Please don’t get distracted. If they wanted to measure
fat loss they could. It is a relatively simple technique
and it only takes a few minutes.
So what’s going on? Why would they deliberately
measure the wrong thing?
There are lots of possible reasons, here’s one.
If they started measuring fat loss instead of weight
loss, they would likely find that most of their
customers lose between four and eight pounds of fat
per month.
If that did not burst their “Seven Pounds in Seven
Days” marketing bubble … explaining the rest of the
“weight loss” story surely would.
Let’s say that you were very motivated and willing to
really try. Here’s what you would need to do to lose
two pounds of fat in seven days:
• Intake 1000 fewer calories each day than
you use.
Any combination of numbers will work and it does
not matter what you eat, or when you eat.
A 1000 calorie deficit would result in a one pound of
fat loss every three and one-half days or two pounds
in a week.
So what are the other five pounds?
Numerous researchers have concluded that up to 30%
of the “weight” lost by people who lose weight
quickly is muscle tissue.
In this example, 30% of a seven-pound weight loss is
about two pounds of muscle.
The other weight is water, which comes from vital
lean tissue, not from fat.
Thus, if you were able to maintain the 1,000 calorie
per day deficit for the entire week, you would lose:
• About two pounds of fat
• About two pounds of muscle
• About three pounds of water from vital
lean body tissue
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For
most of us, the difference between fat and trim is an extraordinarily
slight caloric intake/use imbalance … not a dietary crisis!
Ok, let’s get back to the question: Why would they
deliberately measure the wrong thing?
First, the facts simply lack the excitement of “Seven
Pounds in Seven Days”. Second, the facts are not
consistent with good health or better body
composition, let alone improved physical appearance.
If the truth were told, far fewer people would
subscribe to low-calorie diet plans.
Balancing Your Caloric Intake/Use Ratio
For the sake of explanation, assume that you gained
20 pounds of fat during the past ten years. If you
gained 40 pounds, double all related figures. If you
gained 10 pounds, reduce all figures by 50 percent.
Stay focused … your primary goal is
to balance your caloric intake/use ratio by increasing use, not decreasing
intake. |