Have you ever followed a very low calorie diet and noticed how difficult it is to lose weight? If so, you are one of the millions of fitness enthusiast out there trying to build a better body but not experiencing the results they want. Today's article will explain why you can't lose weight on a low calorie diet unless you get a few fundamental rules in place first.
The general rule for those looking to drop some pounds, of course, is to eat less calories and exercise more. However, there are thousands upon thousands of people out there who are doing too much of one thing and not enough of the other. In rare instances, you even find people who are doing too much of both things.
If you not only want to shrink your waistline but you also want to keep your results long term, you would do well to avoid the outdated, ill-advised advice of spending hours on the treadmill while eating only a minimal amount of food each day.
This trend is so popular because it is often pushed by gossip magazines and experts who proclaim that there is an instant solution to your problems, while making you believe that all of your favourite foods are you enemy.
The reality is very different from those theories, of course. If you have ever followed one of those diets you will know that you cannot operate on a 500 calorie diet and exercise for two hours per day. You will run your body into the ground. These individuals usually go through a very specific cycle:
After experiencing a quick weight loss for a period of about a week while their body reacts to being starved, they quickly hit a wall. They mistake that quick loss for progress, so they continue restricting calories and hammering cardio sessions on the gym floor. They suddenly realize that they can't lose any more body fat no matter how much they try. This leads to frustration, causing the person to eat lots of junk foods in anger and pile on any pounds they had lost in the first place.
Upon reaching this point, it is easy to understand why an individual becomes depressed about their weight and wants to get their diet back on track. The problem is, however, they continue straight back on the same routine. But the second time around they blame themselves for their lack of results and restrict calorific intake even further...
You may wonder how on earth the body can not lose any unwanted pounds despite barely eating and working out all the time, but the answer is very simple. The metabolism is slowed by the body in reaction to the starvation diet and extra high workload being placed on it by the individual. The body is concerned that it is being starved, therefore it refuses to let you burn off any of it's valuable fat stores because it needs them to keep you alive.
Instead, it will feed you lean muscle and learn how to adapt to survive on a low calorie intake. Almost all of the carbohydrates and fats in everything you eat will be stored in a bid to bolster it's reserves of these all important fuels which crash diets often advise you to cut out. Long, steady state cardiovascular exercise has also been shown to have a detrimental effect on lean muscle tissue, making a severe problem even worse. Instead, switch to a short but effective HIIT routine coupled with a regular resistance training program.
That's right - building lean muscle tissue via weight training will actually increase your fat loss substantially!
Your daily diet should be fun, not punishment. You need all three macro's and you need a good number of calories to see any results otherwise your body will enter starvation mode and revoke your control, which has already been documented. If you have previously put yourself through yo-to dieting tactics you will need to slowly increase calorie intake over a period of weeks and months to get yourself back on track. Once the issue is fixed, it's fixed permanently.
How much you eat can determine how easy it is to drop unwanted poundage in future, too. For instance, a person who maintains 200 lbs eating only 500 calories per day will find it very hard to get further progress because they are already malnourished, whereas a person eating 2000 calories per day will find it easy.
If you walk into any fitness suite you will hear countless men and women saying that they can't lose weight on a low calorie diet and wondering what they need to do to sort it out. Rather than running straight to the first personal trainer you see, simply look at your eating habits and exercise routine. You will usually find that the issue is right under your nose.
The general rule for those looking to drop some pounds, of course, is to eat less calories and exercise more. However, there are thousands upon thousands of people out there who are doing too much of one thing and not enough of the other. In rare instances, you even find people who are doing too much of both things.
If you not only want to shrink your waistline but you also want to keep your results long term, you would do well to avoid the outdated, ill-advised advice of spending hours on the treadmill while eating only a minimal amount of food each day.
This trend is so popular because it is often pushed by gossip magazines and experts who proclaim that there is an instant solution to your problems, while making you believe that all of your favourite foods are you enemy.
The reality is very different from those theories, of course. If you have ever followed one of those diets you will know that you cannot operate on a 500 calorie diet and exercise for two hours per day. You will run your body into the ground. These individuals usually go through a very specific cycle:
After experiencing a quick weight loss for a period of about a week while their body reacts to being starved, they quickly hit a wall. They mistake that quick loss for progress, so they continue restricting calories and hammering cardio sessions on the gym floor. They suddenly realize that they can't lose any more body fat no matter how much they try. This leads to frustration, causing the person to eat lots of junk foods in anger and pile on any pounds they had lost in the first place.
Upon reaching this point, it is easy to understand why an individual becomes depressed about their weight and wants to get their diet back on track. The problem is, however, they continue straight back on the same routine. But the second time around they blame themselves for their lack of results and restrict calorific intake even further...
You may wonder how on earth the body can not lose any unwanted pounds despite barely eating and working out all the time, but the answer is very simple. The metabolism is slowed by the body in reaction to the starvation diet and extra high workload being placed on it by the individual. The body is concerned that it is being starved, therefore it refuses to let you burn off any of it's valuable fat stores because it needs them to keep you alive.
Instead, it will feed you lean muscle and learn how to adapt to survive on a low calorie intake. Almost all of the carbohydrates and fats in everything you eat will be stored in a bid to bolster it's reserves of these all important fuels which crash diets often advise you to cut out. Long, steady state cardiovascular exercise has also been shown to have a detrimental effect on lean muscle tissue, making a severe problem even worse. Instead, switch to a short but effective HIIT routine coupled with a regular resistance training program.
That's right - building lean muscle tissue via weight training will actually increase your fat loss substantially!
Your daily diet should be fun, not punishment. You need all three macro's and you need a good number of calories to see any results otherwise your body will enter starvation mode and revoke your control, which has already been documented. If you have previously put yourself through yo-to dieting tactics you will need to slowly increase calorie intake over a period of weeks and months to get yourself back on track. Once the issue is fixed, it's fixed permanently.
How much you eat can determine how easy it is to drop unwanted poundage in future, too. For instance, a person who maintains 200 lbs eating only 500 calories per day will find it very hard to get further progress because they are already malnourished, whereas a person eating 2000 calories per day will find it easy.
If you walk into any fitness suite you will hear countless men and women saying that they can't lose weight on a low calorie diet and wondering what they need to do to sort it out. Rather than running straight to the first personal trainer you see, simply look at your eating habits and exercise routine. You will usually find that the issue is right under your nose.
About the Author:
About your writer: Established online personal trainer Russ Howe PTI shows proven weight loss facts on his blog for free. If you feel like you can't lose weight on a low calorie diet he will show you how to correct this issue.
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