Why low calorie diets can actually make you even fatter in the end?

Today i will make one quick post about how dieting can actually make you fatter.
I'll start right away with an example of how a low calorie diet would affect a real world dieter
physiologically and psychologically, and can actually make you fatter!
So, let's get down to business:

Suppose our typical dieter would be a male who weights 100 kgs and has 20% body fat.
His goal is to lose 10-15 kgs.
Before dieting:
20% body fat
20 kgs fat
80kgs lean body mass


Like most people, our dieter assumes that the best way to lose the body fat is to starve it,
so he goes on a 1500 calorie per day diet. In the 1st week he loses, let's say 2,5 kgs. and is
very happy with his results. The second week he loses 2 kgs. Weeks 3-6 he loses 1,5 kgs per
week. The total weight loss is 10,5 kgs lost.
Our dieter now weighs 89,5 kgs and he continued to lose weight with a steady pace without
coming to a dead end (although the weight loss did slow down during the last weeks). Judging
by the scale alone, we could say he has succeeded in his goal.

But, if we take a little closer look on this, however, we find that he has not been
so successful after all.
After the diet
89,5 kgs.
16% body fat
14,3 kgs. fat
Lean body mass 75,2 kgs.
Weight loss: 10,5kgs.
Fat lost 4 kgs.
Lean body mass (muscle) lost 6,5 kgs

By judging his success in terms of body composition instead of only weight loss, it is clear
that he has failed. About 60% of his weight loss came from lean body mass. The drop in
lean body mass also has led to drop in his basal metabolic rate so he is now burning even
fewer calories each day than what he was when he started. This has set him up for a relapse.

Now when this (temporary) diet is over,  he goes off his diet. Few people have the desire or
willpower to stay on low calories for long periods of time. On a strict calorie and or foodrestricted
diet, almost everyone falls of the wagon sooner or later. After a long time with low calories,
his body produces hormones which trick him into "greed" eating by triggering severe cravings and hunger.

Even if he doesn’t binge and he simply goes back to his normal style eating again, his
body isn’t burning calories as efficiently as before the diet. That's why the number of calories
which used to maintain his weight now causes him to gain it. As the days and weeks go, the weight
sneaks back on until he finally gains back all the fat he lost, and usually a bot of extra as well.

6 weeks after the diet:
100 kgs.
22% body fat
22 kgs fat
Lean body mass 78 kgs.

Now he is back at 100 kilos where he started, with only one big difference: He has less muscle,
more fat, and a slower metabolism than when he started. And because he has damaged his
metabolism it will now be gradually even harder for him to lose weight.

That's why you should really stay clear of diets that introduce very low calories. You just end up
feeling tired and drowsy all day because of lack of energy. And as we established on the example,
they can actually make you fatter! I will  continue on this subject, and tomorrow I will discuss on
how to avoid the starvation mode and lose fat permanently without starving! I will give yo eight
strategies to avoid these pitfalls!