00:00When you diet, you lose more than fat. You lose muscle too, and serious consequences can follow, not only on your fitness and strength, but on your metabolism.
00:09To lose fat, you need to consume less calories than your body uses in a day. That's called being in a calorie deficit.
00:15The body will first resort to using a small dose of glycogen reserved for energy, which comes from carbs.
00:21But Science Alert explains that as carbohydrate molecules bind with water, this means that when the body stores glycogen, it also stores water in the muscles.
00:30This is called water weight and explains why some may feel they lose considerable weight early in their diet.
00:36But once the glycogen is used up, the body shifts to metabolizing fat to get the energy it needs to function.
00:43But not all tissues can use fat for energy. This is why the body needs to metabolize your muscles when you're in a calorie deficit.
00:51The best way to preserve muscle is to combine resistance or endurance training with a diet higher in protein.
00:58Why? Because exercise stimulates muscle growth. But this process can only happen if you have an adequate supply of protein.
01:05Ethnicity, genetics, and amount of fat all play an important role in the process of weight loss.
01:11But in general, if a person loses 10% of their body weight, typically around 20% of this is fat-free mass, such as muscle.
01:19When trying to lose weight, the most important thing to consider is how sustainable your diet and lifestyle changes are.
01:25The easier to maintain, the more likely you'll keep the weight off over time.
Comments