Following on from my previous 2 Articles
(1) "If you want to lose the belly Stop restricting calories" &
(2) "Why you should stop worrying about calories if you want to be healthy & in shape"
This article looks at why
"EATING LESS CALORIES DOES NOT NECESSARILY RESULT IN YOUR BODY BURNING MORE FAT"
In fact it results in your body slowing down the release of fat for energy in order to preserve itself.
The continual lowering of calories will then result in the loss of lean muscle tissue.
This will be the weight loss you will be witnessing on the scales & this is what results in an even further declined metabolism – reduced functional longevity - increased cortisol release & further fat storage around your ‘belly area’.
Why does our body burn muscle for energy & not fat ?
Because when our body senses that it is starving and not receiving enough energy to sustain its functions effectively it wants to rid itself of Lean Muscle tissue - which expends more energy and requires more calories to sustain and instead hold onto the Fat for survival
This then leads to the next major problem -
“Fat Super Accumulation”
Once we have hit this point and our body has gone into a defensive protective mode it will now do everything to protect it starving in the future.
Therefore when you do start to increase your calorie intake, or maybe have a weekend splurge or even if you simply revert back to eating the same calories as before, your body will now increase the storage of these calories to fat to protect itself and this is what results in the rebound weight gain & that stubborn fat storage that will never leave the belly despite all of your calorie counting and cutting efforts.
This “Fat Super Accumulation” combined with increased cortisol, increased leptin insensitivity and declined hormones (which all come about from restricting energy on an already tired & struggling body) results in a body that is -
‘VERY RESISTANT TO EVER LOSING FAT’
Now whilst your body is in this super defensive and protective mode lets now consider the next step that most men will take aside from cutting further calories -
‘EXERCISING MORE’
EXERCISE IS A STRESS ON THE BODY –
Stress is sometimes good. We require a stressor to elicit a demand for the body to change.
However the body needs to be healthy and strong enough that this stress becomes a STIMULUS for change – and not just an added STRESS on an already tired & overstressed body.
Stress in any form if it is not managed will cause elevated Cortisol levels, increased inflammation & total hormonal dysregulation.
If your body is already sensing that it is under stress and strain from not being provided enough calories and nutrients and now you also impose a further added stress with
' excessive exercise '
(this can be excessive in the form of too much High Intensity for you HIIT and Crossfit junkies! –
or too Long endurance with excessive long weekend 100 Mile Bike rides for you weekend bike warriors -
or maybe just too frequent with possibly exercising or running everyday with no thought to rest & recovery)
Then our body which has already entered the “Fat Super Accumulation” mode will once again increase its efforts to store more fat and prevent you burning it in order to protect itself.
It will once again do this by decreasing your male anabolic hormones such as Testosterone & Growth Hormone and lowering your metabolism and releasing more fat storing hormones and stress hormones that will prevent you achieving your Goals
What do you do next -
You probably restrict even more calories again because you are not getting the results you want, possibly eliminate carbohydrates*
(a whole new story about why you should not do this!)*
so that when you do step on the scales you can see the weight loss that you are craving.
However if you do witness weight loss then due to all of the reasons listed above this is now muscle loss that you are witnessing.
This is now your body preserving its Fat storage and ridding you of valuable Lean Tissue.
The reality is that before long the weight loss also stops – weight gain rebounds as your metabolism is lower than ever and the fat around your stomach has not disappeared.
Instead you just have less muscle, less bone density, less than optimal hormones, a less healthy body and are prone to future Fat storage
If you do not understand and pay attention to the fact that -
‘WEIGHT LOSS’ doesn’t necessarily mean FAT LOSS
CALORIES are not all equal & you cannot simply cut calories without paying attention to inputting enough nutrients for your body’s requirements
EXERCISE – ‘ DURATION – INTENSITY & VOLUME ‘ has to be managed effectively to create a stimulus and not just a stress on your body
AND
FAT LOSS IS REGULATED BY YOUR HORMONES - NOT SIMPLY ELIMINATING CALORIES AND LOOKING AT THE SCALES TO SHOW A SMALLER NUMBER
Without understanding these facts you will never create the Strong, Healthy Body that you want and a successful Body Transformation
In my next & final Article on this feature I am going to pull together all of the information I have provided over the last 3 Articles and provide you ' Every Reason ' that you are not achieving the long term success that you want and every solution to these problems
Alternatively you can simply hire a Professional Coach to take care of all of these strategies so that you do not need to worry!