(Note: The following post is courtesy Bruce Krahn of www.ebodi.com.)
Bruce Krahn on Cityline.
Hi, Bruce here from www.ebodi.com.
These days there are many shows on television featuring people losing weight in the fastest time possible.
It seems that we have become conditioned to think that the program that produces the fastest weight loss is always the best.
But when you look closer it turns out that this may not be true.
A recent study out of Norway compared two groups of exercisers — one that reduced their caloric intake enough to lose 2 pounds per week and another that cut their calories a bit less in order to only lose only one pound per week.
Here is the interesting part — the group that took the gradual route took 3 weeks longer to drop 9 pounds however; they also added 2 pounds of muscle.
The fast “losers” added no muscle whatsoever.
This is one of the reasons why you should be patient when it comes to your fat loss program and not be too aggressive with how far you reduce calories.
A good approach is to find out how many calories are right for your body and then subtract 20%.
For example, for weight maintenance, an average person can calculate their daily calorie requirements using the following multiplier: bodyweight X 10.
If this same person where interested in losing fat you would then reduce this number by 20 percent (bodyweight X 8).
For a 200-pound person, this would calculate as follows:
Weight maintenance
200 x 10= 2,000 calories per day
Weight loss
200 x 8= 1,600 calories per day
Research has shown that reducing your calories by more than 500/day can result in muscle loss — not the kind of weight loss you want.
Taking your calories too low can have some detrimental effects including muscle loss, low energy, and an increase in fat storing enzymes and decreased thyroid output.
The best approach is to eat sufficient calories — ie your bodyweight x 8 — and use exercise to increase the calorie deficit.
Remember to check out www.ebodi.com for a meal plan that provides the exact amount of calories for your body and goal.
Be strong,
Bruce
Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com/author/cary-castagna
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