Why Dieting Will Make You Fat
There are some obvious reasons why a diet where you deprive yourself of necessary calories and nutrients will make you fat.
First, as we discussed on Friday, reducing calories will reduce your metabolism. Less fuel means less fuel to burn, and you are not burning as many calories chewing and digesting your food (the thermic effect of eating). Also, your body reduces it’s metabolic rate to prepare for starvation, and starts to consume muscle for energy.
This reduced muscle mass is the second reason that dieting makes you fat. Your body conserves fat due to inadequate food intake, and instead burns muscle.
Third, the very concept of a diet is a temporary concept. I go on a diet to lose weight, which means that once I have lost weight, I can stop my diet. I can go back to eating as I did before.
And that’s the final reason why dieting will make you fat. You go on a reduced calorie diet, and your metabolism slows down. Then your diet finishes, your body is now used to it’s slower metabolic rate, so when you start eating more, your body doesn’t burn it, it simply stores it as fat.
If dieting makes us fat, does that mean counting calories is a waste of time?
Check back tomorrow for the answer.