The Downfalls of Calorie Restriction

If calories in is less than calories out that equals weight loss, right? Yes, and no. The math looks simple but what if I told you there’s more to the equation? There are some important facts that are often misunderstood. Caloric restriction can easily be taken too far and even have lasting effects. Some of these may include decreasing your metabolism and losing muscle mass, lead to fatigue and nutrient deficiencies, may reduce fertility – particularly women, alter hormone levels leading to weaker bones, and may suppress your immune system. 

Alyssa Rumsey, a registered dietician and nutrition therapist, wrote in the US News & World Report:

“Our bodies are wired for survival and, as far as your body is concerned, dieting is a form of starvation. When you attempt to eat fewer calories than you need, your body switches into survival mode. Metabolism slows down as your body attempts to conserve energy.... As you continue to eat less than you need, your body starts to break down muscle to use for energy. This muscle loss causes metabolism to slow further, so you burn even fewer calories.”

 Once you get tired enough, too irritable, and too hangry you finally give up on the ‘diet’ and go back to eating the amount of calories you did before but only with a slower metabolism so you end up gaining the weight back, and then some. Thus begins the inevitable yo-yo and crash dieting cycle.

 In a study dating back to the 1980s at Rockefeller University in New York, volunteer participants were underfed to lose 10 to 20 percent of body weight and then had their metabolism studied. It turns out, “Regardless of whether the participants had normal or high body weight at the beginning of the study, they experienced a large drop in metabolic rate…”

 This happens more often than not. Dr. David Ludwig explains,

“These findings explain an experience all too familiar to anyone who has been on a diet. When you eat fewer calories, the body [adapts and] becomes more efficient and burns fewer calories, even as your desire for extra calories heightens. This combination of rising hunger and slowing metabolism is a recipe for failure. After a few weeks of calorie deprivation — long before our weight loss target is within sight…” 

Advertisers have honed in on our insecurities promising immediate results but unfortunately these are unhealthy, non-sustainable results. If you go back and read the last post about carbs you’ll read how important carbs are in basic bodily functions, recovery, and muscle development. Similar to that, eating enough calories is vital for allowing our bodies to run properly. Think of our metabolism as a burning fire and calorie intake are the wood logs. To keep the fire burning we need to keep adding logs to the fire otherwise it’ll burn down to smoldering coals. 

But don’t give up hope! If you’ve struggled with restriction and aren’t getting the results you want, you can still get your metabolism back to a great place and achieve your health and fitness goals. First, remember that restriction diets are not long-term plans. Some side effects of overly restrictive diets may be things like mood disruption, difficulty in concentration, and low energy. This may be due to the lack of calories or even nutrient deficiencies.

 Your nutrition plan may be a lot of trial and error to find out what works for you. There are plenty of places to look for a calorie calculator and they may each give a slightly different number but should at least get you in the ballpark. The Mayo Clinic has a calculator based on the Harris Benedict equation using your age, height, weight, sex, and your activity level. You might surprise yourself; especially if you have an active or very active lifestyle, you may not be eating enough to fuel your body. That’s been my experience.

 If you haven’t yet or given it due diligence, I’d encourage tracking your food for a week or two to start. Start by tracking your current eating habits to help you understand where you are now and what you need to adjust going forward. Lots of apps and options are available but a popular free app is the Under Armour MyFitnessPal. This allows you to directly scan the barcode, create custom meals, search for fast food options, and keep a history of your recent foods for easy input. Another useful tip would be to start measuring out your servings.  A digital food scale can be found pretty inexpensive. Patience is a virtue. The bottom line is that for long-term weight loss, patience is key. Severe calorie restriction diets should be avoided. Rather, find a diet plan focused on quality and promotes long-term sustainability.

Sources:

US News and World Report

Medical Professionals

Dietetics majors