Extreme Diets: Are They Beneficial?
Losing lots of fat fast is very appealing to most of us. But are you after just a quick change that will likely see you return to your original weight in short order? Or would you prefer to lose the weight for good?
If you cut calories you are bound to lose weight. But losing what kind of weight? Are you wanting to lose muscle weight? What about water weight? Most likely you want to lose fat! But most extreme diets will have you losing lots of muscle and water with some fat loose. Sure the scales show a lower weight but where did it come from? If you want to lose fat you have to preserve your muscle.
Losing muscle after several extreme diets is very detrimental to your overall muscle mass. It is your muscle mass that burns fat. If you lose 10 pounds of muscle you have significantly reduced your body’s fat burning ability. This muscle loss is one of the primary reason people that follow fade diets tend to get heavier and heavier.
A healthier way to deal with your weight is start off by figuring out the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight. This will give you a base line that you can use in the future to help determine how many calories you really need. To lose weight you just need to lower your calories by around 400 every couple weeks as the weight begins to come off.
How you have the beginning stage of your weight loss plan. But unless you want slow weight loss you will not stop here. Starting a high intensity interval training program is a great way to kick the fat burning into high gear. Begin using HIIT three days a week every other day. This will become the foundation of your exercise program.
After about four weeks you will begin including a weight lifting aspect to your program. You can use any weight system but a great home gym is the EXM3000LPS. By building muscle on your body you will be increasing your fat burning potential. This will give you a much better way to lose your weight and then keep it off after you have attained your optimal weight.
You can use this basic program to achieve your ideal weight. It is not that difficult but you might find it challenging to adopt this way of living. Just take it a step at a time and you will make it happen.
Filed Under: Cardio • Weight Training
