Hello, my friends! It’s that time of year again to make New Year’s resolutions. Millions of people are gearing up to lose weight and get in shape! This is great news. The bad news is that 90% of these people will attempt to lose weight the wrong way. We have been sold a lie in this country, and that lie is that we must cut our calories to lose weight. We have erroneously been told, “Calories in vs. calories out–That is all that you need to know to lose weight!”
Unfortunately, while this line of reasoning is often found in over 2,500 diet books, it could not be further from the truth. I will now touch briefly on why cutting calories or “dieting” is damaging, not only to your metabolism, but also to your health in general.
Metabolism Bombshell #1: Cutting your calories and skipping meals!
When you cut calories relative to your body’s needs, your body enters starvation mode. When your body thinks it’s starving, it releases stress hormones, which, in turn, triggers your liver to release stored carbohydrate. This release elevates your blood sugar, and what goes up must come down. When your blood sugar plummets, you get serious cravings, which usually lead to binge eating. Now be honest. How many times has this happened to you when you have tried to cut calories? This is typically what starts the yo-yo dieting bandwagon, and, ultimately, leads to disease and weight gain.
Metabolism Bombshell #2 Eating “diet foods” and pre-prepared meal plans
A plethora of pre-packaged diet plans is marketed as healthy and convenient. The problem with these foods is that they are typically highly processed. Even if they are not processed, they often are old and have low nutritional quality because they do not have the vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and enzymes that are necessary to sustain a healthy metabolism! In other words, they are nothing more than calories, and, make no mistake; your nutrition needs to be much more than just calories! You need NUTRITION, not just fuel, and when your body only gets fuel, it has to get nutrition from somewhere else. Where do you think that somewhere else is? Yep. You got it: YOU!
You must draw enzymes and other nutrients from your bodily stores, and when you do this, it leads to lethargy, irritability, and lowered metabolism! Why? Because you are literally drawing these nutrients from your muscles, organs, and other bodily tissues! Most people will just power through this process, further driving their metabolism into the ground. Keep in mind that these dietary plans further complicate your metabolism because most of them are calorically restricted (bombshell #1).
Metabolism Bombshell #3: Increasing your FAT-STORING enzymes!
When you skip just one meal or you cut calories, your body is forced to increase its production of fat-storing enzymes! Why? Because your body thinks it is in a state of starvation BECAUSE IT IS! This is nothing more than a simple survival mechanism built into your DNA. As a Holistic Coach, I have coached many people who have destroyed their metabolism by cutting calories. Keep in mind, that you WILL gain weight when you begin to eat whole foods in an adequate calorie range because your body still thinks that it is in starvation mode.
As you continue to feed your body real food in healthy quantities, your body will then begin to lose weight because it knows that the famine has ended. Isn’t it ironic that dieting actually causes fat-storage? This is still the case even if you are losing weight on the scale because your body is simultaneously burning off your hard-earned muscle while losing fat. It just so happens that you burn muscle off faster, which gives you the illusion that you are losing healthy weight. In reality, you are destroying your metabolism and killing your health.
Well, there you have it, my friends! Instead of dieting this New Year, be sure just to eat wholesome, natural foods the way your body is designed to eat!
Life is Good!
Griff