7 Reasons why to stay away from very low calorie diets!

The results of extremely low calorie dieting are actually automatic and unavoidable. The
responses are metabolic, hormonal, and psychological in nature, and they include: slower
metabolism, muscle loss, increase of enzymes and hormones which speed up fat storing,
decrease of enzymes and hormones which burn fat, increased appetite, increased chance of regaining weight you've just lost, and decreased energy and work capacity.

Here's 7 reasons as to why to stay clear of those "miracle diets" they advertize almost everywhere.

1. They slow down your metabolic rate

The first thing that happens during a severe calorie deficit is a slowed down metabolism. The
lower your calories, the slower your metabolism becomes. Simply said; when you eat less calories, your body burns less calories. When you eat more calories, your body burns more calories.

I read this great analogy on how our metabolism mechanism works, when put in simple form:
Let's say you’re earning 4000$ a month, but your boss suddenly cuts your paycheck to
2500$ a month. Of course, you will try to live the same lifestyle on 2500$ a month as you did on
4000$ a month. Soon enough, you have to adjust and save money, and change your
lifestyle.

The same is true with a calorie intake that is simply too low. When calories are cut below
maintenance level, the body will adopt and slow down its metabolism, so it becomes nearly
impossible to lose fat even on low calories. This metabolic slowdown is well researched.
When calories are restricted extremely, your metabolism slows down by about 20-30%.
With severe calorie deficit, some research have shown that resting metabolism can slow down
by as much as 45%!
Thinking in calories, if you have normal calorie consumption 3000 calories a day, that would drop to just 1650 calories per day! That explains why, after long periods of low calorie dieting, you can eat
very little food and still not lose weight. This also explains why it is so difficult to lose
those last 5 or 10 kilos.




2. Very low calorie diets make you lose muscle


The most dramatic effect of the low calorie diets are the loss of muscles.
Once the starvation mode comes into action, your body starts looking for ways to save
energy. Muscle is metabolically active tissue. Getting rid of it is the body’s way of
decreasing energy consumption. And it’s simple for your body to use muscle for energy.


This process is known as Gluconeogenesis – converting muscle into glucose. This includes
muscles, internal organs, and even your heart muscle! Studies have shown that very low
calorie diets without exercise will always cause 40 - 50% of the weight loss to come 
from lean tissue (muscle). Many diets, especially low carbohydrate ones, cause large losses
in water weight. Between the loss of water, glycogen and muscle, fully 75% of the weight you
lose on such plans is not fat!

The initial weight loss on most diets can be very deceiving, giving you the illusion of fast success.
Even with exercise, if a diet is too restrictive, much of the weight loss will still
be lean tissue and water weight.


3. Very low calorie diets increase activity of fat-storing enzymes and on the contrary 
decreases the activity of enzymes that burn fat


The main fat storing enzyme is called Lipoprotein Lipase. When you drop your calories
very low, your body will produce more of that Lipoprotein Lipase and less of those enzymes
which are burning the fat. Simply put, when you don’t eat enough, your body changes its
chemistry to make it easier to store fat in the future.


4.  Low calorie diets decrease output of thyroid hormone.


The Thyroid gland is largely responsible for the regulation of your basal metabolic
rate (the rate at which you burn calories at rest). When your body notices an extreme
reduction in calories, there is a corresponding reduction in the output of active thyroid
hormone (T3). The result is a decrease in your metabolic rate and that leads to fewer calories
burned.


5. Very Low calorie dieting increases the chance of rebound weight gain 
A.K.A The Yo-Yo-effect


Almost everyone loses weight when they start a very low calorie diet, but it never takes
long before your body catches on and starts saving and hoarding energy. That’s when you hit a
"plateau", dead end. Once you come to a dead end, it becomes increasingly harder to keep
losing weight even if your calories are already extremely low.

This lack of continued results, combined with hunger cravings, usually causes people to give
up out of sheer frustration. They quit their diet, the weight sneak back on and their body fat
ends up right back where they started. Only now they have lost muscle and by that they have
a slower metabolism. With a slower metabolism, what used to be a maintenance level now
becomes a surplus, and the weight comes automatically back on.

Most people gain back all the weight they just lost, and many gain back even more, leaving
them even fatter than when they started. This up and down pattern of weight loss and weight
re-gain is commonly known as the “yo-yo-effect”, and sadly it often continues for years or even
for an entire lifetime. With each repeated cycle of dieting, your metabolism becomes less and less
efficient and you can actually in a way become progressively fatter while eating less food.


6. Very low calorie diets increase your appetite and cravings.


When your body sinks into starvation mode, this normally triggers increased appetite and
hunger cravings in an attempt to get you to eat more food. These hunger and cravings can be
so strong that you are in the verge of greediness. It’s near impossible to stay on a diet when
you are ravenously hungry and all you can think about is food. Few people have that much
willpower.


7. Very low calorie diets decrease your energy levels and working capacity


Very low calorie diets leave you tired, drowsy and unable to sustain high levels of
activity or intense exercises. Dr. Lawrence Lamb, nutrition specialist, points out that
“The first sign of under nutrition is the loss of energy and the inability to sustain prolonged
physical work. There is a direct relationship between calories consumed and the physical
work a person can do.”

If you have no energy to exercise, you’re going to feel lousy and seriously compromise your
results. The ability to do hard cardio training and weight training is critical for your long-term
success at fat loss.

That's all for today! Tomorrow i'll continue with this same topic, and tell why dieting can actually make you fatter! And 8 ways to avoid the starvation response of your body and losing fat without dieting or deprivation! Until then!