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Jeeplaw's first statement pretty well sums up why I post here, Stella - there is a correct way to diet and it's not just about losing pounds. I'm trying to "educate people on the in's and out's of losing "Good" weight". Whether or not you accept what I have to say is immaterial to me. I'll give you - and anyone else that want's to listen - the facts and you can deal with them as you wish. Like Jeeplaw, "I don't want to see people losing weight the wrong way or yo-yoing and getting discouraged".
Unlike Jeeplaw, I've never weighed 300 lbs and had a ton of weight to lose. My problem was the reverse - adding solid, healthy muscle tissue. Actually the same principals as weight loss are involved. It's just as difficult to add solid muscular weight as it is to lose fat. The smallest word in the English language is the word "I" and it's not one you hear me use often. But just for the record, I've pared my bodyfat percentage down to single digits figures while weighing around 200 lbs - without any drugs - and yes, I've stood up on stage in my Speedos and did my thing when I was competing. I've also worked as a trainer in large international gym chains and as a chef I've helped dozens, if not hundreds of people, by creating sensible diet plans that have helped them shed unwanted weight. So yes, I'd say I have a half ass idea about what sensible weight loss is all about. I'm not just making this stuff up.
But enough about me. What about you? Let's run through this whole "correct way to diet instead of just losing pounds" thing one more time.
I'll start out by saying it's important to realize that muscle is metabolically active tissue and for every pound of muscle tissue you have on your body, you burn in the order of 50 calories a day. The flip side of that is that if you lose weight incorrectly, you lose the ability to burn 50 extra calories a day for every pound of muscle you lose. So if you diet and lose 5 lbs of muscle, then simply by eating as much food as you did before the diet after you lose the weight, the excess 250 calories would be stored as fat and you'd gain weight at the rate of something like 1 lb every two weeks (3500 calories in a pound of fat).
Why do we lose muscle and not fat when we diet? Lets look at that. Carbohydrates provide our body with the energy we need to run it. When we digest plant based foods, the stored energy of the sun is released. Carbs are broken down into glucose which fuels the body. Excess glucose is stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. Any excess is shunted off to the fat cells. If a person eats a diet high in complex carbs, this is unlikely to happen because the carbs are high in fiber and are slow release. Simple carbs - refined sugars - are the problem and lead to fat storage. By the way, the brain needs a hugh amount of glucose to function.
So when we "diet" we reduce carbs as a first step to lower calories. As glucose is used up, glycogen is released to make more. Water is also released because each molecule of glycogen is bound up with two molecules of water. This is why we get the initial weight loss when we diet - it's simply stored water being released.
But what happens when all the glucose is used up as well as the stored glycogen? As it happens, the body can't convert fat into glucose. Fat is inert material. But through a process called glucogenesis muscle tissue is broken down and converted to glucose.
You say you've lost 20 lbs, Stella. Sure, some of it is fat. Most is water and a lot is muscle. My question to you is this. I certainly hope Im wrong. But what are you going to do when you find your weight creeping inexorably back upwards? Go back to starving yourself? The whole process repeats itself and you lose more muscle tissue. There's more to life than to have to be constantly watch everything you eat.
I'll sum this up quickly. Modern weight loss takes a four pronged approach - cardio, resistance exercise, correct diet and behavior modification (the way you think and feel about food). This is a case of synergy where the sum of the four parts is far greater than a single component alone. Like a chair if you remove a leg, the chair will topple over, and likewise will your diet if you you simply go at it by cutting calories alone. That's the simple reason why we read about the 95% failure rate of traditional diets.
Of course the $52 billion dollar a year diet industry would prefer you not know this. Think about it. If any of the diets out there really worked, then everyone would be on it and nobody would be fat. Well they don't work and the diet industry is happy, because they can keep on selling diet pills, the latest diet book, diet shakes, and worthless exercise gadgets, all the while making huge profits. The consumer is left confused, frustrated and depressed. There is no need for that. You can lose weight permanently. Sure, it's not easy. But if you want long term results instead of quick fixes, then forget these diets that promise you can lose 15 lbs in 10 days. You can, but it's not the right stuff you lose.
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