One of the biggest problems in the fitness industry is the number of people who can't lose weight on a low calorie diet regardless of what they do in the gym. If you fall into this category, you are certainly not by yourself.
The first thing to do is forget about pushing past this issue without changing anything. Your lack of results is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong in either your workout regime or your eating plan.
There is a major issue with all individuals who reach this sticking point. They share two things in common:
1. They eat less than 1000 calories per day.
2. They usually perform hour after hour of aerobic activity.
Fat loss isn't as simple as starving your body and hammering the cardiovascular exercise. If you are currently eating barely any food and working out for hours every single night then you need to change your approach as quickly as possible.
If you have ever tried restricting calories and cutting out your most enjoyable foods for a week you will already know the problems this approach yields - yet it remains a commonly made dieting mistake. By restricting your favorite snacks your diet becomes the enemy, which is never good for long-term progress, and by restricting calories you run the very real danger of pushing your body straight into starvation mode, which is renowned for elevated fat storage.
Your body begins to slow down your metabolic rate in a bid to prevent you from burning off the fuels it needs to survive, i.e. your fat and carbohydrate stores. So despite the fact that you are pushing yourself through grueling 2 hour cardiovascular sessions doesn't make a jot of difference to your actual progress!
Furthermore, long steady state cardio workouts have been well documented for their ability to cause muscle breakdown. That's right, not only are you burning less fat in the gym but you are also losing lean muscle tissue. Endless hours on the treadmill is not necessary to drop some weight.
If you have done this in the past, or are doing it right now, you need to change your approach if you are to see any upturn in the results you hope to achieve. Start by dismissing the notion of starving yourself and try to consume a calorie intake of roughly 12 times your goal body weight in pounds. If that is a massive jump from where you are at right now, then simply go up in stages week by week instead of a big sudden jump.
Secondly, your cardio routine is in desperate need of an update. High intensity interval training has been shown to be more than six times more effective for disposing of unwanted body fat tissue, so that is certainly something to be looked at.
As with most things in life, more does not necessarily mean better. By simply increasing the intensity of your workouts you will notice far superior progress, despite spending less time in the gym than you do right now. If you can't lose weight on a low calorie diet, the first thing to do is realize the difference between low calories and starvation, a fine line which many people unknowingly cross.
The first thing to do is forget about pushing past this issue without changing anything. Your lack of results is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong in either your workout regime or your eating plan.
There is a major issue with all individuals who reach this sticking point. They share two things in common:
1. They eat less than 1000 calories per day.
2. They usually perform hour after hour of aerobic activity.
Fat loss isn't as simple as starving your body and hammering the cardiovascular exercise. If you are currently eating barely any food and working out for hours every single night then you need to change your approach as quickly as possible.
If you have ever tried restricting calories and cutting out your most enjoyable foods for a week you will already know the problems this approach yields - yet it remains a commonly made dieting mistake. By restricting your favorite snacks your diet becomes the enemy, which is never good for long-term progress, and by restricting calories you run the very real danger of pushing your body straight into starvation mode, which is renowned for elevated fat storage.
Your body begins to slow down your metabolic rate in a bid to prevent you from burning off the fuels it needs to survive, i.e. your fat and carbohydrate stores. So despite the fact that you are pushing yourself through grueling 2 hour cardiovascular sessions doesn't make a jot of difference to your actual progress!
Furthermore, long steady state cardio workouts have been well documented for their ability to cause muscle breakdown. That's right, not only are you burning less fat in the gym but you are also losing lean muscle tissue. Endless hours on the treadmill is not necessary to drop some weight.
If you have done this in the past, or are doing it right now, you need to change your approach if you are to see any upturn in the results you hope to achieve. Start by dismissing the notion of starving yourself and try to consume a calorie intake of roughly 12 times your goal body weight in pounds. If that is a massive jump from where you are at right now, then simply go up in stages week by week instead of a big sudden jump.
Secondly, your cardio routine is in desperate need of an update. High intensity interval training has been shown to be more than six times more effective for disposing of unwanted body fat tissue, so that is certainly something to be looked at.
As with most things in life, more does not necessarily mean better. By simply increasing the intensity of your workouts you will notice far superior progress, despite spending less time in the gym than you do right now. If you can't lose weight on a low calorie diet, the first thing to do is realize the difference between low calories and starvation, a fine line which many people unknowingly cross.
About the Author:
Your author today: Top south shields personal trainer Russ Howe PTI shows proven weight loss facts on his blog every day. If you believe that you can't lose weight on a low calorie diet he will teach you the facts.
