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9 September 2011
The REAL TRUTH Behind Weight "Re-Gain":
A Tale of Two Dieters
Cliff Baker
Meet Joe and Joan. Both are trying to burn the fat and feed the muscle. Both have been successful. And then -- BAM! -- each of them experiences the wrath of the scale. Instead of dropping, it's rising.
But Joe has already finished the tough part of his diet -- he's made it to his weight-loss goal. And he's rightfully proud of that. But this unexpected weight gain -- a pound here and a pound there -- has added a little more than five pounds to his body. Not a trend he really wants to see continued.
Joan, by contrast, still has another 10 pounds to go until she reaches her desired weight. But it's that last 10 pounds that's giving her untold frustration. What the heck is going on, she wonders. She thought she was doing everything right.
Both of these individuals are suffering from a much perceived illusion. No, it's the weight gain that an illusion; the illusion lies in their view of what's happening in their life -- and more specifically in their weight-loss program.
Your body, your diet and calorie burning!
Whether they realize it or not, their bodies are basically slowing the rate at which they burn calories. It's no secret that when you decrease your caloric intake your body tries to reduce the calories you burn. We know this as the starvation mechanism. Your body believes it's "saving itself:" in an attempt to live as long as it can on as little food as possible. So what about strenuous exercise? Your body laughs and tries to sabotage your goals. And for many individuals it does an incredibly good job.
If it happens after you've reached your goals, you experience a slow regaining of the weight you worked so hard to lose. And if you're still sailing along on your diet, you find yourself stranded high on a weight-loss plateau.
The REAL TRUTH Behind The Activity Slump
And now this unbelievable phenomenon has just been proven by a recent study in the professional journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Researchers discovered beyond a shadow of a doubt that this automatic decrease in your activity is directly linked to that weight you've regained.
It's really quite simple. Eat less -- as is the standard diet advice -- and your body reacts instinctively by slowing down. In layman's terms, you just don't have that same motivation to exercise. And when you do perform some activity, you do it with much less enthusiasm and certainly less intensity.
At this point, the heroes of our story are throwing up their hands in disgust. "Are you telling me that I've reached my limit in losing weight," Joan asks staring down at what she considers her less than perfect body.
"I'm doomed," Joe says with sadness in his eyes, "to watch myself gain weight."
And I'm here to tell you that's a no -- a resounding no -- on both counts. You don't have to surrender to this situation. The key? According to Tom Vento, professional bodybuilder and author of the amazing book, The Body Fat Solution and the eBook, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, you need to "not only keep up a high level of energy expenditure (BURN calories not just cut them), but also to make a conscious effort to make sure your activity level does not drop as you lose weight during the calorie deficit."
Sounds easy when he says it, doesn't it. But avoiding weight re-gain can be a very tricky proposition. Just remember the less you eat, the less your body feels like moving, To make sure you burn the fat, feed the muscle and either lose the rest of that weight, like our friend Joan, or keep your hard-earned ideal weight like Joe, constantly objectively monitor your level of physical activity.
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