Why Diets Don't Work and Exercise Does

by Christian BossertNutrition
From Yuri Elkaim's "The All-Day Fat Burning Diet"

I bet you dieted before. If you haven't, someone close to you has. Either way, you're equipped to answer two questions for me: first, was it a pleasurable experience? Second, did it work?

Answer more often than not is "no" on both accounts. I can't think of anyone I know was honestly enjoy dieting. It's always an ordeal people mode about, and all I can do is shake my head what's more, even if they are successful in losing a few pounds, a few months later they find themselves right back where they started: chubby or overweight, complaining about how stressed and miserable they are, and trying to give Vince everyone – especially themselves – that they are going to start a new diet soon. I must say, it's tiring just thinking about it.

According to a January 2015 story in US news and world report, nearly 2/3 of dieters regain the way they've lost on a diet within the first year. That's a lot of people, especially when you consider that roughly 45,000,000 Americans will try a new diet every year, according to figures from Boston medical center. That's a lot of time and energy being wasted, but the diet industry just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Those stats from BMC also reveal another surprising figure: those 45 million people will collectively spend $33 billion each year I'm dieting methods.

I am a part of that industry, but I'm positive my clients on the small majority of dieters to drop their excess weight and keep it off. I'm telling you these statistics, though, because I don't want to mislead you, and I want you to know that I won't push any miracle pills or programs your way. I want to tell you the truth. That begins with telling you why dieting is pointless. Aside from the misery of it all your body simply isn't programmed to respond to a diet and the way you've been told it will. Let me explain.

Your body is always using energy to perform all manner of external and internal functions, even when you're sleeping. This rate of energy use is called your basal metabolic rate. You gain energy from the food you eat in the form of calories, and this keeps her metabolic rate chugging along. If you eat more than you burn, you're fat storage increases. Thus, the only way to make sure your expending more energy then you're ingesting and storing is to increase your basal metabolic rate.

The only way to increase your basal metabolic rate is to increase your lean muscle, and the only way to increase your lean muscle is to exercise. It's really that simple.

This is precisely why diets don't work. When you diet, you deprive yourself of food and energy, and in the short term, this means that you lose weight. However, this also means that you gradually lower your basal metabolic rate. When you've achieved the weight-loss results you were aiming for and you start eating normally again, your food and energy intake will far exceed your lower lowered basal metabolic rate, and all the wait will start piling on again. It's ugly and pointless cycle.

Thus, the only way to truly lose weight and keep it off is to take a multilayered approach: first, you have to incorporate healthier foods into your diet that promote our mono balance and reduce inflammation inside your body. Second, you have to change your daily lifestyle to reduce stress and support positive growth. Finally, you have to exercise. That's right, you have to exercise.

Through exercise, you will gain lean muscle, which will increase your basal metabolic rate. With this increase you will gradually become a fat burning machine, even when you're not working out. Mind you, I'm not suggesting that you become a bodybuilder. That degree of pump up muscle isn't required to unlock fat burning properties. I know this is especially a concern for women, most of whom want to avoid the muscled look. I assure you that this is not what we're going for. I simply want you to be fit and firm.

You have to hit the gym seven days a week. The key here is to make sure you're getting the right types of and amount of exercise.

Chris will answer your questions at cbossert14@gmail.com.