urfitnessbuilder: December 2010

Starving in order to burn fat is not only unnecessary, it can be harmful to your health. At the very least it will slow the metabolism and sap your energy.

I've spent some time in Yahoo Answers over the last few weeks, and one of the questions that is often asked in the weight loss section is: "Do I have to starve to lose weight?" or "Do I have to starve to burn belly fat?" Even more disturbing was the cry for help from one girl, who had lost a few pounds and was scared to death that it was going to come back. She was afraid to eat a decent meal and wasn't getting the proper nutrition from her diet. Most of the people who answered this plea just said, "No, don't starve, it's not good for you." They didn't offer any solutions, so I directed her to a free e-book which would educate her on the modern fat burning philosophy.

The starvation diet methods of the nineties are still lingering in the minds of many people. It is probably responsible for keeping some from even trying to burn fat, though they desperately need to. I can identify with that, I lost eighty pounds over 8 agonizing months on one of those plans. When i reached my target weight, the diet was over! I kept the weight off longer than most do, I think, but in 3 years I was back where I started. A "diet" should not be a thing you do for a period of time, but a healthier way of eating for your lifetime. That's not going to happen if you're hungry all the time.

Luckily, we've learned a lot about weight loss and burning fat (they are not exactly the same thing) over the last 15 years. And we'll probably learn a lot more over the next 10 years. But what we have now is far superior to the "old ways". We know now that we can burn fat by eating the proper amounts of healthy foods, which will support muscle maintenance, and burning off the fat through a more active lifestyle and a reasonable exercise regimen. Someone who has a lot of fat to lose may even get by without much exercise for a while, but it's not recommended. The problem is, so many people are not aware of the new methods and are still stuck in the past.

These diets also recommended cutting your fat intake practically to zero. This deprives your body of beneficial fats and essential fatty acids, like Omega-3.

We now know that when you drop your daily caloric intake by more than 20 percent of your "maintenance" level, several bad things happen, which leads to binging and eventually just quitting the weight loss attempt. For one thing, your metabolism slows down, and your body goes into starvation mode. When this happens your system, not knowing when your next decent meal is coming, panics and trys to store fat and burn lean muscle tissue for energy. This combination makes it very hard to burn off fat, saps your energy, erodes your muscles, and weakens your immune system. Just for starters. That's why I mentioned earlier that "weight loss" and "burning fat" are not quite the same thing. You can lose weight without burning much fat. Not good.

So starvation is not the way to go. By calculating my personal daily caloric needs and eating a diet of lean meats, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, I am burning two to two and a half pounds of fat per week and I'm never hungry. Sometimes I have to force myself to eat the next scheduled meal because I'm not hungry yet! And I'm burning fat now at the same rate that I was losing weight in the nineties. It's just much more enjoyable now, and thus much more sustainable. I feel better than I have in years, and I have more energy. This is the reason I began this regimen in the first place, the weight loss is secondary. With plenty of delicious, healthy foods to eat every day, I have no desire to go back to my diet of trans fat!

Don't starve yourself, and don't go on a "diet". Instead, adapt to a lifelong regimen of healthy, delicious food. Find a dietary system that will provide you with the macronutrient ratios you need to feel good and burn fat in the process. There are many new books on this subject in the bookstores, libraries and online. Click here for an example of my "fast food" diet menu.

By the way, the modern diet regimen also allows for occasional "cheat meals". It is now understood that it is better to have a cheat and be done with, rather than getting frustrated and giving up altogether. So if you're craving that piece of pizza, go ahead, then get back to the routine. Just be reasonable about the servings and don't feel guilty, whatever you do. Remember, your new way of eating will make you feel better, improve your health, help to prevent heart disease, diabetes, and other modern maladies. And you will burn fat without starving!

Judson Lassiter is a student of modern fat burning programs and is successfully losing weight using Tom Venuto's Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle system. You can get more information at: http://burnthatfatnow.com

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Food for burning fat