“The world we have made as a result of the level of thinking we have done thus far creates problems we cannot solve at the same level of thinking at which we created them” ~ Einstein
Let’s look
at “eating less and exercising more” in the context of food as fuel. If food fuels the body, can you see how
“eating less and exercising more” presents a problem?
(Decreasing the fuel supply while
increasing the demand creates a deficit)
You put in less
fuel, and drive the motor harder than ever. That’s like running your car twice
as fast, twice as hard and expecting to put in less gasoline. It doesn’t make
much sense, does it?
What American
dieters have always assumed is that fat will conveniently and completely fill
in that gap. You deprive your body of fuel with the thought that if you create
a void, the body will automatically choose fat to fill it. Then, according to
this reasoning, you’ll lose “pounds”…right?
There’s just
one problem with that…it’s not what happens. Fat can’t pay back the deficit you
create by “eating less and exercising more,” because the body doesn’t run on
fat alone. Carbohydrates are the human body’s primary source of fuel…the
immediate source of energy we use to fuel our activities and most of the work
of our cells. The body must always have glucose…the carbohydrate found in your
bloodstream at all times, and virtually no fat can be turned into glucose.
Ideally,
your body makes glucose out of food…carbohydrate food. But it’s common to cut
out food, thinking that’s the key to “thin.” Perhaps you’re on a weight loss
diet that restricts carbohydrates (as
most do). Or else you’re too busy. You don’t have time for food, you
forget.
So where
does your body get glucose if you’re not providing it? If you don’t eat enough
carbs-whether purposely or thoughtlessly-your body manufactures carbs for fuel
by using existing materials…but not the materials you may have always assumed.
While your
body cannot turn any significant amount of fat into glucose if you come up
short, the system can make glucose by grabbing protein from your lean muscle
tissue and converting it to carbohydrate (Gluconeogenesis).
Your own muscle tissue is destroyed in order to replenish the too-low glucose
supply.
This is a
survival mechanism which is efficiently geared with numerous safety features to
ensure that you stay alive. And since we’re designed to use glucose at all
times, this is your body’s way of making glucose when you don’t keep it well
supplied with the food to do it.
Now I can
hear you say, “So what, I just want to
lose weight. I don’t care if its muscle”
Destroying
your own muscle for the purpose of creating glucose during a shortage is
dangerous for several reasons…
~ One, your
muscle obviously has a purpose. Your muscle mass is your strength…it supports
your skeletal structure and protects your bones.
~ Two,
burning muscle for fuel is inefficient and wasteful… It’s very toxic to your
insides. Because protein is nitrogen
based, nitrogen is given off when muscle protein “burns,” leaving your body an
unpleasant mess to deal with. Organs such as the kidneys and liver are unduly
stressed as they are saddled with the task of safely processing and excreting
these by-products.
~ Three, the
heart is a muscle. You might hope your body has the good sense to save that
muscle for last-and in fact it does, attacking the muscle tissue of the larger
extremities first. However, people can do damage to heart-“muscle tissue”
through constant dieting.
~ Four, along
with loss of muscle comes the loss of other important body proteins. The
antibodies that defend you against illness are proteins. Muscle contains
enzymes designed to metabolize fats, which are lost when muscle is lost.
~ Five, it
is impossible to break down fat without carbs-which diets usually restrict. Fat
that breaks down without fuel from carbs does so incompletely, leaving more
harmful by-products to join the poisonous leftovers of muscle/protein
breakdown.
~ Six, if
more than about one-fourth of weight is lost is muscle, and/or if the loss is
very rapid, serious protein deficiency and electrolyte imbalances can create
heart irregularities that could result in death.
Make sense?
And to think…you could have avoided this entire process by including
carbohydrates in your diet.