Your metabolism is the amount of calories your body needs to stay alive, performing various cellular functions. Your metabolism is influenced by your age, gender, body composition, physical activity level and how you eat. Eating too few calories may actually slow your metabolism and be detrimental to your weight-loss efforts.
The Low Calorie Diet
A low-calorie diet differs for men and women, according to David Nieman, author of "Exercise Testing and Prescription." As a man, eating 800 to 1,200 calories per day is considered a low-calorie diet. When a woman eats between 800 to 1,000 calories per day, she is considered to be on a low-calorie diet.
Eating and Weight
Your body responds to what you eat. When you are in caloric balance, your body is given as many calories as it uses, maintaining your weight. A caloric deficit, consuming less calories than you use, forces your body to use stored energy, mainly the fat deposits around your body. Eating too many calories causes your body to store extra energy for later use.
Metabolism and the Low-Calorie Diet
Your body is programmed to survive. Eating so few calories as the low-calorie diet requires may trick your body into thinking it is starving. During periods of starvation, your body slows down its metabolic processes in order to conserve energy. This is known as becoming metabolically efficient. Basically, your body is able to function normally on fewer calories.
The Right Balance
It's true that the only way to lose weight is to reach a daily caloric deficit. However, this caloric deficit can and should be reached through dietary restriction as well as physical activity. There are 3,500 calories in 1 lb. of fat; reducing your intake of food by 300 to 600 calories per day and using 200 to 400 calories on exercise can result in a weight loss of 1 to 2 lbs. per week, without sacrificing your metabolic rate.
References
- "Exercise Testing and Prescription"; David C. Nieman; 2007
- Calories per Hour.com: Raise Your Metabolism and Burn More Calories
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