We all dream of that ideal figure and aim to fit into a smaller dress size. We’ve tried everything but it was ineffective. And then we think starving ourselves is the best way to reach the goal. Familiar?
A number of our VLF ladies deliberately skip dinner after an intense workout session with us, as they’re afraid of putting back on the calories which they’d worked so hard for to lose. Which is why we feel the need for this piece of advice.
You have to understand that if you starve and don’t get enough calories, your body goes into starvation mode. Why? Because your empty stomach sends a message or a signal to your cells to conserve energy if food doesn’t arrive.
Starvation mode implies that your body reduce calories out in an attempt to restore energy balance and stop you from losing anymore body fat, even in the face of continued calorie restriction.
Eating less doesn’t create the need to burn body fat. It creates the need for the body to slow down. Our body then hangs on to body fat and burns muscle tissue, which is one of the contributing factors to obesity.
Why does our body hang on to body fat and burn muscle? Our metabolism requires more stored energy when it thinks we’re starving. A great source of stored energy is body fat. Hence, when our metabolism thinks we’re starving, it holds on to body fat.
When we starve, our metabolism requires less tissue, which burns a lot of calories. Muscle tissue burns a lot of calories. So, when our metabolism thinks we’re starving, it purges the calorie-hungry muscle tissue. If you experience weight loss because of starving yourself, it would usually be because you’re burning muscle and not body fat.
Burning muscle means that starving ourselves will lead to more body fat being stored, not being burned. As soon as we stop starving ourselves, we have all the calories we used to have but need less of, thanks to all that missing muscle and our slowed down metabolism. Our metabolism now sees eating a normal amount as overeating and creates new body fat.
Most women claim to have a sound diet, but this usually ends up being in the form of a starvation diet. It probably includes skipping breakfast, eating a fruit or salad at lunch and one slice of cheese for dinner if you are lucky. Hate to break this to you, but you will not be able to sustain this long-term, and your weight will only come back, only double this time. Yes, DOUBLE!
The key to losing body fat correctly and keeping the weight off is to exercise regularly and eat healthily, not insufficiently. Your body is like a car. It needs fuel to run. But give it a low grade crappy fuel and it won’t run as smoothly as it should. So ladies, remember to incorporate a balanced diet into your existing lifestyle. Make sure that your meals include enough carbs, protein, fibre and healthy fats.
Training-wise, you know we’ve got you sorted.
Book a class with us today.
