Since excess weight has reached epidemic portions and given it is actually a consequence of a modern way of life, it is no wonder that among the countless diets, every day turns up another one and precisely this one should ensure drastic weight loss and perfect figure. Usually these diets are unhealthy and may can certainly endanger your health since they are most often based on minimal daily calorie intake and some of them even exclude a whole food group. What do you think, why do we gain weight if we cut down calories? The answer is simple and it actually makes perfect sense, and the reason is this: when we eat smaller amounts of food than we normally do, our body simply switches to “sleep mode” and begins to burn less calories than it usually does.
You wonder how is that possible? I’ll give you an example everyone is familiar with. When the battery in your cell phone is low, apart from being notified on that matter, all its functions will be cut down to a minimum, meaning those functions that require more energy (battery) will be disabled, for instance, your screen brightness will be decreased because that is one of the ways to save up the energy (battery). The same thing happens with our body, our basal metabolism enters a “sleep mode” phase, feels a crisis is underway and fat reserves, instead of being burned, are in fact – being saved. You see how “Mother Nature” has neatly arranged everything, and this is because this mechanism is crucial for survival in situations when we are in a threat of hunger.
Our body begins to adapt to starvation periods, but as soon as we quit with low caloric intake, our body cannot just like that return to the previous state. So, once you’ve finally started to eat normally again, your body, since it has just went through a starvation period, which is a shock for your body, begins to create new fat reserves in order to protect itself and as result – we gain weight. There are also diets which, for instance are protein restricted, when body is forced to burn its own muscles for fuel. Indeed, weighing scale may indicate some weight loss, because muscles are heavier than fat, and every muscle cell also stores water molecules, but still, muscles need energy in order to function properly, so additional energy is again required.
Finally, think through about all this, because it really makes sense. In any case, you should avoid restricted diets that promise you extreme weight loss in short amount of time.
L. Rađa