We have all been there before. You've dieted hard and you've done tons of cardiovascular activity but you step on the scales and nothing has changed. You reach the conclusion that you just can't get in shape, that you simply can't lose weight on a low calorie diet with regular exercise. Today you'll find out why this happens and how to sort it out.
The general rule for those looking to drop some pounds, of course, is to eat less calories and exercise more. However, there are thousands upon thousands of people out there who are doing too much of one thing and not enough of the other. In rare instances, you even find people who are doing too much of both things.
If your goal is to get a smaller waist and retain it, you need to avoid the common trend of coupling starvation diet tactics with a near gym addiction. Otherwise you'll find it very difficult to forge further progress and get frustrated to see others obtaining results while you stay in the same position.
We all know somebody who has fallen victim to that particular trend, due to the fact that it's often featured in celebrity magazines and pushed as the number one method to lose fat.
The reality is very different from those theories, of course. If you have ever followed one of those diets you will know that you cannot operate on a 500 calorie diet and exercise for two hours per day. You will run your body into the ground. These individuals usually go through a very specific cycle:
They drop a few pounds at first due to the sudden shock to their system. They get to a sticking point after around two weeks. After around one month, they hit a wall where they seemingly cannot lose any more no matter what they do. They begin severely restricting calories even further and increasing cardiovascular exercise even more. They get frustrated at the lack of results, quit and binge eat. They pile all of their weight back on and end up heavier than when they started their diet.
When the person finds themselves in this situation, which most of us have undoubtedly experienced at some stage or another, we falsely put the blame on our own lack of effort and begin a new routine which is largely based on the same principles as the last failed effort, except with even more stringent calorie restriction and more work on the gym floor.
How can it be possible to eat under 1000 calories per day and hit the treadmill for over two hours a night but still not lose any fat? The answer is very simple. The body isn't getting the nutrients it needs to survive, therefore it has slowed down your metabolism and prevented you from burning what little stores it has left. That's right, your body is actually stopping you from burning off any more fat.
Instead, it will feed you lean muscle and learn how to adapt to survive on a low calorie intake. Almost all of the carbohydrates and fats in everything you eat will be stored in a bid to bolster it's reserves of these all important fuels which crash diets often advise you to cut out. Long, steady state cardiovascular exercise has also been shown to have a detrimental effect on lean muscle tissue, making a severe problem even worse. Instead, switch to a short but effective HIIT routine coupled with a regular resistance training program.
The more lean muscle you can encourage in the gym, the easier you will find it to burn fat outside of the gym, too!
In terms of calories, you must first correct the issue you have created from could have been years of abuse. Slowly begin increasing your calories by around 5 percent each week until you reach a point where you can teach your body to survive on a decent portion of food each day while maintaining your present weight.
Who do you think will find it easier to lose body fat - the person eating 500 calories per day or the person eating 2000 per day? Obviously, the latter. They have more calories to play with and therefore will find results a lot easier to come by. You should never, ever be eating less than 1000 calories per day if you are regularly exercising.
It is not uncommon for people to believe they can't lose weight on a low calorie diet and blame themselves. However, it's not entirely true. The myth of 'more is better' does not apply to exercise and your body needs a healthy number of calories to enable any results at all. Starvation is not the most effective method of dieting.
The general rule for those looking to drop some pounds, of course, is to eat less calories and exercise more. However, there are thousands upon thousands of people out there who are doing too much of one thing and not enough of the other. In rare instances, you even find people who are doing too much of both things.
If your goal is to get a smaller waist and retain it, you need to avoid the common trend of coupling starvation diet tactics with a near gym addiction. Otherwise you'll find it very difficult to forge further progress and get frustrated to see others obtaining results while you stay in the same position.
We all know somebody who has fallen victim to that particular trend, due to the fact that it's often featured in celebrity magazines and pushed as the number one method to lose fat.
The reality is very different from those theories, of course. If you have ever followed one of those diets you will know that you cannot operate on a 500 calorie diet and exercise for two hours per day. You will run your body into the ground. These individuals usually go through a very specific cycle:
They drop a few pounds at first due to the sudden shock to their system. They get to a sticking point after around two weeks. After around one month, they hit a wall where they seemingly cannot lose any more no matter what they do. They begin severely restricting calories even further and increasing cardiovascular exercise even more. They get frustrated at the lack of results, quit and binge eat. They pile all of their weight back on and end up heavier than when they started their diet.
When the person finds themselves in this situation, which most of us have undoubtedly experienced at some stage or another, we falsely put the blame on our own lack of effort and begin a new routine which is largely based on the same principles as the last failed effort, except with even more stringent calorie restriction and more work on the gym floor.
How can it be possible to eat under 1000 calories per day and hit the treadmill for over two hours a night but still not lose any fat? The answer is very simple. The body isn't getting the nutrients it needs to survive, therefore it has slowed down your metabolism and prevented you from burning what little stores it has left. That's right, your body is actually stopping you from burning off any more fat.
Instead, it will feed you lean muscle and learn how to adapt to survive on a low calorie intake. Almost all of the carbohydrates and fats in everything you eat will be stored in a bid to bolster it's reserves of these all important fuels which crash diets often advise you to cut out. Long, steady state cardiovascular exercise has also been shown to have a detrimental effect on lean muscle tissue, making a severe problem even worse. Instead, switch to a short but effective HIIT routine coupled with a regular resistance training program.
The more lean muscle you can encourage in the gym, the easier you will find it to burn fat outside of the gym, too!
In terms of calories, you must first correct the issue you have created from could have been years of abuse. Slowly begin increasing your calories by around 5 percent each week until you reach a point where you can teach your body to survive on a decent portion of food each day while maintaining your present weight.
Who do you think will find it easier to lose body fat - the person eating 500 calories per day or the person eating 2000 per day? Obviously, the latter. They have more calories to play with and therefore will find results a lot easier to come by. You should never, ever be eating less than 1000 calories per day if you are regularly exercising.
It is not uncommon for people to believe they can't lose weight on a low calorie diet and blame themselves. However, it's not entirely true. The myth of 'more is better' does not apply to exercise and your body needs a healthy number of calories to enable any results at all. Starvation is not the most effective method of dieting.
