By Russ Howe
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 your goal is to get a smaller waist and retain it, you need to avoid the common trend of coupling starvation diet tactics with a near gym addiction. Otherwise you'll find it very difficult to forge further progress and get frustrated to see others obtaining results while you stay in the same position.
At some point, almost every adult gets sucked into that quick fix trend. Mainly because it's featured in celebrity magazines which are aimed at overweight people attracted to instant solutions rather than hard work. Either way, it's bad advice.
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.
Of course, once the individual ends up in that situation they often blame themselves and begin a new diet, adding an even greater calorific restriction and increasing cardiovascular exercise as a punishment for their previous failed effort.
How can it be possible to eat under 1000 calories per day and hit the treadmill for over two hours a night but still not lose any fat? The answer is very simple. The body isn't getting the nutrients it needs to survive, therefore it has slowed down your metabolism and prevented you from burning what little stores it has left. That's right, your body is actually stopping you from burning off any more fat.
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.
Building more lean muscle is key when it comes to losing fat, because the body will find it far easier to burn off fat as it gets leaner and stronger.
In terms of calories, you must first correct the issue you have created from could have been years of abuse. Slowly begin increasing your calories by around 5 percent each week until you reach a point where you can teach your body to survive on a decent portion of food each day while maintaining your present weight.
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 have reached a point where you think you can't lose weight on a low calorie diet and want some answers, the first thing to do is look at your present diet and your training regime. If you recognize any of the signs in today's post then correcting this issue has to become a priority before you cause serious damage.
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 your goal is to get a smaller waist and retain it, you need to avoid the common trend of coupling starvation diet tactics with a near gym addiction. Otherwise you'll find it very difficult to forge further progress and get frustrated to see others obtaining results while you stay in the same position.
At some point, almost every adult gets sucked into that quick fix trend. Mainly because it's featured in celebrity magazines which are aimed at overweight people attracted to instant solutions rather than hard work. Either way, it's bad advice.
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.
Of course, once the individual ends up in that situation they often blame themselves and begin a new diet, adding an even greater calorific restriction and increasing cardiovascular exercise as a punishment for their previous failed effort.
How can it be possible to eat under 1000 calories per day and hit the treadmill for over two hours a night but still not lose any fat? The answer is very simple. The body isn't getting the nutrients it needs to survive, therefore it has slowed down your metabolism and prevented you from burning what little stores it has left. That's right, your body is actually stopping you from burning off any more fat.
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.
Building more lean muscle is key when it comes to losing fat, because the body will find it far easier to burn off fat as it gets leaner and stronger.
In terms of calories, you must first correct the issue you have created from could have been years of abuse. Slowly begin increasing your calories by around 5 percent each week until you reach a point where you can teach your body to survive on a decent portion of food each day while maintaining your present weight.
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 have reached a point where you think you can't lose weight on a low calorie diet and want some answers, the first thing to do is look at your present diet and your training regime. If you recognize any of the signs in today's post then correcting this issue has to become a priority before you cause serious damage.
About the Author:
About your author: Top online personal trainer Russ Howe PTI shows proven weight loss facts on his website every day. If you feel like you can't lose weight on a low calorie diet he will teach you the facts.
