Science And Common Sense
As is
often the case, science confirms what common sense tells us. The
quickest solution to weight loss is not the best one. To
understand why, let us review a few basic facts about energy
metabolism, and dieting.
Sources Of
Energy
Through the
process of digestion, carbohydrate, protein, and fat from food
are broken down in the body and eventually converted to
glucose. Glucose is the fuel the body needs uses for energy. Fat
is the most concentrated form of dietary energy, 225% as
fattening as carbohydrate and protein. Alcohol also is a source
of energy, but in contrast with fat, carbohydrate, and protein,
it is not a source of nutrients. It provides only "empty
calories."
Energy
Stores
When the body
take in more energy (in the form of calories)
than it needs , the extra calories are stored in two ways:
a) as glycogen, a form of glucose, in the muscle and the
liver
b) as fat tissue throughout the body. Glycogen can rapidly
release glucose. It is the store of immediately available
energy. Once it is depleted, extra sources of energy come from
the oxidation of fat and, as a last resort, from the breakdown of
protein in muscle tissue.
Metabolism
Metabolism is
the sum of all the activities in the body concerned with growth,
repair and maintenance. It governs the rate at which the body
burns calories.
Factors which
influence metabolism include: 1) Amount of Fat and Muscle in the
Body...Simply put, our bodies are made of fat tissue and lean body
mass (LBM) which includes muscle, water, and skeletal mass.
Muscle tissue is very metabolically active, Fat tissue is not.
Muscle burns nearly 90% of the calories we use in a day. The
more muscle tissue, the higher the metabolism and the more
calories needed. 2) Sex...Women normally have a higher
proportion of fat--17% to 24% compared to 10% to 16% for men.
This contributes to a naturally lower metabolism for women than
for men and a lower caloric requirement for women.
3) Body Type and Heredity ...These cannot be modified. 4) Age...The basal
metabolic rate generally decreases by 6% for every decade beyond
the age of 25. But the decrease can be slowed down through
regular exercise. 5) Eating
Habits...A
low fat , high carbohydrate diet helps retain muscle and lose
fat. 6) Physical Activity... Increases muscle
tissue and decreases fat.
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 Why People Regain
Weight...
Scientists are in agreement: crash dieting is not
the best way to lose weight and to maintain the weight loss.
There are many physiological reasons for this.
In starvation (For example when you fast)
68% of the weight
loss is from lean tissue and 32% is from fat tissue. On lower
calorie diets Fifty-four percent of the weight loss is from lean
tissue, 46% from fat.
When calories are in short supply the body calls upon its energy
stores. The fat stores are bypassed at first because they are
the long range survival stores. The other energy stores are in
the muscles as glycogen or glucose and water. Through the
breakdown of glycogen the glucose is used up for energy and the
water eliminated, accounting for most of the weight loss.
Relatively little fat is lost. If caloric restriction continues,
muscle tissue also is lost, along with water.
These type of diet plans are prone to fail because when
people go on severe diet s and lose weight the body reacts as
it would to a period of famine. It slows its basal metabolism
rate. The body needs fewer and fewer calories and losing weight
becomes more difficult.
On
a moderately reduced calorie diet, like the Personal Diet, some
lean tissue is lost (33%), but most of the lost weight is fat
(67%). If exercise is included, lean tissue loss will be
minimal (20%) and fat tissue lost maximal (80%). This will help
protect against gaining the weight back.
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