Why a Starvation Diet Will Backfire

on You Every Time

When people decide they have to lose weight, the most attempted method is the starvation diet. The standard way of thinking about weight loss is calories in versus calories out. So, if you eat less calories than the amount of energy you burn each day, you should lose weight. While it seems like it should work, it’s actually counter-intuitive. The fact is, when you put yourself through this grueling routine of not eating, you might initially lose some weight. But it’s not the right kind of weight AND…you end up gaining any weight lost back AND THEN SOME!

Why?

The simple answer is, your body is smarter than you think. Severe calorie restriction does a number of hormonal things that are just plain not good for you and do not help whatsoever in your weight loss endeavors. Bear with me because if you know how your body works to keep you alive, you’ll understand why this type of dieting backfires the way it does. Here they are in as small a nutshell as I can put it.

Ghrelin:

The hunger hormone, is naturally released into our bodies when we’re running low on energy. It lets us know that it’s time to eat. Try starving yourself and the body is simply flooded with ghrelin because you’re ignoring the signal (your growling stomach).

Insulin:

We’ve all heard of insulin and usually associate it with diabetes. What insulin actually does is usher glucose (sugar) into your cells for energy. Eat too much sugary foods and insulin receptors on your cells stop recognizing glucose and insulin resistance is what occurs. However, insulin must carry on doing its job. Since most of your cell receptors will no longer recognize glucose, insulin carries it into your fat cells, which are more than happy to accept it.

Cortisol:

The stress hormone is released into your body because quite simply, you’re stressing your poor body out by not eating! Cortisol doesn’t recognize the difference between relationship problems, hunger, or a life and death situation like being chased by a T-Rex. So, cortisol triggers insulin to carry more glucose into your cells for energy (because starvation and the T-Rex are the same thing to your body). Insulin and cortisol signal the brain that it isn’t getting any glucose. And this in turn triggers intense cravings for sugar and starches (the highest concentration of glucose). Guess what sabotages weight loss? Intense cravings for sugar and starch!

Leptin:

The hormone that tells you that you’re full is basically shut off completely. Without any leptin, once you start eating again, this hormone doesn’t reset until you’ve regained any weight that you lost, both muscle and fat.

Thyroid hormones:

Starvation diets slow thyroid function, specifically, T3 and T4. They work hand in hand. T4 (an inactive form of the hormone) is transported through your blood to your cells. Once it reaches the cells it is converted into T3 (the active form). Both work to regulate your metabolism, which in turn regulates your heart, brain, digestion, and other bodily functions. So, if your thyroid function is sluggish due to you not eating, this could result in fatigue, foggy brain, memory issues, depression (stress), insulin resistance, hair loss, and…weight gain!

So, when all is said and done and your hormones are completely out of whack from your starvation diet, the real question is…do you lose weight?

The answer is, initially you may lose some weight, but it isn’t coming from fat. Your body knows better and has been working since the beginning of humankind to prevent us from starving to death. Muscle is primarily what you end up burning, not fat. Most of the fat you want to lose stays right where it is. Since you’re not feeding your body as you should, your body starts digesting itself by going after the most nutritious bits…the muscle. It saves the fat for last, in case you really insist on starving yourself to death.

But here’s what happens…muscle is actually what helps you burn fat and keep your metabolism running hot, not starvation. And with severe calorie restriction, your body burns muscle, so have much less of it and your fat burning capabilities drop significantly.

Well, that sucks, right?

And since very little of the weight you lost was from fat, guess what happens when you come to your senses and start eating again? You put all the weight back on and most of it gets stored as fat because your body thinks you might starve again. It prepares itself by adding more fat to the fat that was already there. Plus, your muscle mass is so low (because you basically digested it) and your hormones and metabolism are completely messed up, that your fat burning capabilities are next to nil. At this point, you really have no choice but to gain back what little you lost in terms of fat and then some!

My whole-hearted suggestion is to never, ever do a starvation diet. There are better, longer-lasting methods for losing weight that don’t suck. Because let’s face it, starvation diets suck big time and you end up heavier than before you started. Don’t do it. It’s just not worth it.