QUESTION FROM A VISITOR
QUESTION:
Here's a question for you, on behalf of my wife ,which I really really hope you can answer!
Last November she started dieting by reducing calories, but she reduced them dramatically, only eating 1 meal a day. She lost 2.5 stone, but has smashed into the plateau. Now, she has started running and has continued to not eat a lot, but has seen little (if any) weight loss over the last couple of weeks.
We've read on here that she'd be better walking rather than running, as this will burn fat rather than carbs. Great! But what about eating? If her body is used to 800-1000 calories and her metabolism is low, if she starts eating 1500-1800 calories and walks every day, coupled with weight training every other day will she put on weight? This is what she is afraid of. If she is not losing weight eating 1000 cals a day, how can she lose weight if she increases her calorie intake to a sensible level?
I've been all over your site (which, I have to say, is exceptional!), but I can't find a surefire answer to this, so I hope you can send me a quick email with an answer. Any and all info will be very gratefully received!
ANSWER:
I believe a diet of less than 1000 calories is too low for most people, especially over a long haul. It's ok for a short term but the problem is the body will burn up lean muscle and this lowers the metabolism, which leads to a plateau, plus it's very hard to gain all the nutrients on such a low intake.
As I don't have necessary information about your wife - age, weight, body type, food intake, activity level, etc, etc, it is impossible for me to determine if she would actually gain weight or not from the diet and training you suggested. However, if she did gain some weight back it will probably be lean muscle which will increase the metabolism and help push through the plateau. It may well help her in the long run to up her intake a little to what you suggested. As long as she keeps active then body fat may not be gained or at the most a minimal gain which should be lost through an increased metabolism. At this point I believe she should be concentrating on losing body fat rather than just body weight, after all, she has already lost 2 and half stones so far. If she started to gradually up the calories and eat nutritious food, little and often, it could help replace lean mass over fat stores. The activity alone can help burn excess body fat without losing weight. - Remember calories do count for weight loss, when we lose weight it will to some degree include a proportion of fat loss However, weight loss is not the same as Fat Loss. It is possible, and probably best now, to lose further body fat without too much a change in body weight, in other words changing the body composition. An active lifestyle as well as eating a healthy balanced diet will help achieve this much more effectively than keep lowering calories.
One of the tricks some bodybuilders use when cutting up for a show is to zig zag calorie intake. This reduces the overall loss of lean muscle mass because the body builder ups his calorie intake just before the body establishes a starvation mode. Thus the body builder maintains a high metabolism which burns off extra stored fat without the need to breakdown the muscle for energy and protein supplies. It's a little bit more complicated than it sounds but it works very well, plus it can help boost the metabolism for people who have dropped calories too much too soon. Tom's e-book "Burn the Fat" explains the zig zag process in more detail along with other tricks of the bodybuilding trade. It isn't cheap but it is a complete guide to burning fat and gaining an ideal shape for your body type. It is well worth the money!
Thank you
Here's a question for you, on behalf of my wife ,which I really really hope you can answer!
Last November she started dieting by reducing calories, but she reduced them dramatically, only eating 1 meal a day. She lost 2.5 stone, but has smashed into the plateau. Now, she has started running and has continued to not eat a lot, but has seen little (if any) weight loss over the last couple of weeks.
We've read on here that she'd be better walking rather than running, as this will burn fat rather than carbs. Great! But what about eating? If her body is used to 800-1000 calories and her metabolism is low, if she starts eating 1500-1800 calories and walks every day, coupled with weight training every other day will she put on weight? This is what she is afraid of. If she is not losing weight eating 1000 cals a day, how can she lose weight if she increases her calorie intake to a sensible level?
I've been all over your site (which, I have to say, is exceptional!), but I can't find a surefire answer to this, so I hope you can send me a quick email with an answer. Any and all info will be very gratefully received!
ANSWER:
I believe a diet of less than 1000 calories is too low for most people, especially over a long haul. It's ok for a short term but the problem is the body will burn up lean muscle and this lowers the metabolism, which leads to a plateau, plus it's very hard to gain all the nutrients on such a low intake.
As I don't have necessary information about your wife - age, weight, body type, food intake, activity level, etc, etc, it is impossible for me to determine if she would actually gain weight or not from the diet and training you suggested. However, if she did gain some weight back it will probably be lean muscle which will increase the metabolism and help push through the plateau. It may well help her in the long run to up her intake a little to what you suggested. As long as she keeps active then body fat may not be gained or at the most a minimal gain which should be lost through an increased metabolism. At this point I believe she should be concentrating on losing body fat rather than just body weight, after all, she has already lost 2 and half stones so far. If she started to gradually up the calories and eat nutritious food, little and often, it could help replace lean mass over fat stores. The activity alone can help burn excess body fat without losing weight. - Remember calories do count for weight loss, when we lose weight it will to some degree include a proportion of fat loss However, weight loss is not the same as Fat Loss. It is possible, and probably best now, to lose further body fat without too much a change in body weight, in other words changing the body composition. An active lifestyle as well as eating a healthy balanced diet will help achieve this much more effectively than keep lowering calories.
One of the tricks some bodybuilders use when cutting up for a show is to zig zag calorie intake. This reduces the overall loss of lean muscle mass because the body builder ups his calorie intake just before the body establishes a starvation mode. Thus the body builder maintains a high metabolism which burns off extra stored fat without the need to breakdown the muscle for energy and protein supplies. It's a little bit more complicated than it sounds but it works very well, plus it can help boost the metabolism for people who have dropped calories too much too soon. Tom's e-book "Burn the Fat" explains the zig zag process in more detail along with other tricks of the bodybuilding trade. It isn't cheap but it is a complete guide to burning fat and gaining an ideal shape for your body type. It is well worth the money!
Thank you
posted by Weight Loss helper @ 9:39 AM
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