If you eat more calories than you burn, you will store the excess as body fat. If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose fat. Simple mathematics, right? Well, not exactly.
Despite the fact that there are more diet programs and weight loss products available than ever before, obesity has continued to rise. There's a valid scientific reason why most diets fail dismally. Most people make the classic mistake of trying to "starve" the fat with strict diets.
If you cut out 1,000 calories per day from your maintenance level, that will add up to a 7,000-calorie deficit in one week. There are 3,500 calories in a pound of stored body fat, so in theory, there should be a loss of two pounds of fat for the week. Actual real world fat loss rarely works out with such mathematical precision. This is because of the "Starvation Response."
The Starvation Response is your body's ability to slow down your metabolism when it senses calorie deprivation. The only way to prevent your body from going into "starvation mode" would be to avoid severe calorie shortages and to not skip meals.
To understand it better let's say that you are earning $4000 a month, but your boss suddenly cuts your pay to $2,500 a month. You will try to live the same lifestyle on $2,500 a month as you did on $4,000. However, after a while, you will have to adjust and save money, and change your lifestyle.
The same is true with a calorie intake that is too low. Studies have shown that when calories are restricted, your metabolism decreases between 25-45 percent! That's a quarter to almost half of the calories you would burn in a normal day!
You may now be wondering, "If the Starvation Response is true then how do I successfully burn fat while keeping my metabolism high?" The answer is known as the Zig-Zag method. The Zig-Zag Method is a safe and very effective way to burn body fat while preserving lean body mass (muscle). To do this, you would first need to find your maintenance level by using the formula below:
Men: Maintenance = (66 + (13.7 x wt in kg) + (5 x ht in cm) - (6.8 x age)) x 1.375
Women: Maintenance = (655 + (9.6 x wt in kg) + (1.8 x ht in cm) - (4.7 x age)) x 1.375
Note:
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.
Use 1.725 instead of 1.375 if you exercise regularly
After figuring out your maintenance level, it's very easy to figure out the Zig-Zag Method. All you do is eat 1 day at your maintenance level, and then 3 days at between 400-600 calories below your maintenance level, and then repeat. For example, if my maintenance level was at 2500 calories, it would look like this:
Day 1: 2,500 calories
Day 2: 2,000 calories
Day 3: 2,000 calories
Day 4: 2,000 calories
Day 5: Repeat Day 1
If you combine this with a workout program, the fat will come off and you can be rest assured that it will be fat loss rather then water weight or even lean body mass. Furthermore, your metabolism will remain high and you will be effectively burning calories for weeks to come. So have a safe workout and happy fat burning!
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of columns focusing on health and fitness. Colananni is a senior at WC and a certified personal trainer.
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