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How many of us have wanted to drop a quick 5, 10 or 20 lbs, in a few days? Most of us have wanted to be ready for that beach trip, fit into that old tux or look great for a hot date or high school reunion. We figure, “I will cut out breakfast, have a shake for lunch, eat a small dinner, drink lots of water and diet coke to make it through until I look hot!” Great plan, right? WRONG! Anytime you lose weight by severely limiting your calories you are giving yourself a false sense of accomplishment…a false sense of success. In fact, you are actually setting yourself up for more weight loss difficulties in the future.
When we initially start losing weight, what we are losing is not all fat. In fact, some of what we are losing is exactly what we do NOT want to lose. When we crash diet or starve ourselves, we lose some fat (YEAH!), but we also lose water and some muscle (BOO!). Muscle loss is bad because muscle burns calories keeping our metabolisms higher (a higher metabolism means a slimmer you). When we lose muscle mass through inactivity or crash dieting, (eating only cabbage soup or grapefruits, or ready made shakes) we set ourselves up for a return of the weight when normal eating is resumed.
In addition, when we severely restrict calories, we activate our bodies to produce lipogenic enzymes. These enzymes protect us from starvation by prompting us to store fat. So at the end of our diet, we may move towards a heavier than pre-diet weight due to less muscle burning calories for us, but also due to more lypogenic (fat storing) enzymes circulating in our systems. Success ended.
But there is a solution. It requires changing your diet, your habits and most importantly your thinking. An easy process? Perhaps not. It takes time, planning, knowledge and the decision to be fit and healthy. But it can be done. A body worth having is a body worth working on and taking care of.
Keep these tips in mind when trying to lose weight:
Think positive- (know you will succeed)
Plan ahead (make a plan- stick to it-don’t wait until one week before you want to be at a goal weight to start working towards it)
Modify your environment (eliminate junk food from your sight, pack healthy)
Increase your activity level during the day- (inside and outside the gym)
Eat moderately (smaller portions if you tend to over do it)
Eat regularly (don’t skip meals)
Eat during the day (don’t save it all up for dinner)
Eat lower fat foods (self explanatory)
Seek support (from friends, family, a trainer, a coach)
Be patient- (lasting change takes time)
Author: Audrae Hughes is a Certified Personal Trainer at the Gym of Buckhead. She can be reached via email at audrae@gymofbuckhead.net and you can review her bio here.
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