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Article Title: Why Diets Lead to Failure
Article Author: Nathan Latvaitis
Article Copyright: 2005

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Why Diets Lead to Failure
Copyright © 2005 Nathan Latvaitis
Weight Loss Resources
http://www.weight-loss-resources.com



Ever thought of, known someone, or gone on a diet? You probably
have. The word diet seems like a common word for someone who is
unsatisfied with their current physical condition. The problem
is that most diets usually end up failing in the long run. Going
on a “diet” usually refers to eating alot less food, in the hope
that it will make us lose those unwanted pounds of fat. Although
there are different types of diets, 90% of them stress a strong
reduction in calories one way or another.

Everyone has a certain amount of calories that they require per
day to keep themselves alive, to perform their activities of
daily living, and to exercise. This requirement of calories is
known as Total Daily Energy Expenditure or TDEE for short. For
the purpose of this article, we will use my body as an example.
My TDEE is about 3500 calories/day. I will eat about 3500
calories keep myself alive, to do stuff during the day (work,
school, etc.), and to exercise. Note: You can calculate your
TDEE at:
http://www.weight-loss-resources.com/calculators/dailycalories.html

On another note, our bodies adapt to the stimuli that they are
exposed to. For instance, when one lifts weights their body
adapts by growing muscle, when one runs long distances their
bodies adapt by building more capillaries to enhance blood flow,
when one is exposed to cold temperatures their body begins to
shiver in an attempt to create heat through muscle contractions,
etc. The point is our bodies adapt to essentially everything
that they are exposed to, including how many calories we eat per
day.

So, when our bodies are exposed to a calorie deficit (a lower
number of calories than our RMR) they must adapt. Let’s say that
I want to go on a diet and I begin to eat 2000 calories a day
instead of the normal 3500. One of the first ways my body is
going to adapt is by using up my fat stores to make up for the
lack of calories. This is why most diets seem to work in the
beginning (this and also because you are losing water weight
because of the calorie deficit). The thing is, the body does not
want to keep using its precious fat stores for energy. The human
body does not see fat as a bad thing; it is a backup mechanism
for when a calorie deficit is introduced.

Now here’s the kicker. Since my body is not going to want to
keep using up its fat stores, it is going to adapt by lowering
how many calories my body needs per day to keep itself running
(TDEE). One of the main ways it accomplishes this is by eating
away at it’s own muscle, also it may lower your energy levels,
and there are other adaptions. Instead of requiring 3500
calories a day to keep my body running, my body will eventually
adapt over a period of time and only require 2000 calories to
keep running. Back when our ancestors lived they needed this
calorie adaptation to survive when food was short for long
periods of time and they were starving. The trouble is, the body
cannot tell the difference between starvation and dieting.


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Now that my body’s TDEE has adjusted to the new number of calories
that I’m are eating, it no longer needs to use its emergency fat
stores to keep itself alive. This is when your fat loss stops
from a diet. In addition to this, if I decide that I want to go
off of my 2000 calories a day diet and begin to eat 3500 calories
a day again then there is a calorie surplus. The body does not
need these extra calories so it will store them as fat. The
exception to storing them as fat is when the body needs to build
muscle because it has been exposed to some type of exercise or
weight lifting, and even then all of the calories are not used
for muscle growth.

Now that I have changed my TDEE to 2000 calories per day, I have
really wrecked my metabolism and it’s going to be harder to get
to my goal of actually losing fat. That is, unless of course If
I want to stay on my diet forever, but then I would have to
continually keep introducing a calorie deficit.

So what is the best way to lose fat without messing up my
metabolism?

A calorie deficit is required to lose weight, but eating less is
not the only way to create a calorie deficit. A safer and more
efficient way is to exercise. More detail can be found on this
in Tom Venuto’s book “Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle”, which is
located at:
http://www.weight-loss-resources.com/burnthefat.html

You can also calculate your TDEE at:
http://www.weight-loss-resources.com/calculators/rmr.html


Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only
and is not intended to replace medical advice from a physician
or health care provider.




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Nathan Latvaitis: An avid fitness researcher - helping
other people realize their goals through knowledge.
Nathan runs a fitness website <a
href="http://www.weight-loss-resources.com">Weight Loss Resources</a>
where you can find more weight loss tips, articles,
calculators, reviews, a message board, and more.
http://www.weight-loss-resources.com




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Distribution Date and Time: Thu Mar 10 01:18:51 EST 2005


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