Is Starving Good for Weight Loss?
Eating is a must!
Are you starving to lose weight? In today’s world we want that instant result. Whether it’s an instant change to our weight, movies on demand, or fast food. There are multiple different ways to support healthy weight loss including dietary changes, exercise, and supplements. Weight loss occurs when you burn more calories than you consume however, cutting too many calories will have the opposite effect to the final goal and will stall efforts.
What happens to your body when you starve yourself can cause harm. While burning fat, it also decreases the lean muscle, can cause bone weakening, and impact your health negatively. If you understand what resting metabolic rate is it can become easier to see what is occurring. Meaning if you drastically cut your calories from 4000 to 1000 your energy and resting metabolic rate will drop. This will make your body go into survival energy saving mode. Your body is fueled by glucose, sugar molecule we get from eating. Starving to lose weight will make your body go into starvation mode. The body will ultimately get the source that it needs to keep your brain running and will break down muscle tissue to get the amino aides that are stored there to convert them to energy.
When you break down enough muscle the resting metabolic rate will drop more. An old saying, “Fat burns in the flame of carbohydrate” meaning that your body needs carbohydrates to move the fatty acids into the powerhouse, mitochondria, f there are no carbohydrates or carbohydrates to burn the body will not function appropriately. Research shows that lean mass and lean muscle mass are sacrificed during starvation but body fat stores are relatively the same. The body is more susceptible to replenishing fat loss afterward.
Eating the right way is a must!
Some important hints to help when cutting back calories to prevent starving while on a weight loss plan:
- Eat small frequent meals
- Don’t forget your snacks throughout the day
- “Start the day like a king and end the day like a pauper”
- Avoid sugar
- Be mindful when eating; staying away from foods that make you gain weight
- Eat low-carbohydrate fruits and vegetables
- Avoid soda
- Eat healthy fats
- Exercise
- Cardiovascular activities can increase your heart rate and metabolism
- Working with weights can increase your metabolism by building muscle
The goal of weight loss is to lose weight without causing malnutrition. Malnutrition can cause muscle loss, organ failure, GI distress, poor immune response, depression, or anxiety, and can be fatal. Learning your body and the small hunger cues can prevent negative outcomes of weight loss.