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Chapter 2: Secrets of How the Body Really WorksChapter 2: Secrets of How the Body Really Works
per day, it is a simple matter for the body to lower its metabolism by burning up
lean muscle mass to make up a calorie deficit. In our example, when your body
burns up 14 pounds of lean muscle mass, it will lower its daily metabolic
requirement from 2200 down to 1850 calories per day to matches the amount
you are eating. From your body's perspective, it has done its job perfectly,
because your daily metabolic requirement has been lowered to match the
amount you are eating, hence ensuring your survival! But if you are trying to lose
weight, this is exactly what you don’t want, because your diet has lowered your
BMR and you won't be losing any fat. Even worse, if you go back to eating 2200
calories per day like you did, you will start gaining weight!
This is a critically important concept that bears repeating. Traditional diets restrict
calories every day, creating a calorie deficit. The body responds to this calorie
deficit by burning a combination of fat and muscle, so you will lose weight at first.
However, over time the body will adjust its hormone levels and burn up its lean
muscle mass to lower its metabolism to match the number of calories you are
eating, which in turn will stop the weight loss. Thus, the more weight you lose on
a calorie restriction diet, the larger the proportion of lean muscle mass you will be
losing.
Making matters worse, after this happens your BMR has been lowered, so if you
go back to eating normally again, you will end up gaining back more weight than
you lost on the diet!
More specifically, when you are first on a calorie restriction diet, your body will
temporarily burn sugar and fat in order to make up the calorie deficit. However,
over time the mitochondria in the cells (the place where energy is actually
burned) shut down, and your metabolism is reset to a lower level. At the same
time, your production of cortisols (stress hormones) increases. When you begin
eating more again, you quickly gain back the weight - and more! - because of
your lowered metabolism and altered hormone levels.
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