How Radical Should Your Diet Be?

When we set out to lose weight, we often have to consider a number of variables. How much weight do we wish to lose, what kind of exercise we wish to begin doing, what kind of diet we are going to adopt. With so many options out there this decision making process can become a little overwhelming, with the result being our almost haphazardly choosing whatever method presents itself with the best marketing.

However, when it comes to our bodies, the better our understanding of our physiology the better the chances of our diet succeeding. Thus one of the key questions becomes how large a caloric deficit should we set? Should we eat just a little less, a moderate amount less, or tons less on a daily basis? What are the pros and cons of each approach? Is there one method that is much better than the others? In today's article we are going to take a closer look at this question, and seek to guide you correctly so that you can optimize your diet successes.

First, let's establish a few basics so that this can be a meaningful conversation. We should be clear that when we mean setting a caloric deficit we mean that you can achieve this through either exercise or cutting back on how much you consume. While these are different and have different effects on your body, for this article we are going to strive for simplicity. Further, when we say small, medium, or large deficits we mean that you are reducing your maintenance caloric needs by either ten to fifteen percent, twenty to twenty five percent, or anything greater than twenty five percent. Clear?

So, let's take a look. Setting a 10% deficit will result in gradual weight loss of usually about a pound a week for guys to half a pound for women. The loss will be slight enough that the body won't react with any defense mechanisms, but the deficit is small enough that you need to be really meticulous about recording how much you eat. Moderate deficits will generate quicker losses, but the body will begin to fight the weight loss by slowing down your metabolism and seeking to horde fat, which will make it tougher. Extreme losses will take much less time, but will cause your metabolism to go haywire, and you will need to eat pretty much protein the whole time to ensure you don't lose too much muscle.

Originally posted on: https://articlebliss.com/Article/828144/How-Radical-Should-Your-Diet-Be.html