Did I just say eat more? Yup, that is what I said — Maybe you need to eat more to lose weight. And, I am not saying it just because it is what you want to hear, I am saying it because there is a lot of science behind this theory.
What happens when you under eat and increase your exercise?
There is more to weight loss than simple calories in/calories out. Our bodies are designed to survive prolonged famines, but we are not designed for prolonged abundance. Which is why our fast and junk food filled diets have played such a role in the increase in obesity rates. Our bodies just keep storing extra calories as fat just “in case” we have to survive a grueling winter or famine.
When you suddenly reduce your calorie intake and start working out, your body thinks, “I have reserves to burn!” and starts burning fat. Just what we want, right? Except that over time, our bodies start to assume that this change isn’t intentional. It slows itself down to lessen the depletion of your “reserves” because it doesn’t knows how long this stress of increased activity and fewer calories will last!. Our bodies want us to survive, so it has a few “tricks” to help:
1. Your metabolism slows down. Our bodies can actually manage energy intake down to the cellular level. We have become extremely efficient when our bodies are under stress. It is our survival instinct kicking in.
2. Hormones alter your metabolism. When you under-eat or lose significant weight, your hunger-regulating hormones change your appetite. Stress hormones can cause protective water retention and suppress fat burning. Remember, your body is trying to reserve your fat for the lean times. It does what it thinks it needs to do.
3. You can subconsciously conserve energy. When you are eating at a deficit, your body can hold onto calories by reducing non-exercise movements like fidgeting.
So, what do you do to boost weight loss as your body adapts?
Eat more! Just do it strategically
1. Eat more. Add 200-300 calories to your daily calorie intake. Give it about a week and see what happens. If it doesn’t work, go up another 300 calories. Make sure those additional calories are from clean foods like proteins, fruits and healthy fats, not a donut!
2. Cheat. Once a week, cheat. A common practice among athletes, this refeeding process allows your system to relax a little. Use caution though – this is not permission to go back to your unhealthy ways. Having a cheat day means you need good self-discipline to get back on track the next morning.
3. Zigzag. A more structured approach, and the one that works best for me, is when you feed your body more food some days and others eat at more of a deficit. For example, if you are on a 1,200-1,400 calorie diet, alternate 4 days at that level with 3 days at 1,500-1,800. If that doesn’t work, increase the latter to even 1,800-2,100 calories.
4. Eat preemptively. This is a less severe variation of refeeding or zigzagging. Start with your calorie deficit, then add 100 calories of a fruit the 2nd week, then add another 100 calories of a healthy fat the 3rd week. On week 4, go back to the calorie deficit. Then, repeat.
So, less is not necessarily better. More might be the answer. Just be strategic!