you wanted it to. I tried this, I started exercising, walking, going to the gym - using the eliptical, abductor, bikes, stepper, rowing machines, etc - and started eating healthily, eating more fruit and veg, avoiding fatty foods, eating less more often. My normal BMI body went into starvation mode and left me sluggish, tired and more hungry. How am I supposed to move the fat from my legs when I cannot exercise or eat slightly less?

Answer

Typical fat lose effec Hi Anna,
You are partly right in that you cannot control exactly which areas will lose fat at any time. Your body will always try to maintain a balance which means some areas will lose a little, some more, but in the end all will even out.

The secret to losing fat is to NOT do more exercise and eat a lot less. You must give your body enough energy to exercise AND create a metabolism increase so you lose fat. That is why people who have good muscle bulk and low body fat eat more than average.

Now, the key is in WHAT you eat. From what you have said you eat foods that are quite rich in minerals/vitamins but nothing much else. Choose foods that have lean protein, such as eggs, fish, poultry, meat, nuts/seeds, soy. You should have protein with each meal and try to have 6 small meals a day.
The portion size will obviously be much less than what you are probably used to for a meal.

Drinking 6-8 of glasses of water is a must.

Finally, do more weight training and less cardio as this will increase metabolism. And don't worry- you won't look like a bodybuilder!

Hope this helps.

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