26 ■^ EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ROSEDALE DIET
chinery is to eat a diet that is rich in good fat, contains the right amount
of protein, and is very low in starchy and sugary carbohydrates. What
happens if you go on a weight loss diet, but are still burning sugar as
your primary fuel? Ultimately, you will lose muscle. Why? In the ab-
sence of sugar from your food, your body will burn protein from your
lean mass for fuel, and you will lose muscle. At the end of all your diet-
ing, you will still be flabby, and you will still be burning sugar and
hoarding fat. Remember, it isn’t weight you want to lose—it’s fa t—and
the only way you can lose fat is by becoming a fat burner.
- Do you have trouble keeping weight off after dieting?
Yes __ No __
What This Symptom Means. Most people can take weight off fairly
quickly, but keeping it off is the real challenge. If you simply take off
weight, but do not restore leptin sensitivity, you will have an extremely
difficult time maintaining your weight loss. If your cells can’t “hear” lep-
tin’s cues, you will feel hungry even when your body doesn’t need food,
and your body will think it should be storing fat when in fact it should
be burning fat. You may even get fatter while trying to eat less because
your body will try even harder to hold on to fat as you cut back on food.
- Are you constantly hungry?
Yes __ No __
What This Symptom Means. Is your stomach always growling for food?
Constant hunger is one of the early signs of leptin resistance. If you find
that you are suddenly getting hungry at odd times during the day (or
night) and are eating more, your leptin signaling is off. When things are
going right, leptin lets your brain know that your cells have enough fuel
to do their work, and blocks the urge to eat.