Are you able to lose weight by starving your self? Many individuals wonder the same thing. Why should I workout and eat clean when I can lose weight by starving myself? And most likely a lot of us have seen individuals who've stopped eating almost entirely and have lost weight. So why would you not do this if it actually works?
Well, let me say up front that starving yourself does lead to weight reduction. And, it can be fairly effective. The cause it is so efficient is because you are making a huge calorie deficit involving the calories you're burning on a daily basis and the calories you're eating. You can't help but drop weight when you do this.
Keep in mind a pound of fat is 3500 calories. So to lose a pound per week, you have to burn 3,500 more calories in a week than you eat. My required number of calories is about 2,700 per day. So, if I had been starving myself by only taking in say 1600 calories per day, I would be creating an 1100 calorie deficit per day. This would result in a 7700 calorie deficit over seven days. I would burn a bit more than two pounds of fat a week at this rate.
Now, you will find two issues with starving yourself to lose weight. First, your body will determine very rapidly what you're trying. When it realizes it's starving, it'll adjust your hormones that regulate fat storage. So your entire body responds by becoming extremely efficient at rationing the calories you give it and also extremely effective at storing fat. This is becuase your body assumes it is starving.
This starving response results in your metabolism to slow down and burn as little calories as possible. Therefore, when you begin eating normally again, your metabolism has slowed considerably. Hence, you retain much more fat than before, making it tougher to shed weight in the future. This effect has been documented in a fairly recent study.
The other reason starving yourself isn't the most weight loss strategy long-term, is the fact that you sacrifice muscle. Your body, when dealing with an calorie shortage, will break down your lean muscle mass and use it as fuel. Obviously, this is a last resort but your body doesn't understand the difference between starving and going on a diet. It is attempting to safeguard itself.
It is also well-documented through research that muscle mass burns more fat. So, when you decrease your muscle mass, you decrease your body's ability to burn fat, now and in the future. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn up, and therefore the more fat you lose. You decrease this fat-burning muscle mass whenever you starve your self, making it harder for your body to burn fat.
So, while starving your self may work to get rid of weight in the short term, you do your self a tremendous disservice by making it tougher to lose weight in the future. A far safer and more effective method to shed weight is to adhere to a healthy diet that creates a calorie deficit, and an effective exercise strategy.
Be sure to check with your doctor prior to undertaking any dietary or fitness changes or programs.
