USEFUL INFORMATION
LONG-TERM PLANNING FOR SUCCESSFUL WEIGHT LOSS
Ignoring a balanced diet and simply reducing food intake to lose weight can lead to a decline in muscle and bone. So even though your weight goes down, your resting metabolism is reduced making the body more prone to putting on fat.
Example comparing the same loss of 20 lb:
Weight |
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| Months |
(lb) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
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170 |
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160 |
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150 |
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A starvation diet produces rapid weight loss of 20 lb, but disrupts body mass...
Fat reduction: 6 lb
Lean body mass reduction (muscle, bone, etc.): 14 lb
Change in body fat percentage
| Body fat percentage |
Before diet: | 36.0% |
After diet: | 36.9% |
A healthy diet
with weight loss of 20 lb...
Fat reduction: 18 lb
Lean body mass reduction (muscle, bone, etc.): 2 lb
Change in body fat percentage
| Body fat percentage |
Before diet: | 36.0% |
After diet: | 28.3% |
Lean body mass (muscle, bone, etc.) greatly reduced, while the body fat percentage has not changed.
Body fat percentage reduced to a normal level.
*This is an extreme case of the effect.
Repeated dieting and regaining weight leads to increased visceral fat levels
It is easy to regain weight after sudden diets. This regained weight tends to appear as visceral fat rather then subcutaneous fat. Increased visceral fat levels are thought to increase the likelihood of common diseases. Repeated dieting and subsequent regaining of weight may lead to increased visceral fat levels.
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