Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine October 2018 | Page 14

What’s the Problem with Crash / Fad Dieting? By: Louie Robinson, DC [email protected] Clear Creek Chiropractic Center T he major problems with crash and fad diets are that they are short term, they typically only effect over all weight and do not specifically target fat mass, and they usually have the reverse effect after the diet is over. Any truly successful diet is going to be a long-term change of lifestyle. If you are unhappy with your current weight or size, you must realize the way you live caused those results. No short term 2 to 3 week diet where you lose a significant amount of your excess weight, is going to change the habits that got you there in the first place. Therefore, you need a long-term change to make sure the goals you are trying to reach stick. before the diet. This is why you seem to gain weight quicker after stopping a diet. Also, now your muscle mass is lower, and your fat mass is higher than before the diet, even if you only get back to your previous weight. If weight loss is your goal, your best bet is a long-term change in lifestyle. This does not have to happen overnight. You can make one or two changes and build on those over time. Making a few daily good habits and decisions will help you become more motivated and easier to live an even more healthy lifestyle going forward. Diets which sharply decrease caloric intake for weight loss, are typically very effective early on. However, when your body is starving for energy the first place it goes is to the protein stores. Specifically, your muscle mass. Protein is easy to break down and create energy, therefore your body is going to go here first. Fat breakdown is a slower process which takes more energy and also depletes your body’s natural energy reserves. If your body thinks its starving, it’s going to try and stay away from breaking down your fat storage, so it has plenty of reserves in case you’re starving for a long period of time. Therefore, most of the weight loss you see is going to be lean muscle mass. The last issue is twofold. First, you have decreased you lean muscle mass. This decreases the amount of energy you need to move around and therefore the calories you burn everyday moving normally. Second your body, when it is starving, decreases its basal metabolic rate. Meaning the calories your body burns throughout the day for metabolism and maintaining its body temperature etc., is now lower as well. So, if you return to your previous dietary habits your calorie surplus is now higher than 13 MOMENTUM / October 2018 CLICK HERE to learn more