I Eat Only Once A Day. Why Am I Still Fat?
By Ivan Nikolov
copyright © 2008 Ivan Nikolov
Is this you? Do you starve yourself during the day, eat
only once at night and still no pounds are coming off?
In my opinion this is one of the greatest misconceptions in the modern world.
People still think that by severe calorie restriction they can safely loose
body fat.
Well, the truth is in most cases not only don't they loose body fat but they
don't even lose any body weight.
The reasons for that are two - big ones:
* The body enters in the starvation mode with consequent metabolic rate slow
down
* Rather significant calorie ingestion at night causes the body to store the
surplus as fat
Let's take a look at the first one. The body is an incredible machine. It was
made to be used throughout the day, and used a lot, that is. It was also made
to survive continuous use without any food. That's why we have our fat stores,
which actually are our survival energy depots.
We don't like that, but we have to accept it because that's how mother Nature
has created us. Many thousand years ago we wouldn't survive without this
quality of ours.
In order to keep the body fat levels low we have to introduce enough calories
throughout the day. This way the body (that smart machine) thinks there is no
reason to start preserving its favorite source of energy - the fat.
How much calories are enough ? In any case your total
daily calorie intake should be above the so-called Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
or also known as Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). This is the minimum calories
your body needs for all its living processes as well as some minor movement
during the day.
The easiest way to determine your BMR is to find your Lean
Body Mass and multiply it by 11. The Lean Body Mass (LBM) is your Total Body
Mass without the fat tissue. Obviously you will need to know your body fat
percentage to be able to determine your LBM.
"But how can I eat so many calories in one or two
sittings?", you'd then ask. Well, I am glad you asked. Who said and when
did he say it that you should eat only once or twice a day?
Remember! You will NEVER be able to lose body fat if 1)
you eat less calories than your body needs to function properly; and 2) if you
don't trick your body that you are not starving it. You do that by introducing
some calories every 2.5 - 3 hours throughout the day.
So, I said it: You MUST divide your daily calorie intake
into 5 - 6 small meals. Then, and only then will you start losing body fat
again!
Now, let us look at the second big reason for fat loss
failure: rather significant calorie intake in one meal only.
You might still be eating less calories than your BMR, but
nonetheless an amount of calories that can NOT and should NOT be fitted in one
single meal. And if you eat a lot of calories, it is very likely that you eat a
lot of carbohydrates, too.
What happens when you eat a lot of carbohydrates at once,
regardless of whether it is mostly simple or complex carbs or mix of both, your
body will trigger exaggerated insulin production in order to quickly remove the
abnormally high glucose levels.
Insulin is the blood sugar carrier hormone. It will carry
the excess blood sugar straight to the fat cells where it is most readily
accepted in the presence of insulin surplus. The result: you gain fat.
Even if you didn't eat a lot of carbohydrates in this one
meal, and the calories came mostly from large quantities of protein and fat,
you will still store the surplus as body fat.
This is all due to the body being in starvation mode, and
as a consequence the metabolism has been slowed down - simply the body doesn't
need that many calories at once.
You've been staving it throughout the day and it has now
learned to maintain its functions with a lot less. That's why the calories,
once normal for you, are now considered calories in surplus.
This is all simple logic. Everyone, who severely restricts
calorie intake in an attempt to lose body fat, should once and forever learn
how the body functions in regards to how we treat it foodwise and what we expect
it to do in return.
Remember the two important messages from this article: 1)
NEVER, starve your body; and 2) NEVER eat your daily calorie allowance in one
or two meals only! Doing either one will set you for failure.
ABOUT THE AUTOR
Ivan Nikolov, an accomplished natural bodybuilder shares a
wealth of information on Natural
Bodybuilding and Sports
Nutrition on his website www.IvanNikolov.com.
Start using his comprehensive Free Nutrition
Software today!
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
Permission to reprint this article is granted if the article is reproduced in
its entirety, without editing, including the bio information. Your must also
include the hyperlinks to http://www.ivannikolov.com when using this article in
newsletters or online.
