Friday, January 24, 2020 - Day 12 of the 2020 New Year Challenge

Words from the wise:

In the world of diet and nutrition, contrary to the diet fads that sweep tv and the internet, "less is not always better." I noticed looking at some of the food logs on GTX that some are eating very sparsely (little). That can be caused by a few things but I want to identify the perils of "undereating." 

Most people go on fitness plans to "lose weight." That is peril #1. The objective should never be to simply "lose weight." What you really want is to be healthy and that can begin today at whatever weight you are and tomorrow you will be healthy again and so on and so on. The issue is that you may not look like the version of healthy that you see online, but in reality, you are where you need to be and when you get 6, 7, 8 months or a year down the road, you will see on the outside what has happened on the inside.

Peril #2 is what happens when you suddenly restrict your dietary intake (eat too little). Your body goes into preservation mode and believes that you are trying to starve it so it slows down your metabolism to that the burger you ate last week, lasts until next week because it might not be getting more. Once your metabolism gets that slow, it doesn't matter what you eat, your body will store it, code words for "turn it into fat." So be careful that you do not trigger your body. You want your metabolism working for you, not against you.

The final peril, #3 is the risk to your mental state when you don't have enough calories. Your body will first notice and you will feel tired and sluggish and most of all, you will surely dread the upcoming workout. Whereas if you ate a normal amount, your body would convert it into energy and make you feel refreshed and while you might still hate coming to see the mean Jessica, you would feel really good afterward and your body would thank you and then you would thank Jessica and realize that she's not really mean, she just wants you fit.

With that all said, your workouts will bring you weight loss eventually if you are overweight, but healthy eating is eating enough to fuel each day's activities and not too much or too little. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was burned in 6. It's easier to destroy than to build. Take your time on your nutritional health.

Carlen

Be sure to post your food logs.  Remember the goal is a lifestyle change not to diet.