The Dieters Dilemma

Almost all of us have been there at some time in our lives, especially as we get older, when the fat just piles on, we find ourselves looking in the mirror and then we do what millions of dieters do every year all across the world: We pick up the phone and call the TV infomercial 800- number for that quick weight loss gimmick. Deep down, we know it won't work, yet we are always teased by that glimmer of hope so we continue to pursue the ups and downs of this dieter's lifestyle.

Beginning a brand new weight loss regime can be a confusing, stressful and even maddening period of time. Some of us tend to over-think, procrastinate and wait until "the time is right" before we get started. Others make emotional decisions and jump right into the latest infomercial diet without doing any research or thinking at all. I have seen many of my clients go down both of these roads and either way, it always ends in failure and lack of results.

Those who jump on the latest bandwagon often lose some weight in the first few weeks, but it's never long before the breaking point comes and you give in to that double cheese burger and you're right back in the fat-storing mode. All the weight you lost comes back with a vengeance, along with a little extra to add insult.

If you do get some long term results, for the amount of effort it seems that you're putting into your diet plan, you end up with minimal rewards. This dissatisfaction with your results leads you to scream, "This isn't working!" and you start looking for the "next big thing" and the diet roller coaster ride continues.

Listen! There are some simple reasons why diets do not work, especially a diet that requires you to reduce caloric intake to an amount that would barely satisfy a Guinea Pig. It has been said many times by many nutrition experts to: When you have a dramatic reduction in caloric intake, your metabolism slows down to conserve energy and survive.

As your body goes into melt down mode, your body loses its sense of hormonal and metabolic balance. You begin to feel deprived and sluggish. When you begin eating more after being in starvation mode, your body's sympathetic nervous system goes on high and packs fat away for future starvation faster then a squirrel gathering nuts for the winter.

Remember that your body will place a hierarchy of importance inside your body in order to survive. There is no changing the genetic survival code. Thousands of years ago, we learned to store body fat efficiently for the lean times, and our bodies still retain this genetic memory.

When you start a diet with a dramatic caloric reduction, your body will first burn through all the glycogen in your system, which is stored in the blood, muscles and liver. Your brain needs simple sugars to operate properly, so when calorie-deprived, your body says, "Where is the glucose? I need glucose for my brain!"

So a signal is sent to your liver to release glycogen and convert it to sugar. About 80 grams of glycogen is stored in your liver, so after just one day, you are liver glycogen depleted. What then? Your body looks at the other source - muscle tissue - and takes all of that muscle glycogen and does the same thing.

Then comes the part that should scare the dickens out of you: Your body's command center (your brain) says, "No more glycogen left, so let's start cannibalizing muscle tissue to turn it into glucose so I can survive!" That, in a nutshell, is the hierarchy of survival and that is the dieter's dilemma. Your muscle tissue isn't important during a famine, and your body doesn't know the difference between dieting and famine.

No matter how much you grit your teeth; no matter how much willpower you have, no matter how strict your discipline, very low calorie diets will eventually always cause you to lose muscle mass as your muscle protein is used for "food." By the way, did I mention that muscle tissue is the "burning center" for calories? So when you lose your muscle, your calorie burning furnace is gone.

Think that's bad? It gets worse: If the diet continues long enough, you begin to produce fat cells full of toxic waste products and start to develop stubborn fat. Stubborn fat is metabolically very inactive and very hard to burn up, because your adrenal system can not unlock the fat cell to burn the "fat" inside as energy. Your body still has to rid itself of toxins and other waste products and it does not do it well with minimum energy stores or working overtime to produce energy from muscle tissue.

It gets even worse still: Your body "remembers" all your past diets and yo-yo ups and downs and every time you repeat the diet cycle, the weight gets harder to take off and it comes back faster when the diet is over.

What is the solution to this dieter's dilemma?

Just stop dieting and start eating nutritiously. Stay clear of very low calorie diets that ask for more than a 15% reduction below your body's maintenance needs. This is the safe level that prevents this yo yo syndrome and metabolic nightmare.

Find an eating plan that is suitable for your body type. I know this seems like general advice and you may be thinking, "just tell me what to eat David!" However, common sense and intuition will guide you at first. Those trained in the nutrition field of metabolic typing can help you out tremendously in this regard. For example: If you drink milk and your nose starts to run a little, that is a food intolerance issue and needs to be addressed. Feel free to send me an e mail about your type.

When you stop starving yourself, you eat a sufficient amount of food and eat right for your body type, you will find your energy soaring, weight problems will be a thing of the past and your immune system will be charged up to fight off disease and illness. When you chose the right foods, you may find that you don't even have to worry about counting calories, because your body will find a natural balance, and the result will be a lean body and a richer life.

Copyright 2006 Personal Fitness Developement

1. Prev:Weight Loss Sabotage: Managing ANTS
2. Next:How to Succeed With Your Diet