Nutrition News

Nutrition News: Are You Skipping Calories?
By Dr. Craig Bentham

In the last couple of decades, Americans have been bombarded with countless ideas on ways to lose weight. The list includes: low-cal/low-fat/low-carb diets, appetite suppressants, diuretics, and surgeries-many with celebrity endorsements or "real life"testimonials. We need to filter through all of the conflicting information and realize that there is no quick fix to healthy and lasting weight loss. The fact is that even with all the weight loss intervention available today, Americans are 32% heavier than just 20 years ago (Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-NHANES IIl).

We at CurvesHealthClub are always looking out for our readers' health interests. We continue to hear from our readers, friends, and family that when you want to lose weight, your solution is to simply cut back on your daily food intake. For example, skipping breakfast, or only having an apple for lunch, seems to be a popular strategy. Therefore, the goal of this article is to answer the question, "Why does a low-calorie diet set you up for failure?"

First, let us clarify that a low-calorie diet (LCD) is considered to be the consumption of less then 1200 calories per day. We have to ask ourselves this simple question-does it make good sense to starve your body to lose weight? Yes, I agree that when you do a low-calorie diet you will lose weight, but what exactly are you losing? The answer...muscle! A low-calorie diet will not only deprive your body of nutrients, but also cause devastating muscle loss. According to the Exercise and Sports Science Review, written some 30 years ago, "reducing calories to 800-1200 per day, which is below the body's essential energy requirement to maintain vital functions, causes you to cannibalize your own muscles for fuel."Therefore, instead of losing the right kind of weight, fat, your body composition has made a shift for the worse – with the destruction of important muscle tissue.

Low-calorie diets = muscle loss

Research has found that 1 pound of muscle can burn up to 50 calories at rest (Dr. Colgan,1994); therefore, every pound you lose with a low calorie diet is causing a major energy deficit to your body. It is essential that you understand the fact that muscle is the engine of your body. Almost all of the energy created in your body comes from the work done by muscles; the burning of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins occurs in the mitochondria (energy production center) of each and every muscle cell. Research studies have found that even one ounce of muscle loss lowers your basal metabolic rate and reduces your ability to burn fat (Lohman TG, Human Biology, 1991). Moreover, because you have decreased your body's metabolism, when you return to a regular caloric intake you will quickly regain any weight you have lost, and likely even more.

Low-calorie diets cause a release
of fat storing enzymes

The human body is an amazing machine. Through evolution, the human body has equipped itself to combat periods of fasting and starvation. When the body is denied nutrients, it increases the release and activity of an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase. The main function of this enzyme is to collect any digested fat from your bloodstream and store it in fat cells (Kern, New Engl J Med, 1990). Ultimately, this fat-storing enzyme will hinder your chances of weight loss.

Let's reiterate the damaging effects of the low-calorie diet (under 1200 calories per day):

• Vital muscle loss
• Release of fat-storing enzymes
• Decreased metabolism
• Loss of energy
• Ultimate weight gain with return to regular caloric intake

Once you begin eating normally again, you'll quickly gain the fat back, but not the muscle, setting yourself up for the vicious cycle of "yo-yo"dieting. Dieting has become an American obsession, but we hope that our readers are able to understand the value of proper nutrition and exercise. We encourage you to start focusing on improving your health through small and simple "lifestyle"changes, and realize that your weight loss and health transformation is a work in progress...don't expect immediate results. Rest assured, however, that if you choose to incorporate exercise and proper nutrition into your life, permanent success will follow!