damaging being long-term weight gain as a result of slowing down
your metabolism on a calorie-restricted diet.
Case History
When Sally turned 30, she decided to get serious about taking
off the excess weight. So she followed a low-calorie diet that
limited her intake to 1,000 calories per day. Within three
months, Sally felt more tired, but finally reached her goal of los-
ing 20 pounds. Within six months, she gained about 25 pounds
back. She went back on her diet, and it was just as successful
as before, although it took a little longer to lose the 25 pounds.
This vicious cycle continued for about five years. Sally was now
not only tired, but depressed, had insomnia, and had PMS for
two weeks each month. During my initial consultation with
Sally, I explained how she was continually suppressing her
metabolism and getting more unhealthy with each vicious
cycle. Sally was weaned off her calorie-counting and eventual-
ly was able to eat as much as her body required. In time she got
down to the same size clothes she wore when she was at her
“ideal” weight at 22 years of age. And to her surprise, she was
eating about 2,000 calories each day!Calorie counting almost always results in eating less food. When
you eat less food, especially less fat, which contains the most calories,
one of the significant results can be that your metabolism slows down
and you can eventually store more fat, despite your initial (short-
term) weight loss. That’s why so many people eventually gain more
weight and fat after being on a calorie-restricted diet. The best way to
speed up metabolism is to eat the amount of good-quality food you
need each day, including fats, and be physically active.
Low-Fat Diets
One of the most popular and health-damaging diet plans is the low-
fat diet. The basic idea is built on the fallacy that calorie-dense dietary
fat causes the most weight gain and is detrimental to health. Many
people on low-fat diets have a “fat-phobia.” Low-fat diets are popu-
lar among calorie-counters because they are a seemingly easy way to
reduce calories.
176 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH