Stop dieting

• ’Dieting makes you fat’
  * spectacularly unsuccessful activity – over 98% of dieters fail to keep off lost weight permanently – feeds massive worldwide industry
• Missing and irregular meals ‘warn’ body of shortage in food supply
• Physiology/metabolism adapts to this by becoming more efficient at storing energy – hence serial dieters find it harder to lose weight
• Calorie restriction will cause some muscle to waste. Muscle is needed to burn calories
• Initial rapid weight loss on dieting is due to liver glycogen being used up, plus loss of associated water – glycogen stores replaced when normal diet is resumed, so weight returns quickly
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