2875: 3 Ways Dieting Could Be Slowing Your Metabolism by Matthew Benetti with Ideal Nutrition

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[00:01:18] And I'm Dr. Neil, your host and narrator. Welcome back to Optimal Health Daily, where I act as your narrator of the best health and fitness blogs covering fitness, nutrition, stress management, weight management, and lots more. And then on Fridays, I do something a little different. I answer your questions right here on the show. With that, let's get right to today's post as we optimize your life.

[00:01:44] 3 Ways Dieting Could Be Slowing Your Metabolism by Matthew Bonetti with IdealNutrition.com.au Having trouble losing weight? Unless you are a lucky minority, most people who have attempted weight loss have faced the horrid weight loss plateau. This refers to a stop in weight loss for an extended length of time, despite no change in observed behavior like diet and physical activity.

[00:02:10] Anyone who has gone through this will understand how frustrating and discouraging it can be. Your personal trainer will think you're lying. Your friends think that you have messed up your metabolism. And you feel frustrated that the scale is not changing. Luckily, science is able to provide some explanations that, hopefully, can help us make smarter decisions to handle this. This article will investigate the big culprits for weight loss plateaus.

[00:02:38] You are unknowingly eating more than what you think. Before getting into the tips, it's worth mentioning that, in many cases, a weight loss plateau is simply an underestimation of the total amount of food eaten per week. Now, there are several ways that this can happen. Not accounting for snacks and being unaware of food eaten during less stringent days like the weekends are potential reasons.

[00:03:01] Even among those that swear that they are not eating more than they had planned can still fall victim to underestimating food intakes. In one of the largest diet studies ever conducted, it was found that the 600 participants that completed the study consumed an extra 200 calories at the end of the study when compared to the beginning. Now, this finding isn't shocking since dieting often leads to appetite stimulation. In fact, most studies have found similar results.

[00:03:30] This increase in hunger over time can then lead to unintentional increases in calorie intake over time. And as a result, this may lead to a weight loss plateau. Your body is using less energy than what it did before. If someone is absolutely certain that they aren't eating more than expected, there may be other reasons. It's likely their body is using less energy than what it did before they lost the weight.

[00:03:56] The number of calories burned by the body now matches the total amount of calories consumed, which explains why weight loss has stopped. This still doesn't explain how someone uses less energy than they did before dieting. The term metabolic damage is commonly used to try to explain this phenomenon. This refers to some sort of permanent damage to the metabolism that results in less overall energy used per day.

[00:04:22] I should mention, though, that this concept is primarily based on anecdotal evidence. The available science does not support that metabolic damage is an issue for most people. In fact, studies looking at recovering anorexic patients have found no permanent damage in metabolism once body fat and muscle were proportionally gained. That being said, while metabolic damage may not exist, metabolic adaptation is a real phenomenon to be aware of.

[00:04:50] This concept is all about decreases in total daily energy expenditure that occur due to reasons beyond just the change in total body mass. Eat less, move less? The biggest culprit for less energy use per day may actually be related to a decrease in non-exercise activity thermogenesis. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, refers to the energy used from activity that isn't purposeful.

[00:05:18] This might include conscious and subconscious activities like fidgeting, walking, and standing. In some dieters, their motivation to do everyday activities decreases. It may be a conscious decision, like driving to the shops instead of taking the 5-minute walk. But it can also include activities that you have little to no control over, like fidgeting. Overall, this may result in less movement during the day.

[00:05:44] All of this may lead to a decrease in energy usage throughout the day. Now, this response does vary from person to person, but may be more noticeable when more weight is lost, like around the 20 pounds or about 10 kilograms loss range. This is why, for those looking to lose a significant amount of weight, it may be worthwhile to consider diet breaks. Weight loss isn't all fat.

[00:06:10] It's rare to lose a substantial amount of weight without some of that coming from muscle. The reality is that, for most people trying to lose body fat, they will also likely lose some muscle. This is because when dieting, the body will also use muscle for energy, which leads to muscle loss. Muscle is metabolically active tissue. This means that to maintain muscle, your body uses energy. Technically, fat requires energy to be maintained as well,

[00:06:38] but it requires less energy in general to maintain. As an estimation, muscle burns around 12 calories per kilogram body weight per day, while fat burns around 4 calories per kilogram body weight per day. So when someone loses weight, they now reduce the amount of muscle they have. In turn, this reduces the amount of energy needed to maintain it. As a result, the body uses less energy overall

[00:07:05] and can balance out the energy in, energy out equation. The big picture. Weight loss plateaus are complex. It's very rare that all of this is because of just one factor. Instead, multiple factors could be at play here. So it may be worthwhile to try different techniques to break through a weight loss plateau. You just listened to the post titled, Three Ways Dieting Could Be Slowing Your Metabolism

[00:07:35] by Matthew Bonetti with idealnutrition.com.au and I'll be right back with my commentary. When was the last time you checked if your insurance still fits your needs? With Insurance Pro Agencies powered by VIU by Hub, find the right coverage in minutes. Visit topratedquotes.com or text RATES to 855-665-0829 to get personalized auto, homeowners,

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[00:08:32] Insurance has never been this easy. Texting RATES means you will receive information and occasional promotional messages. Message and data rates may apply. You can reply stop to opt out at any time. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. Matthew made some really good points, and I love that he backed up these concepts by citing actual studies. Something that many striving to lose weight are unaware of is that oh-so-important concept that when there was more of you,

[00:09:01] you burn more calories. But as you start to lose weight, there's less of you. Therefore, your body burns less energy when you move around and when you're at rest. Basically, your metabolism, your total daily energy expenditure, goes down as you lose weight. Add to that the fact that our appetite may still be where it was before some of the weight loss happened. It seems like we're fighting a losing battle. That's where mixing things up can be really helpful.

[00:09:30] Distraction, social support, mixing up your exercise routine, these can all be really powerful tools. When we're losing weight and hunger sets in, we have to ask ourselves, for example, am I really hungry? Or am I just bored or stressed or anxious or angry or tired? If we're craving something for any reason besides actual hunger, well then it's time to distract ourselves with something that's unrelated to food.

[00:09:57] Going for a walk outside is usually a perfect distraction. Bottom line is even just five minutes of distraction can help a craving pass. Now social support can be helpful to keep us honest. And mixing up our fitness routines can help us to continue to burn those calories and provide a little bit of muscle confusion. If we haven't changed up our exercise routine in a while, hitting a plateau may be the perfect excuse to, say, try high-intensity interval training, for example.

[00:10:26] Or try that new at-home resistance training exercise that's been on your mind, or that yoga workout your friend told you about. Either way, try something new to jumpstart that metabolism again. All right, that'll do it for today. I hope you have a great rest of your day. Thank you for sharing this show with someone. I'll see you back here tomorrow for the Friday Q&A and where your optimal life awaits.