Why you must never 'starve the fat'

From: Tom Venuto

Burn the Fat



Previous research has concluded without a shred of doubt
that high levels of exercise are one of the keys to
keeping fat off and maintaining your ideal weight.

In this new study from Wake Forest University just published
in the October 2008 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,
researchers found for the first time, proof that the drop in physical
activity that happens automatically during calorie restriction
is directly correlated to weight regain.

We've known for some time that when you restrict calories,
your level of non exercise physical activity (non exercise
activity thermogenesis or NEAT), drops spontaneously, even
if you don't realize it's happening.

Your physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) also
tends to drop when you restrict calories.

Basically, when you cut calories, you get sluggish, you
move your body less, you don't feel like exercising
and if you do exercise, you do it with with less "gusto."

This means that unless you intentionally counter this
tendency by pushing yourself to keep active and keep up
the intensity, despite your low calorie intake, your
weight loss will slow down automatically as you continue
with caloric restriction. (can you say, "fat loss plateau?")

The new twist to this story is that in this latest study
the researchers followed up on the subjects through the
maintenance period - TWO YEARS into the maintenance
period.

This is significant, because most fat loss "success stories"
are reported immediately after the weight loss phase, but
you never know what happened to them afterwards.

Not surprisingly, it wasn't much of a "maintanence"
period... almost everyone gained back most of the weight.

The surprise was WHY they regained back the weight and
WHO regained the most...

The drop in physical activity during the diet was directly
related to the weight regain after the diet!

The researchers wrote,

"The greater the decrease in physical activity energy
expenditure (PAEE) during the energy deficit, the greater
the weight gain during the follow up."

Does anyone STILL believe that diet alone is the answer?

Some people might... if you only looked at the short term...
but when you extend out your time frame to 2 years, you
get a whole new perspective.

For years, I have been imploring my readers and subscribers
to "burn the fat" with higher levels of exercise - strength
training AND cardio training - while "feeding the muscle"
with a higher intake of clean food, instead of simply
"starving the fat" with low calorie diets and little
or no exercise.

"Eat More, Burn More"... "BURN The fat FEED the muscle."
those are the mottos you want to remember.

can you lose weight without exercise? Of course. Just be
sure you have a dietary-induced calorie deficit. Is it
the best way? Not by a long shot.

Bottom line: If you want to MAXIMIZE your fat loss, and keep
fat off permanentnly, it is imperative not only to keep up
a