Scott Markey | Downtown News

A major problem I see all too frequently these days is with the way people decide to diet. Too many people think of dieting as a matter of “all or nothing.” But when it comes to losing the maximum body fat in the minimum time and in the safest way possible, this is not the proper way to go about it.

Losing unwanted fat involves restricting caloric intake (dieting) or increasing your caloric expenditure through physical activity (exercise), or preferably, a combination of both.

It is important to note that dieting works effectively only within certain limits. Taken past those limits – as in the near-starvation crash diets that many frustrated dieters resort to – the results are probably going to be disappointing and the overall affect on the health and metabolic processes of the body potentially harmful and even dangerous.

The most frequent problem I see with crash dieters today is that they take in so little protein they begin to waste their lean body muscle tissue away.

They end up losing large amounts of fluid and muscle and only a relatively small amount of fat, so even though their diets produce a loss of overall body mass, most of this weight loss actually comes at the expense of skeletal muscle.

Once the diet is over, it is hard to put that lost muscle mass back on and relatively easy to regain fat weight, so crash dieters end up in the “yo-yo” syndrome, losing more muscle and replacing it with more fat after each successive diet. At the end of several diet attempts, the result is usually that they weigh about the same but the relative amount of fat on their bodies is much higher.

Crash dieting, in other words, ends up making you fatter than you were before the diet!

Another problem is that a limited intake of calories convinces the body that it’s faced with starvation. Throughout human existence, when food was scarce, the human metabolism evolved to cope with this limited food situation and the body shifted into a mode where the absolute minimum amount of energy was expended. In this case, achieving any significant fat loss becomes difficult if not impossible when the body refuses to burn up fat stored in the tissue for energy.

This can also be referred to as the “fight or flight” mode, a self-protective mode that occurs when the human body is not getting enough quality nutrition and resorts to living off of itself and the ability to expend energy shuts down. In cases of severe caloric and nutritional deprivation, the body goes into a starvation mode in which the metabolism is extremely suppressed, everything slows down, and your body goes into a relative metabolic hypothyroid state.

This is exactly what you do not want! If this deficit of caloric intake continues long enough, the body becomes lethargic and fatigued. There is also muscle-wasting as the body begins to obtain more of its energy from its own lean body mass. There are a host of other health-related problems that also go along with this. Just as the lack of protein can accelerate the process of muscle wasting, lack of adequate amounts of carbohydrates can also have serious, detrimental affects on the body, especially for the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system.

Remember that the energy to fuel your workouts either comes from carbohydrates or fats. Dieters who have lowered their carbohydrate intake below a minimum level, or who have cut carbohydrates entirely out of their diets, go into a state of deep ketosis, which can make you feel ill and nauseous and contribute to a number of potentially serious medical complications.

For example, the primary energy source for brain function is carbohydrates and without adequate amounts available, this can bring on some mental impairment. I can tell you this from personal experience when I myself have dieted to extremely low body fat levels, and my carbohydrates were severely restricted, it would affect my mood level as well as make me extremely forgetful. I can remember times I would leave the gym and forget where I even parked my car!

Needless to say, you cannot restrict your fat or carbohydrates too much. Your goal should be a loss of around two pounds a week. This way you will be burning mostly fat and you will not be burning up your hard-earned muscle.

You will also feel so much healthier. By doing it this way you are also less prone to yo-yo dieting, as your body can slowly adjust to your caloric restrictions.

So take it slow. “Baby Steps” I always say. Your mind as well as your body will thank you for it later. Feel free to e-mail me some of your success stories.

Scott Markey has over 25 years in the Fitness and Health industry. He has graced dozens of magazines covers and specializes in physique management, training, and nutritional consultation. You can find him at PureFitness Downtown, on Facebook or reach him at [email protected].