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Low Calorie Dieting
Another dieting fad that's been tried time and time again over the last
several decades is calorie control. Like any other diet, this does
work... if it's done properly. One of the biggest problems with calorie
control, though, is often the same problems we see with low fat diets: Hunger.
Most people try to restrict their calorie intake to very low amounts. The
concept is fairly valid too: Eat less calories than you use and you'll lose
weight. Some people go overboard with their calorie
restrictions though, and some people choose the wrong types of foods to eat
for their daily calorie allotment.
The first problem is with severe restrictions. You see, the human body is an
amazing thing. It can adapt to almost anything you throw at it, because its
sole purpose is to stay alive. Everything you do to your body sends it a
message, and it responds to each message appropriately. You may not understand
that it's responding to a message you sent it, though, because you may not
realize exactly what you were telling it.
When you exercise, for instance, and use your muscles more than usual, you're
telling your body you need strength. So it complies by building those muscles
for you. You end up being sore for a day or two, and this is simply an
indication that your body did what you asked of it. So, the next time you want
to use those muscles in the same way, they're more capable of complying. If
you continue to ask your body for more than it currently has available to give
you, though, it will keep improving itself to try and meet your requests. This
is why you can get stronger fairly quickly if you simply work at it.
When you drastically reduce the amount of food you're eating, though, this
tells the body that you're in a famine period. In other words, it sees that
you have very little food to eat and it assumes you may not have more anytime
soon. So it responds by lowering the amount of energy it's using for various
things. This is a reduced metabolism. This lowered energy expenditure
causes your body to maintain its fat levels instead of shedding them.
Now, you can force your body to let go of some of its extra fat, but you have
to work at it. That means doing exercises and physical activities. Since
your body is so determined to keep you alive, though, you may find that you
have to work even harder at exercising when you're on a low calorie diet.
You'll also find that you have little energy or stamina, because the body
is trying to reserve it all for you until a feast period comes along again.
The second problem with low calorie diets is again the types of foods you
choose to eat. If you're filling up your daily calorie allotment with sweets
or simple carbohydrates that don't keep your hunger at bay for very long, then
you'll find yourself hungry more often than not. Walking around hungry all
day is a sure way to keep you from sticking to your calorie restriction goals.
What's worse, though, is that when you finally do get fed up with feeling
hungry all the time, you don't just give in to temptation... you go overboard
and stuff yourself with anything and everything you can find.
As mentioned before, though, eating less calories than you use each day will help
you to lose weight. But don't go overboard and try to restrict your calories
too severely, and don't waste the calories you are allowing yourself with
foods which will leave you feeling hungry most of the day.
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