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Fat Loss
Fat Loss
The Ultimate Formula For Body Fat Loss
When studying fat loss, the observed increase or decrease in body weight after bouts of over feeding or under feeding is less than what is predicted by simple energy balance. This highlights the fact that the body somehow regulates its weight when there are changes in energy intake. This may lead us to know to keep weight under control in the long run.
To control obesity, the norm is a hypo caloric or low-calorie diet. This assumes that obesity is caused by hypo caloric or high calorie consumption, and that fat loss or weight reduction can be achieved by reducing calories. However, most people who lose weight by restricting calories experience a relapse not as a consequence of hyper phagia (overeating) but as a routine when even reasonable caloric intake is resumed following a weight loss. This is because the body considers the periods of caloric reduction as starvation, so that when normal consumption is resumed, the body replenishes its fat stores. This bio-chemical reaction can also be used to get big muscles.
When you restrict calorie consumption for fat loss, the pattern of
energy metabolism and substrate utilization changes and it favors weight
gain when normal caloric consumption is resumed. The same is observed
in protein sparing low calorie diets. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is
the largest component of energy expenditure and this is dependent on
the lean body mass (LBM). Thus, when weight is lost by reducing calories
and fat loss, the body's energy requirement is also reduced. Now when
a normal diet is resumed, it results in positive energy balance and
weight gain. The net result is to return to the original body weight
or slightly above, and at a higher body fat percentage. So instead of
'get big muscles' it becomes 'get more fat'.
get big muscles whiles you lose fat
This attempt at fat loss is referred to as yo-yo dieting. Hypo caloric
consumption increases the activity of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) which
is the key enzyme that regulates fat storage. When body weight returns
to its pre-dieting level, LPL activity also returns to normal. In addition,
caloric restriction decreases the thermic effect of food (TEF) and the
amount of food energy that is wasted as heat. During under-feeding,
TEF is reduced and food efficiency is increased. This also contributes
to obesity relapse following low calorie diets. Lastly, hypo caloric
diets also decrease the level of thyroid hormones (specifically T3)
and this further decreases basal metabolic rate.
To summarize it all, theoretical hypo caloric diets fail in the treatment of obesity or fat loss in 90-95% of cases. While obesity is associated with large consumption of calories - this is not so. If caloric intake is reduced, changes in hormones, enzymes, nervous system activity and body composition occur so as to compensate and try to recover the original steady state. Therefore, it would be better to consider that body weight and body composition are homeo statically regulated akin to other parameters of body function. The correct way to manage obesity and ensure fat loss requires changing the steady state that the body tries to maintain. Fat loss cannot be achieved by reducing energy intake and setting into motion the compensatory mechanisms of the body.
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