Why Fad Diets Will Damage Your Metabolism And Slow Down Your Weight Loss

By Russ Howe


Most people have struggled with weight loss at one stage or another in their lifetime. If you have ever followed a strict diet and workout program yet had the feeling that you simply can't lose weight no matter what you do, you are not alone.

In fact, when you begin to understand the breakdown of the science behind this issue you will start seeing noticeable results in a very short space of time, starting with feeling better and eventually resulting in consistent fat loss. []

If we think hard, we are probably all able to name someone in our lives who has had difficulty losing weight. One of the causes could be metabolic damage, which we are going to look at today. This condition is shockingly common in today's looks driven society, thanks to the popularity of fad diets and quick fixes. The following two things are usually associated with individuals suffering from metabolic damage:

1. Constantly following a low calorie diet.

2. Performing tons of cardiovascular exercise.

Almost every individual who has damaged their metabolism as a result of trying to shed body fat follow at least one of the two things listed above. Let's take a deeper look into each factor so you can determine whether this issue has happened to you.

The main problem which causes metabolic damage is a poorly structured diet. If you follow a very restrictive, low calorie diet for a long period of time your body begins to adapt by slowing it's metabolism in a bid to prevent you from burning off what little nutrients it has available to use. It's not bothered about losing body fat, it simply wants to keep you alive. So despite eating very little, you will find it near impossible to shed any more fat. This particular issue affects many people, particularly women, who buy into the myths promoted by celebrity fad diets and glossy magazines.

It also usually corresponds with a very long cardiovascular program in the gym. It's common to hear ladies talking about spending an hour or more running on the treadmill each day while following this type of diet in a bid to lose fat.

Your body has reacted negatively to this routine and is simply fighting to keep your bodily systems functioning. It does this by taking over and preventing you from doing any further damage to yourself.

What usually happens here is the individual gets frustrated before completely quitting. When they do this, they suddenly binge on junk foods and then pile a lot of weight back on because their body has adapted to a very low calorie diet, so it doesn't know how to handle the sudden jump in the opposite direction. This is why many people who follow these fad diets tend to end up heavier in the long term.

From this point, the person feels the need to get back on their diet except this time they want to punish themselves for slipping off the rails, so they restrict calories even further and workout for even longer than before. This causes further damage.

So how do you fix this issue?

It's a simple case of eating more food. That might sound too simple, and perhaps it is. You need to teach your body how to maintain it's weight while eating more food and to do this you should increase your daily calorie intake. Of course, this doesn't mean simply doubling your food as this would do just as much damage to your metabolism as suddenly cutting food down. Instead, try increasing your calorie intake by around 5% per week until you feel you are at a level where you can maintain your present weight despite eating considerably more food.

The most important message is to be patient in doing this. It's very easy to resolve, but the main issue is that metabolic damage tends to occur to those who are looking for quick fix weight loss solutions and therefore these individuals tend to expect the solution to be a quick fix, too. If you can't lose weight you now know what symptoms to look for. If you have damaged your metabolic rate due to a haphazard approach to dieting in the past, it is time to correct the issue.




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