One of the biggest scams
ever successfully pulled on the American public is - somewhat
appropriately - a 4-letter word. That word is, of course,
Diet. By now you have seen advertisements for more diets than
you can easily remember, and have also most likely seen an
article or television show debunking some of those diets.
Unfortunately, the art of shooting holes through the credibility
of a diet plan is normally done by ANOTHER diet company, solely
for the purpose of getting you to use their product instead.
Well, this article has nothing to sell, nor really anything
to gain, save the knowledge that hopefully the reader - that's
you - will put down the Diet Madness Menu, and get a real
world point of view on why diets don't work, and what you
can do about it.
Eating, the Lost Art
If you are considering a diet, or have in the past, your
primary motivation was most likely to lose weight. What if
I was to tell you that in order to lose weight, you actually
need to eat MORE than you have in the past? You would probably
shake your head at that crazy idea, and think that it was
some new fad that could in no way assist you in your weight
loss goals. Of course, the fact that every diet you've ever
heard of was at one point "some new fad" would probably
never even cross your mind. Nonetheless, the fact remains
that most people do need to eat more than they presently are
in order to lose weight, but the trick comes in eating the
right kinds of foods, in the right ratios of nutrients, and
at the right times of day. Sound tricky? Perhaps, but I assure
you, it is really quite simple. However, the purpose of this
article is not to inform you of the benefits of eating, but
merely to let you know that eating is indeed a very effective
way to lose excess bodyweight, and to explain how diets keep
that from happening.
Stating the
Obvious
Although most people do not think of the "latest diet"
in these terms, hopefully the following question will make
you consider what is pretty obvious if you stop to think about
it. If the new "Last Diet You'll Ever Need" was
really that good at making you melt away pounds while sitting
on the couch munching "Carbo Craze Chips" or was
even remotely effective at burning off your spare tire while
inhaling the sweet scents of "Aerospace's Aromatic Air
Baubles", then why isn't everyone already thin??
Seriously - think about it. Every time you hear about the
latest diet or the most up to date exercise device that only
takes 20 minutes per day, they always say that you will never
need another system! The advertised system - no matter how
logical or even outlandish as it may seem - is always touted
at being better than ever, and the last system you will ever
need. Well, if that were true, don't you think that the manufacturer
of that system would not only become wealthier than anyone
in history, but would also become famous as the person who
FINALLY solved the obesity problem in our world? Don't you
think that person could also afford to advertise their product
during prime time on TV, instead of late at night? Don't you
think that system would become known throughout the world
- throughout history itself - as a turning point in human
development?
So, I'll ask you the same question again: If the solution
is already out there, why do we need to keep coming up with
new solutions?? The answer is, of course, very simple - these
systems don't work, and the human populace is simply looking
for a non-existent quick fix to getting rid of too many late
night excursions to the local burger joint, or to the fact
they should have taken stock in beer while they were in college.
Then what does work? Human physiology.
Metabolism
Metabolism is defined as the rate at which your body processes
food. In other words, how fast your body burns calories. The
faster your metabolism, the more food you can eat without
gaining weight. How do you control your metabolism? By eating
a nutrient-dense meal every 3 to 3 ½ hours. This practice
"stokes your internal furnace", for lack of a better
analogy. Think of your body as an old-style locomotive that
had coal shoveled into the combustion chamber one shovel at
a time. If you didn't shovel in coal fast enough, the locomotive
would slow down, and your body is no different. If you don't
eat often enough, your metabolism slows down and you don't
burn through calories very quickly. In addition, not only
does your rate of calorie consumption go down, but your body
starts storing almost everything that you do eat as bodyfat!
So, in essence, every time you starve yourself in your honest
effort to "stick to your diet", you are actually
slowing down your metabolism as well as making your body more
efficient at building padding for you to sit on at baseball
games.
Muscle
"I don't care" you say. You believe that in order
to lose weight you need to starve. Okay, that's wrong, but
I'll explain why that thinking is flawed. Your body needs
energy so you can live through any given day. The amount of
energy that you need is determined by your Basal Metabolic
Rate, and by your activity level for that day. For most people,
this amounts to between 1,500 and 2,500 calories per day.
Well, if your calorie-restricted diet doesn't allow you that
many calories, your body will find a way to survive anyway.
It does this by breaking down your muscle tissue and using
it for energy. "So what?" you say. You don't care,
as long as the scale says you are losing weight, right?
What if I told you that the ONLY place on your body that
you can burn bodyfat for fuel is your muscles? What if I told
you that the more muscle tissue you lose on a calorie-restricted
diet, the fewer calories you can eat after the muscle loss?
What if I told you that after losing 20 lbs on a calorie-restricted
diet, your total bodyfat level will have dropped very little,
if at all? What if I told you that by using muscle mass for
energy, you have literally crippled your body's ability to
burn bodyfat in the future, and that by the laws of Nature
(which we can't change, by the way), you will absolutely put
the weight back on, and probably gain more weight than you
ever had before?
If I told you all of that, would you still want to burn muscle
tissue for energy while starving yourself to stick to your
diet, paying $8 a bag for Carbo Chips, and $20 a session for
Aromatic Air Baubles?
On the other hand, perhaps the laws of Nature don't apply
to you. In that case, be sure to tune in tonight - I believe
the "Lose Weight While You Eat Butter Fried Bacon"
diet is going to be featured on a new infomercial. It is,
after all, The Last Diet You Will Ever Need!
About The Author
Aaron Potts is the owner and creator of Fitness Destinations.
Aaron's experience in the health and fitness industry includes
one on one personal training in many different environments,
maintenance of several health-related websites, and authoring
of many fitness-related products for consumers and fitness
professionals. http://www.fitnessdestinations.com.
