However, have you ever wondered why this approach isn’t that successful for most people? The answer is simple, it doesn’t work. The assumption uses faulty logic which doesn’t take into account the fact that your body alters how it works depending upon the situation it is in. If your goal is to permanently lose your body fat, then reducing the amount of calories you eat by a large amount is counterproductive and may even be harmful.

So what does your body change to make the logic faulty? Well, your body has complex defense mechanisms that swing into action in all sorts of different circumstances. If you suddenly reduce the amount of calories you take on board, then your body thinks it is being starved and so starts to slow things down in order not to burn up fuel as quickly as it normally would. Your body’s goal in doing this is to keep you alive when food is scarce. It is true that the body will start to consume fat stores when the amount of food available to it is low, but in order to keep you alive for longer, it decides to burn fat at a much slower rate. In fact, your metabolic rate can in extreme circumstances be reduced by up to 40%.

There is worse news though for those of you thinking that a crash diet like this will help you reduce your body fat content quicker. The lack of calories means that you will start to lose muscle too. So, if you are thinking that when you lose the fat, your muscle tone will be more defined, think again. So why does this happen? Well, muscle is expensive in terms of the amount of resources the body is required to expend in order to sustain it. Consequently, in times of starvation, the body will start to break it down and get rid of it, thereby freeing up much needed protein for use elsewhere. The weight you lose during a crash diet may actually consist of up to 50% muscle tissue. By crash dieting, you will end up achieving the exact opposite of what you intended. You will start to lose muscle tissue, but you will lose fat at a much reduced rate.

So what should you be doing? In short, take some hints from how your body works. In the end, your body is much better at deciding how to use up the resources you feed it than you are. Don’t reduce your calorific intake by a substantial amount in a short space of time, but instead lower your calorie intake by a smaller amount over a longer period of time. Around 15 – 20% below what you need to eat to maintain your current weight is about right.

Fat Loss is a marathon, not a sprint. Focus on losing body fat gradually. By taking this approach, your metabolism won’t crash and you will achieve the result you are looking for. Which is the preservation of lean muscle tissue and a steady reduction of body fat over a longer period of time. You will also feel much healthier and more energetic as you won’t be starving yourself. You will never achieve these results with a crash diet.

This is “Myth #1″ in our “12 Myths of weight loss” series. Stay tuned for more in the series soon!

Each person’s body requires a certain number of calories in order to perform its daily functions, no matter what their lifestyle may be like. Even if you simply spend the day lying in bed watching television, your body is still burning calories in order to breathe, circulate blood, think, digest your food, flip the channels, and much, much more that most people rarely if ever think about. This figure in terms of the number of calories required is known as your basal metabolic rate (or BMR) and is relative to several factors, including a person’s height, weight, and age.

In addition to your BMR, your body also burns additional calories in relation to whatever activities you do throughout the day. All activities burn calories, even low-key activities you don’t normally consider such as walking, driving to work, or doing light housework. Some certainly burn more than others, like working out strenuously or running, but they all burn fuel regardless. Add your calories burned through activity throughout the day to you BMR, and you have your total amount of “calories out” for the day.

“Calories in” come from the foods you consume, of course. As with activities, some foods account for more calories than others. When you consume more calories than you burn a day, you gain weight. When you consume fewer calories than you burn a day, you lose weight. When you consume the same? Your weight stays constant.

Now that you know the basics of how and why you may gain or lose weight, you need to know the basics as to how many calories a pound of fat is actually worth, which is more or less 3500 calories. This figure is the same whether the pound in question is going on or coming off. If you want to burn a pound of fat a week, then you need to create a calorie deficit of roughly 500 calories a day in order to meet the 3500 calorie deficit necessary, and this is best done through a combination of calorie-cutting and increased calorie expenditure through physical activity.

However, as with any diet method, it’s important to remember to make healthy choices. Choose your calories wisely, prioritizing fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats. Eliminate junk food from your diet, or at the very least, cut way back on your intake of it. Do this in tandem with an exercise regime that allows for 20-30 minutes of continuous exercise at least 5 days a week. It’s also important to remember to discuss any potential diet or exercise program with your doctor before deciding once and for all that it’s the right one for you.