Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Weird weight loss fact: Eating can help you lose weight (for real!)


 A friend just shared an interesting tidbit that confirms a weird but true thing I've found in weight loss: eating can make you lose weight. And conversely, eating too little can keep you overweight or make you gain. It's down to a little thing called metabolism (something I've been battling to boost since getting sick with Covid 19 in May). Part of how I lost 100 pounds (without gastric bypass) is by eating. I'll explain. 

Eat This Not That has been exploring eating plans like intermittent fasting such as the 5:2 Diet and calorie restricting ones like the 1200 calorie diet (made famous by reality TV gastric bypass surgeon Dr. Now of "My 600-lb Life.") The consensus is (and what my friend and I found in our weight loss experiences) was that when you get too hungry, as in extreme calorie restricting or intermittent fasting, your metabolism slows. 

Your body knows it needs food to survive. As one doc pointed out in a recent Eat This, Not That article was that your body actually doesn't like it when you lose weight, even if you are overweight. So your body says, "whoa, she's not eating enough. We gotta conserve fat here!" This happens even with obesity such as people suffer with on "My 600-lb Life." That's why "My 600-lb Life" Dr. Now recommends a 1200 calorie diet vs. intermittent fasting. The trick to weigh loss is moderate calorie restricting. 

I know I've discussed this before but undereating (stalling metabolism, etc.) is a trap folks looking to lose weight fall into. It's self-defeating because we get discouraged at weight loss fail and quit the diet. And extreme hunger zaps resources. In my 100 pound weight loss, I made this mistake. So now, in maintenance dieting, to avoid getting overweight again, I use the 1200 calorie diet. 

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