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Excess
Baggage
It's
fat, not pounds, you should worry about.
As
a nation, we're obsessed with thinness, yet most of us are far
from achieving it. Despite regular reports that being overweight
puts us at risk of diabetes, heart disease, and perhaps even cancer,
we can't seem to keep the fat off.
Many factors undoubtedly contribute to the typical American's bulk,
but I'm increasingly convinced that one in particular plays the biggest
role: The bathroom scale. We're single-minded about pounds, and that
leads us to take the wrong approach to staying trim. Diets—programs
that restrict calories—do drop pounds, but they don't cut body
fat. And what your body is made of—fat versus lean muscle—makes
far more difference to health than pounds.
Why is calorie restriction counterproductive? It's no secret: When
your body has to access its own tissue for energy to survive, its uses
muscles first. Fat stays as a last reserve to prevent starvation. It's
actually a perfectly sensible thing for your body to do, because muscle
requires much more energy to keep alive than fat. When you starve your
body, it gets rid of the part that burns the most energy. As a result,
your entire body's energy consumption drops. You may end up weighing
a few pounds less—muscle does weigh more than fat, so losing
it does strip weight—but you'll have to eat progressively less
to break even. Combine lower energy need with the fact that many people
eat not because they're hungry but because they're under stress or
feeling hostile, and it's easy to see why most dieters end up fatter
in the long run.
What's the solution? Eat ample amounts of the right foods—ones
rich in complex carbohydrates and protein and lacking fat—and
get some exercise. You'll lose fat and gain muscle—a much healthier
goal than just being light. Eating food—especially low-fat food
taken every few hours—raises the rate at which your body burns
energy. So does exercise. Both build muscle, which burns even more.
Studies have shown that people who eat well and exercise can take in
as many as 4,000 calories a day while maintaining very desirable body
fat levels.
Rather than wage war on your body to see how little you can get by
on, feed it well and tone its muscles so it uses energy efficiently.
You'll feel more energetic, look better, and live longer.
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