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To get lean you have to eat

Published: 17 Oct 2004

Never starve yourself
Losing weight is not complicated. If we expend more energy than we consume our bodies are forced to dip into their fat reserves for fuel, causing us to lose weight. Trying to achieve this, many people make the critical mistake of severely restricting food intake. This approach never works in anything but the very short term. It can also have serious health consequences. Our bodies have no idea that we are now surrounded by an overabundance of food. If we starve ourselves our bodies assume we are experiencing a famine and go into 'survival mode'. Over millions of years of evolution we have, when faced with a food shortage, developed the ability to slow down our metabolism in order to preserve energy.

It is not only fat that is lost by severely restricting calorie intake - valuable energy burning muscle is sacrificed as well. This is bad news. Nobody can sustain a crash diet forever. When you go off such a diet the combination of a slowed down metabolism and muscle loss will cause you to very quickly gain back all the lost weight and more. Starving yourself will make you feel weak, tired and deprived. This is no way to live.

The right way to eat for fat loss
There is a healthy, sustainable way of losing unwanted fat without sacrificing muscle or going hungry. Eating 5-6 small, nutritious meals a day, rather than the usual 3 large meals will help to speed up your metabolism, increase your energy levels and decrease your appetite. Grazing frequently during the day provides a steady supply of energy and nutrients when you need them. This will prevent you from ever getting too hungry and lessen the likelihood of binging. Knowing that your next meal is never more than a couple of hours away is also a great help with staying on your programme.

Vigorous regular exercise increases our bodies' need for high quality nutrients. It is important that your diet matches your type and level of activity. Muscles need quality protein to repair and grow strong. If your programme is in high in cardiovascular exercise, then a diet high in carbohydrates will give you the energy you need to perform at your best.

ProActive Nutrition have designed a selection of delicious and varied meal plans to help you reach your health and fitness goals. Each plan combines ProActive supplements with wholefoods in a well-balanced meal option. Choose the one that suits you. Sensible eating and exercise is the healthy and sustainable way to lose weight. Do yourself a favour and do it right.