Are you able to drop weight by starving yourself? Many individuals wonder exactly the same thing. Why should I exercise and eat healthy when I can drop weight by not eating? And most likely a lot of us have seen people who’ve stopped eating almost entirely and have lost weight. So why would you not do this if it works?
Well, let me say up front that starving yourself does lead to weight loss. And, it can be fairly effective. The reason it is so efficient is because you’re creating a huge calorie deficit between the calories you’re burning on a daily basis and the calories you’re consuming. You cannot help but drop weight whenever you do this.
Keep in mind a pound of fat is 3,500 calories. So to lose a pound a week, you have to burn 3,500 more calories in a week than you consume. My required number of calories is about 2700 per day. So, if I had been starving myself by only taking in say 1600 calories per day, I’d be making an 1100 calorie deficit per day. This would result in a 7700 calorie deficit over seven days. I’d burn a bit more than two pounds of fat a week at this rate.
Now, you will find two problems with starving your self to lose weight. First, your body will figure out extremely quickly what you’re trying. When it realizes it’s starving, it’ll adjust your hormones that regulate fat cell storage. So your entire body responds by becoming extremely effective at rationing the calories you give it and also extremely effective at storing fat. This results becuase your body assumes it’s starving.
This starving response causes your metabolic rate to slow down and burn as little calories as necessary. Therefore, whenever you begin eating normally again, your metabolism has slowed significantly. Hence, you retain even more fat than before, making it tougher to lose weight in the future. This impact has been documented in a recent study.
The second reason starving yourself is not the most weight reduction technique long-term, is the fact that you sacrifice muscle. Your body, when dealing with an calorie shortage, will break down your lean muscle mass and use it as fuel. Certainly, this is a final resort but your body doesn’t know the distinction between starving and going on a diet. It’s attempting to protect itself.
It is also well-documented through research that muscle mass burns more calories. So, when you reduce your muscle mass, you reduce your body’s ability to burn fat, now and in the future. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn up, and therefore the more pounds you shed. You reduce this fat-burning muscle mass whenever you starve your self, making it more difficult for your body to burn fat.
So, while starving yourself might work to lose weight during the short term, you do yourself a tremendous disservice by making it harder to lose weight within the future. A far safer and more efficient method to lose weight would be to follow a healthy diet plan that produces a calorie deficit, as well as an effective workout plan.
All written content is provided intended for info purposes only. This is not meant to treat or manage disease. Be certain to check with your doctor before participating in any dietary or fitness modifications or routines.