Before many Australians recently , a devastating story unfolded on a popular current affairs program. We watched with compassion as the fattest man in Australia told of his most recent serious attempt to lose weight. Approximately 12 months earlier and weighing nearly 300 pounds, he went life threatening surgery to lose weight.
I doubt that there was a person watching not moved by the depression and distress of this man. Despite the surgery , today he could barely get through each day , both physically and mentally. He shared with us his sense of hopelessness and wanting to end it all.
It was not just his size that was causing his depression . He had to deal with a heart broken by disappointment .
You see, the surgery was a success.
Very quickly , he lost over 50 pounds after the operation and he and his family rejoiced . But then the unthinkable happened .
The weight came back. Today he weighs more <i> </ i> 300 kilos - more than before the surgery.
This is an extreme case, but nevertheless raises a question that many people continue to struggle with .
After a diet, why the weight back so fast ?
To answer this , we must understand how much energy a body needs. For every pound you weigh, each day you need 12 calories to maintain your body weight. If you weigh 120 pounds, you will need 120 x 12 calories , that is , 1440 calories per day to maintain the body weight. If you eat or drink more calories than your body needs , the excess energy is stored as fat . It should be 3600 excess calories to produce one pound of fat.
In this example , if your typical daily caloric intake is 2000 calories , in 30 days , you would between 4-5 pounds of fat !
Let's say you decide to go on a restrictive diet and halve your calorie intake of 1000 calories per day . You stay on this diet for about a month and lose 10 pounds and now weighs 110 pounds. You feel great to lose weight but can not follow such a restrictive regime because you are irritable and have more energy .
Then you go about your diet and return to your usual routine of 2,000 calories per day. Remember that you are lighter now and your body needs less energy to maintain its new weight. You would now require 110 x 12 is 1320 calories per day.
In this case, in 2000 , the consumption of calories per day, because you are lighter than before, you put the weight back on in just 24-25 days!
If you want to maintain the weight you need to develop a consistent change in eating habits so that you do not consume more than your body needs. You can not keep eating the same amount and / or foods that caused you to be overweight in the first place combinations . This will develop an understanding of the nutritional content of food and raising your body's metabolism through increased muscle mass and exercise .
(c) 2003 Kim Beardsmore
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