Just because we live in the age where food is at our fingertips we think we are well fed and well nourished.
Unfortunately, one does not equate into the other because many of the easily obtainable and readily available foods are fast foods and convenience foods. These preserved convenience foods can sit on a shelf for weeks…or months making them the go-to for snack breaks or quick meals for those that have not prepared ahead of time.
Dangerous Starvation Dieting
If you are dieting and believe that starving yourself is the quick route to weight/fat loss, you’re in for a big surprise.
Truth is, dieting complicates things even more by forcing our our already stressed, nutrient poor bodies on a severely reduced calorie diet. All this does is place our bodies into a low-energy environment – starving our already starving cells more.
Forcing the body into a low-energy environment…one that is designed to mimic famine or dieting gives the body unhealthy signals. It shouts “survival mode” loud and clear causing our bodies to slow down metabolically and energetically – any kind of extra physical activity becomes difficult to perform.
Our body simply does not want to do it. Our once healthy, balanced metabolism is no longer the fat burning machine it was, we begin to feel sluggish and run down.
If we do finally muster enough motivation to exercise we won’t challenge ourselves but perform easy “low intensity” exercises that do nothing to aid with fat-burning or metabolism.
The reality is, the body simply cannot tell the difference between starving and dieting…it reacts to both situations the same way.
Damaging Yo-yo Dieting
This low energy state is not a happy place to be. It opens the door to yo-yo dieting as you become a reluctant member of the repeating weight loss/weight gain club becoming more miserable and frustrated every day.
You have now entered that extremely frustrating weight-gain merry-go-round” where you’ll stay until some serious lifestyle changes…in regards to eating habits and exercise regime have been adopted.
Experiential studies reveal that when body cells are starved certain genes become activated in a way as to defend stored body fat. And, your fat-storing/fat burning hormones cortisol and insulin both give signals to your body to turn on the “fat storing” switch” regardless of how many calories you consumed. In fact, they are actually capable of turning the human body into a top notch fat storing machine.
Exactly the opposite of what you are trying to achieve with your diet.
Bottom line is…your body becomes a fat-storing mega monster when you starve it.
The only way to combat arriving in the low-energy state when dieting is to have a basic understanding from the start of your diet that it’s the body’s hormones not the calories that are the main players in the weight-loss show.
You simply cannot starve away excess fat and when you try to the body’s barriers come up, it defends itself and it works very hard to make fat loss nearly impossible.
You’ll need to take your body from a low-energy state to a high-energy state…one of vitality… one in which you are eating nutrient rich healthy foods (not the convenient quick fix toxic preserved shelf foods), along with getting proper exercise (both muscle building and maintaining), building strength, becoming fitter and burning more fat.
In other words, you’ll need to be deliberate with your eating and diet in such a way as to give the body everything it needs to create a high level of health so it can re-balance its fat burning/fat storing hormones.
Only then will the weight start to come off and stay off.
The key is to choose a variety of foods that are natures finest (foods grown locally and in season are best because they don’t have to travel far) – whole brightly colored fruits and veggies along with high quality proteins, fats, nuts, seeds and grains.
Even desserts and treats can be healthy and offer the essential nutrients your body needs to operate efficiently.
Pick up your personal copy of “Blended Bites” where even veggies can play a starring role in many of your favorite desserts or treats.
For more tools and resources from Carolyn Hansen to assist you in attaining your health and fitness goals and achieving the success you desire in life, please visit:
