I am very out of shape. I am out of shape because of a lack of discipline and a love for food. Over the years, there have been times when I was actually in good shape. I used to lift weights quite a bit and I even ran. I have even had some times where I have studied a little regarding weight training and fitness, etc. One thing that I have learned (but haven't yet applied) is that "dieting" doesn't work. When I say "dieting" I mean cutting calories and eating less and less in order to lose weight. It doesn't work because of the way that God, in His wisdom, has designed us. I have been skimming a book entitled, "Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle." Nice title, huh. Anyway, here's what the author, Tom Venuto, says about traditional low-carlorie diets:
"Most people are dead wrong in the way they diet to lose body fat. Almost every conventional diet program ever conceived has one thing in common: Extremely low calories. Nearly all of these low calorie diets produce weight loss in the beginning. The problem is, none of them work for long – it’s physiologically impossible to lose fat permanently by starving yourself. The human body is simply too
“smart” for this to ever work. When you starve the fat, you also starve the muscle. When you starve the muscle, you lose muscle along with the fat. When you lose muscle, your metabolism slows down and your body enters the “starvation mode.” When your body enters starvation mode, fat loss comes to a screeching halt as your body tries to conserve its energy. When the fat loss stops, you either give up (and gain back the fat you lost), or you grit your teeth and drop your calories (starve yourself) even more. If you drop your calories even more, your metabolism slows down even more. And if your metabolism slows down even more, fat loss comes to a screeching halt again. Eventually, you always end up throwing in the towel because you can’t keep dropping your calories forever. It’s a vicious cycle. You just can’t win the very-low-calorie-diet game."
Here are some quotes from others that are knowledgeable in this field:
"Dieting is not effective in controlling weight. You can get a temporary weight loss
with a diet, but each scheme ultimately gives way to weight gain, and subsequent losses become increasingly difficult. Worst of all, you get progressively fatter on less food. Dieting actually makes you fatter!”
-Dr. Lawrence Lamb, Author of "The Weighting Game: The truth about weight control.”
"Cutting calories backfires. The more you cut, the more your body fights to hold onto
its fat stores as reducing calories signals the “starvation response” where the body tries to “survive” and hold onto its calorie reservoir known as fat.”
- Chris Aceto, author of “Everything you need to know about fat loss.”
This has been my experience exactly. The thing that strikes me, though, is that hardly anyone understands this. How many people do we know that are on some sort of "diet" where they try to lose weight by eating less. I thought I would post this here because it is not only helpful to us, but more importantly, it glorifies God. God has designed the human body so that if we start to eat less then our body automaticlly "knows" that it needs to slow down it's metabolic rate in order to conserve the energy provided by the food that has been taken in prior to the reduction in caloric intake. It amazes me that many of these people that
do understand it refuse to give the glory to God. Rather, it is some sort of evolutionary characteristic of the "fittest". Anyway, praise God for the "starvation response". Now that you have this important information, use it wisely.
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. (Psalm 139:13-14)
