Adaptive evolution is the reason that 95% of all weight lose programs fail. Think back to the Theory of Evolution taught in High School.
“Theory of Evolution? What does that have to do with weight loss?”
As it turns out, they are FUNDAMENTALLY connected. Over millions of years, human beings have evolved to endure long periods of both famine and abundance. Our evolutionary history has made us creatures of opportunity, getting our food whenever and wherever we could find it, so the human metabolism also evolved to help us survive these cyclical periods.
“That sounds very interesting, but what does that have to do with my diet tanking after a few weeks?”
Well, limiting or changing caloric intake is the keystone for most diets. After a while, the average metabolism will interpret this as a famine or natural disaster, so the metabolism automatically slows down in order to keep the body alive longer. This is why most diets will stop working after a few weeks, and why we sometimes feel sluggish on diets. It’s just nature’s way of trying to keep us alive.
“So how do we undo evolution?”
Glad you asked. We do something called “calorie shifting”. Studies show that it consistently promotes sustained weight loss.
“What is calorie shifting?”
It’s a simple concept. You spend a week to 10 days lowering your caloric intake below your baseline level. Studies have shown that your metabolism will begin to interpret this as a famine and start to slow down after 11 days.
To stop the metabolism from slowing down, you then spend the next week to 10 days raising your caloric intake ABOVE your baseline. This makes the metabolism react as if the famine were over, so it speeds up again.
After it speeds up, you then return your caloric level back BELOW your baseline. You see? That way, you constantly “trick” your metabolism into never slowing down, and you prevent the sluggishness.
Of course, there’s more to it than that since you have to follow other guidelines. You have to drink up to 10 glasses of water a day, for example, and you need the right kind of calories stretched over 4 meals a day. That will be the subject of future articles.
Want to find out more about CALORIE SHIFTING? Then visit Jennifer Gordon’s site at www.gofatloss.info to choose the best WEIGHT LOSE PROGRAM for your needs.
Tags: calorie shifting, Diet, diets, family, fat loss 4 idiots, lifestyle, metabolic diets, no exercise diets, weight loss