Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: London
Posts: 1
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The problem is that anyone who is trying to lose weight is desperate to do so.Many companies know this and they prey on this desperation by offering products with ridiculous claims.Take the 'lose 30 pounds in a month' brigade.It is possible to lose this amount of weight,you just stop eating.
To lose this amount of weight anybody would have to find some way of getting rid of over 25000 calories a week through their diet or through exercise.
The long term effects of following such a route are dangerous,it not only plays havoc with people's bodies but also their minds.
Your brain takes up 30% of the glucose from the food that you eat,once you cut back drastically on your food,your brain suffers from the lack of glucose.Leading to mood swings,fits of anger,and depression.
Another thing is that your metabolism works in the same way as it did 10,000 years ago.
When we lived in caves and food was scarce your metabolism would slow and speed itself depending on the situation at the time.If you were not getting enough food it would slow down it's ability to burn calories to conserve energy.At that time it was valuable defence mechanism.
Today in a world plentiful of food it can be a curse.We have not lived long enough for our metabolisms to evolve into anything else,so they work in the same way as they have always done.
Your metabolism doesn't understand or care that you are trying to lose weight.As far as it is concerned if you don't get calories on a regular basis (ie.very 4 hours) then you are starving and it will slow down its ability to burn calories.
When you cut back drastically on calories you go into starvation mode
When you leave long intervals between meals you go into starvation mode
When you miss breakfast you go into starvation mode
Eating 5 times a day is preferrable to eating twice or once a day.These don't have to be meals in the real sense,some fruit,yoghurts,cereal,a sandwich.Eating like this trains your metabolism into thinking that it will constantly get a regular supply of calories ,leading it speed up as it has no need to conserve energy anymore.
The psychological aspects of failing to lose weight are also very important.Each time that a person fails to lose weight,that failure is reinforced in their self image.So the next time they try to lose weight they will approach it the view that they will probably fail.With this in mind the chances of success are pretty low.
At the end of the day it has to be accepted that there is no quick fix,or miracle cure to weight loss.It takes time to lose weight as it did to gain it.Once a person accepts this idea then the stress will decrease.Sure there will be times when results will slow or even stop.This happens because your body is very adaptable,it will quickly get used to certain situations.
When you exercise your body will become used to this exercise,up to the point where it doesn't need to change anymore, resulting in any results stopping.What needs to be done is to step up a level with your exercise so your body has more to cope with and it will have to change to cope with the extra step up.
The secret to diet and exercise is not to take big steps, change in small ways and you and your body will be able to cope with the changes.Keep it progressive,keep changing and your body will follow.
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counsellor
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