Avoid This Killer Weight Regain Mistake
by Tom Venuto,
NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
If you want to burn off fat and keep it off permanently,
there are a few things you absolutely must do, and
a new study from Wake Forest University has just uncovered
another one…
Previous research has concluded without a shred of
doubt that high levels of exercise are one of the
keys to keeping fat off and maintaining your ideal
weight. In this new study just published in the October
2008 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,
researchers found for the first time, proof that the
drop in physical activity that happens automatically
during calorie restriction is directly correlated
to weight regain.
We’ve known for some time that when you restrict
calories, your level of non exercise physical activity
(non exercise activity thermogenesis or NEAT), drops
spontaneously, even if you don’t realize it’s
happening.
Your physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE)
also tends to drop when you restrict calories.
Basically, when you cut calories, you get sluggish,
you move your body less, you don’t feel like
exercising and if you do exercise, you do it with
with less “gusto.”
This means that unless you intentionally counter
this tendency by pushing yourself to keep active and
keep up the intensity, despite your low calorie intake,
your weight loss will slow down automatically as you
continue with caloric restriction. (can you say, “fat
loss plateau?”)
The new twist to this story is that in this latest
study the researchers followed up on the subjects
through the maintenance period - with 6 month and
12 month checkups.
This is significant, because most fat loss “success
stories” are reported immediately after the
weight loss phase, but you never know what happened
to them afterwards.
Not surprisingly, it wasn’t much of a “maintanence”
period… almost everyone regained most of the
weight.
The surprise was WHY they regained back the weight
and WHO regained the most…
The drop in physical activity during the diet was
directly related to the weight regain after the diet!
The researchers wrote,
“The greater the decrease in physical activity
energy expenditure (PAEE) during the energy deficit,
the greater the weight gain during the follow up.”
“That won’t happen to me,” you
say? Think again. That drop in activity usually happens
unconsciously. It’s part of the “starvation
response” (or “weight-regulating mechanism”
if you prefer). Your body tricks you in countless
ways, in order to restore energy balance and stabilize
your weight.
If you believe that diet alone is the answer or that
you can skimp on the training, you are shooting yourself
in the foot and thinking short-term.
When you extend out your time frame to a year or
longer, you get a whole new perspective.
For years, I have been imploring my readers and subscribers
to “burn the fat” with higher levels of
exercise - strength training AND cardio training -
while “feeding the muscle” with a higher
intake of clean food, instead of simply “starving
the fat” with low calorie diets and little or
no exercise.
“Eat More, Burn More”… “BURN
The fat FEED the muscle.” those are the mottos
you want to remember.
Can you lose weight without exercise? Of course.
Just be sure you have a dietary-induced calorie deficit.
Is it the best way? Not by a long shot.
Bottom line: If you want to MAXIMIZE your fat loss,
and keep fat off permanently, it is imperative not
only to keep up a high level of energy expenditure
(BURN calories not just cut them), but also to make
a conscious effort to make sure your activity level
does not drop as you lose weight during the calorie
deficit.
If you’d like to learn more about this effective
and proven approach to fat loss: “eat more,
burn more,” then please visit my “Burn
The Fat” website at www.BurnTheFat.com
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About the Author:
Tom Venuto
is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer
and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of
"Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which
teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements
using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and
fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat
and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com
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