Something you hear on the regular is that in order to lose weight, you must either reduce your caloric intake (how much you eat), or your calorie expenditure (how many calories you burn). You hear this a lot because it is TRUE.
Weight loss at the end of the day, is nothing more than than calories in vs. calories out. This is a simple, unbreakable law of physics (the first law of thermodynamics) that energy cannot be destroyed, it can only change form. Meaning, that if the energy entering the body (food) is greater than the energy leaving the body (burning calories through movement), the body will store the energy. This extra energy is usually stored in the form of body fat. This also goes the other way, too – if we take in less calories, we will lose that energy (lose weight).
However, interestingly enough, there is such thing as eating too little.
Eating TOO LITTLE
Most people are aware of what we just discussed – eating less calories than they are expending means they will lose weight. However, there is a potential that a chronic reduction in calories for an extended period of time can hinder your weight loss progress. Reducing your calories drastically may cause rapid weight loss initially, but in the long run it can be detrimental to your weight loss goals.
There are a number of ways that a chronic decrease in calories can affect your weight loss…
Increase in Cortisol
There is a significant amount of clinical data that suggests that with an extended, excess restriction in calories, there is an increase in cortisol. “Cortisol is a steroid hormone that regulates a wide range of processes throughout the body, including metabolism and the immune response. It also has a very important role in helping the body respond to stress.” (yourhormones).
Clearly, cortisol has a lot to do with factors that can affect ones weight. I think that the main point we should discuss in regards to a lack of calories and cortisol is how an increase in cortisol triggers to release of insulin.
Insulin is a hormone that plays many roles within the the body – more specifically, in the body’s metabolism. It regulates how the body uses and stores glucose and fat – basically controls storing these things for future use. When cortisol is increased, so is insulin which means that there will be more calories (or energy) being stored for future use, which we learned is usually stored in the form of body fat in the introduction.
Cortisol is also increased when there is an excess of psychological stress such as the stress that dramatically reducing calories can place on a person.
Decrease in Metabolism
Metabolism is also decreased when the body is put into an extreme caloric deficit. This is because when your body is not receiving enough energy, your body goes into starvation mode. During this time, your brain signals to slow metabolism down in order to preserve as much energy as it. The body learns how to function on less calories, which means that it learns how to burn less calories or burn calories at a slower pace.
In this state, the body will start to store any extra calories as energy (body fat). It does this because it gets concerned that if calories drop any further, it is going to need a supply of energy to feed from if it isn’t getting energy orally. Upon returning to normal eating habits, your body will have a harder time burning the calories you’re consuming and will store more of those unused calories as fat – this will lead to even more weight gain.
Muscle Catabolism
When you are taking in too little calories, your body may start to pull energy from other sources, like your muscles. This break down of muscle tissue is called muscle catabolism – basically the breaking down of more complex molecules into smaller ones. Muscle break down is good, as long as it is fuelled to re build following the destruction.
1 lb of muscle burns more calories than 1lb of fat, so it is desirable to keep a hold of the muscle that you do have while dieting instead of triggering it to waste away through intense dieting.
“Why don’t I just continue to work out while I’m dieting to keep my muscle mass?” While that would make sense, your muscles need fuel in order to be able to work properly during your workout. If you have too little calories in your system, your body will still try and pull from the muscles as an energy source – which means that you will still be wasting away muscle instead of keeping a hold of it.
A decrease in muscle mass also will likely also decrease your strength. A lack of strength paired with a lack of energy is a recipe for disaster; injury and sickness will likely occur.
Now, I’m no dietician or nutritionist, so I cannot recommend a specific calorie recommendation for anyone. What I can tell you is that 1200 calories is not enough for any active, adult person. I see far too many people, women especially (and I myself back in the day) fall into this trap that has pledged 1200 as the holy grail calorie count that will help you drop weight fast. It’s dangerous and detrimental to your health to reduce calories to near your BMR (basal metabolic rate – the energy your body uses to perform the base level of function: digestion, breathing, circulation). So if you’re unsure about how much you should be eating, consult with an expert (and by expert I mean someone trained in the field of giving dietary recommendations… not your fave fitness IG model).
Until next time
xx