We’ve all heard stories about people getting lost in the jungle or wilderness for weeks with no food at all but only with water, or old tales of prisoners in war camps who are confined for years with only pathetic amounts of food. Ever wondered how these people survived?
Firstly, you’ve got to recognise that your body is an amazing thing. So amazing that sometimes I think we’re almost at the point where mankind is ready to evolve to the next level.. but I probably think that because I’ve watched too much of X-MEN, so let’s not take it that far for now.
Your body not only looks good when you’re fit, but your body has the amazing ability to ADAPT to the environment. If we’re looking from the point of food intake, your body is actually able to slow down its rate of burning calories if it needs to. When you’re faced with a situation where food is limited, your body senses this and tells itself -”Hey, we better stop burning all these calories so quickly because it looks like we’re having a shortage of calories lately, and this may go on for some time. Let’s slow down and start saving more energy so that we can survive longer under these conditions with the little food we’re getting”.
As a result, your metabolism slows down too, and your body is no longer at peak performance. This is THE VERY REASON why you can never starve yourself to lose fat. Yes, you’ll lose weight dramatically, and some fat together with it, but you’ll eventually reach a point where you’re getting nowhere, and just be a miniature version of what you previously were… and not a transformed physique. For example, if you’re not satisfied with your car right now, let’s say you drive a Kelisa… and you wan’t a bigger car. What do you get? A BIGGER Kelisa? No.. you get a different car that looks different and gives you what you want, and performs differently. That’s what change is all about. You wan’t to lose FAT, not ‘weight’… not be a bigger or smaller version of yourself.
Okay, so let’s say if somehow you manage to starve yourself to a size you want… and now you want to ‘resume’ your eating habits… well, I’ve got news for you. You’re just gonna pack on the pounds all over again, and gain weight faster than you ever have! Why? Simply because you’ve successfully managed to trick your body into functioning with lesser calories.. and anything more would simply make you gain fat because you’re consuming MORE than what your body needs.
The starvation response evolved in humans basically to ensure the survival of the species… not for you to fit into a dress or an outfit. It IS a blessing if you’re stranded out in the wilderness with no food, it keeps you alive longer. However, this same life-saving mechanism WILL WORK AGAINST YOU when you’re trying to lose fat because your body can’t tell the difference between dieting and starving.
Until today, every single person I know who tried to starve themselves to a better physique are either back to the shape they were before, or fatter than before (most of them are fatter now and find it even more difficult to do anything about it). Who is to blame when this happens? What more proof do you need?
I’m actually quite annoyed with people who choose to starve themselves. It’s STUPID. I’ve got a friend who just realised she gained 4kgs over 2 months (well.. thats what eating Chicken Crispers at Chilis once a week does to you my dear.. so don’t come complaining to me). She’s now decided to starve herself. I’ve talked to her many, many, MANY times before on the right approach to losing fat, but she’s never listened to me. So basically, I’ve given up on giving her advice. I’m just gonna watch her.. and let her be a guinea pig to everything I’ve told her not to do. She’s now on a diet of tea (with milk, sugar), biscuits, 1 or 2 bananas a day, no rice. In other words, she’s on an ALL CARB, severely low calorie diet. Oh, the fun I’m gonna have observing her.
To everyone else out there… especially my readers - don’t you dare consider starving yourself. I’d get upset too.
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tea, biscuits, bananas? wow… extreme sport
DM : U aint the only one that has come across peeps like those. I’ve stopped to mention anything remotely close to the proper approach to losing fat when im with them.
steveneleven: u mean extreme idiot.
Jonz: At least you don’t have to put up with it everyday. She car pools with me to work daily… and complains she’s fat. If only she realised the wealth of knowledge (perasan) that sits next to her everyday.. poor girl. Tough luck.
On the other hand, I was surprised when I gained 3 kilos for the past two months myself! For someone who’s been weighing 38 - 39 kg for the past six years, gaining 3 (making myself a ‘normal’ 42 kg) seems like a whole lot!
But I didn’t see (drastic) changes in my appearance. (Boy?)friends say I seem / look even smaller. I was crossing my fingers, the 3 kilos better be muscles!
When I finally used up my complimentary 2 PT sessions yesterday, after measuring my blood pressure, weight, height and BFC, my PT shrieked to the whole PT department, ‘Bloody hell! Her body fat count is 13.4%!!! DAMN SEOWWW!!’ Yes lahhhhh! I was 16% in December. How in the world I could’ve possibly lost another 2 ++ within 6 months, I have no idea.
It was posted at the PT Dept wall,
Ideal Body Fat Count
MEN
Fair: 15 - 19%
Excellent:
(ait, where did the rest of my comment go? did you set any word limit?)
cont’d:
Ideal Body Fat Count
MEN
Fair: 14 - 19%
Excellent: WOMEN
Fair: 19 - 22%
Excellent:
(i don’t understand, what i typed after oh, I GET IT! I can’t type the symbol ‘less than’!)
So,
cont’d:
Ideal Body Fat Count
MEN
Fair: 14 - 19%
Excellent: less than 13%
WOMEN
Fair: 19 - 22%
Excellent: less than 18 %
I’m almost as fit as a fit MAN!
Yet I still have fats at places I should have ;)!!!
Can’t help to not gloat and jump up and down all around even in other people’s blog. Wait till I show off in mine :)
perhaps you can buy the personal body fat tester, say from ebay.com to test it on yourself in future. Dont have to be used those EXPENSIVE body fat tester as only available in gym centre, lab or hospital. I am using calliper, Accu Measure.
http://www.accumeasurefitness.com/products/fitness3000.html. Have a look on this page for more information. You can go to http://www.ebay.com to search for it and have it ship to your address.
The Yoga Instructor: Gloat all you want. I’ve always believed that success deserves recognition. Well done. Looks like you managed to put on some weight after all… and it wasnt bodyfat. You sure you haven’t been doing something differently? ;)
ano: Thanks… great recommendation. I wonder if I should invest in one.. hmmm…
dailymuscle: It is good to invest one for someone like me overweight so much, body fat % is a lot with more than 40 inch of waist last time. Well, it wouldn’t so accurate as expensive lab testing machine eg might give up to 0.05 different (for example only). If i am able to trim down 1% of body fat in about one month is already enough for celebration. For example, today i measure my body fat% is 20%. One month later is 19%. It is good for celebration :)
dailymuscle: what am i talking about? :( blur blur already :P. What i mean even it might not as accurate as those expensive lab equipment, but if you are using to measure your body fat % over the time. If you can see decrease of the body fat %, do you think that 0.05% differenet is so important? Eg if your today reading is 20%, using expensive lab machine is 19.98889%. Next month you use the calliper to measure is 18% and expensive lab equipment is 17.88888%. Do you think that is so important for those small percentage?
the body is a highly adaptive machine…starvation will only make it goes into *reserves* mode…hence, the lowering of the met rate, as per what DM said…
then, the next time you eat, the body will store everything, to get ready for the next *starvation* mode…hence, you get fatter..and fatter…
Yoga Inst - your fat level is highly admireable…mine is circa 22%!
:P
giler fat!
actually, i starve myself quite often, and i’ve lost 65 lbs. Anorexia Nervosa really did work for me, but i doubt it would work for other pplz, because when i resumed my eating habits after starving myself, i didn’t eat like i normally did. i eat low calorie foods, and i work out twice as much and i kept losing weight, and kept the weight off.
=D
and caffeine and green tea certainly didn’t hurt either!
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