Threshold Theory

Written By Morgan Liner

Today's mini-Nutrition lesson will help you understand why restricting calories, crash diets, and eliminating foods from your diet only works for a short period of time. These diets are not sustainable, therefor, once the "diet" is finished, people tend to gain weight back (usually more than they lost).

Why restricting calories doesn't work (in the long run):

  • When calories are restricted, your body believes that it is starving. Historically, we had times of feast or famine. Now, with food literally at our fingertips, our bodies aren't used to the "famine" stage. Limiting calories can have the opposite effect. Instead of losing weight, your body rebels and holds onto any calories coming in. It is literally afraid that it will starve to death. Your body will then alter your metabolism, slowing it down, turning food into storage fats. When you begin eating normally again, your body has already lowered the metabolic threshold, so you will gain weight at a faster rate. It will then be more difficult to lose weight when you try again. For example, if you restrict caloric intake to 1,400 calories to lose weight and confuse your metabolism, the next time you try to lose weight, you will need to consume fewer...such as 1,300. It gets more difficult each time.

  • Most restrictive eating diets limit fat, which is essential to brain healthy and energy. As stated in a previous post, brown and beige fat are essential for metabolism and fat loss. Also, when you begin eating again, you'll often crave fattier foods to make up for what was lost during the diet. Your body will also hold onto the fat in case it enters another famine.

  • Crash diet weight loss is often water or muscle loss rather than fat loss. As your body believes it is starving, it will use water and protein first, and hold onto fat for energy.

If you're interested in losing weight, the best way to do it is slow and steady. Evaluating gut health, immune function, and hormone stability first is vital to losing the weight you desire. Instead of focusing on the "weight", we will focus on health and longevity.

As we partner together in this health journey, you'll learn more about making small changes that will last a lifetime. Through counseling, accountability, and concrete steps, you'll be able to lose the weight you desire, improve your immune system, and balance hormones. I'm here to help!

Resources for post:

Morgan Liner
Previous

Sleep!
Next

Oils