Think you just have to “diet harder” to lose weight successfully?
1. Wants to lose weight
2. Cuts calories, food groups, or macros
3. Follows diet loses weight
4. Motivation wanes, a party here, a vacation there
5. Weight rebounds past starting weight
Sound like you’re experience? It’s common. And, depending on how many times you’ve repeated the cycle, it becomes harder and harder to lose weight. You’ll go to farther and farther extremes to see loss.
No one told you about the importance of the diet after the diet.
Recognize is that the metabolism is flexible. It speeds up or slows down depending on several factors. Drastically slashing your calorie intake will produce weight loss – at a cost.
The body will slow down non-essential functions to keep the essential ones going. Since fuel sources are low it preserves energy to keep the heart beating, brain firing, lungs breathing. And, at the same time, depending on how drastic your weight loss measures: lean muscle mass will be burned for fuel, overall metabolic rate will slow down, and your energy (and motivation!) to move more will tank. It becomes harder and harder to maintain the weight loss you’ve achieved because your metabolism has adjusted down to a new, lower intake.
You blink and you’ve put back on the weight you lost!
The alternative? Instead of launching calories up overnight (intentionally or not!) after your weight loss attempt, bump them up slowly in step-wise fashion.
The more calories you eat, the higher your metabolism. So think about letting your metabolism “catch up” to your intake by inching your calories up slowly over time. This gives your body time to adjust to hire calories.
The results?
– maintain your weight loss over time
– improve your metabolic rate after dieting
– set yourself up nicely (and safely!) for another attempt to lose weight if you have a lot to lose
