“Yep! I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to go on a diet and shed these darn pounds once and for all.”

Did words like these ever come from your mouth?

Having finally committed to the diet, we usually move next to finding out how we can get rid of the weight the fastest way possible.

We are going to explore this need for speed in a moment. Before we do, we need to acknowledge that there is nothing basically “wrong” with wanting fast results. Speed is the way of the world we live in and the desire for speedy weight loss is perfectly natural.

To lose weight fast, the thought that first comes to mind for many people is to reduce their caloric intake.

If losing body fat is the goal, then the logic of calorie reduction is basically correct. The calories we take in must be less than the calories required to maintain the weight we have.

This method of how to lose weight is not the issue. The issue is about how aggressively we try to do this. When we approach the quick weight loss diet in a very aggressive manner, the body believes it is in mortal danger and takes steps to protect itself.

Being conscious, thinking beings, we sometimes find that nature’s priorities run a different course than our own. If life and death are the chips on the table, the consequences of these priorities take on grave proportions (pardon the pun).

Take for example hypothermia. This is a condition where the body’s temperature becomes abnormally low; as when ill dressed for harsh winter weather for example.

One of the body’s responses to hypothermia is to attempt to divert its blood supply to “essential” areas. In this survival attempt, the body cuts off much of the blood supply to the “extremities.” This includes things like the arms and the legs. Oh, one other thing that the body considers a non-essential extremity; the head!!

We also come to a parting of the ways with our bodies when it comes to how the body handles things when it thinks we are in danger of starving. Among the many responses the body has to this situation, two are of particular interest.

1) The body adapts to the lower number of available calories by lowering the metabolism. This way, it can conserve its inventory of fat.

2. Cannibalization: Muscle is expensive to have around in the body’s view. That is because muscles burn calories just by being there. So the body eliminates this problem being cannibalizing its own muscle tissue!

The body seems to have converted the fast weight loss program into a fat conservation program. The only opposition to the body’s thrifty attitude about fat was its muscle mass . . . which has now been “eaten” into submission.

The transition is complete; we are now long term fat storage units.

The lesson here is to avoid aggressive diets if you can.

What are some factors to look for in a diet that doesn’t trigger the body’s defense mechanisms?

Here are the least number of features an effective diet should have:

1. A conservative caloric reduction of not more than 20%.

2. A focus on increasing muscle mass through weight training.

3. Some aerobic workouts to increase the body’s Basal Metabolic Rate.

These features are each well covered in many books as individual topics. If you are looking at a diet system that is missing some of these activities, you can always just add them.