We tend to use the term “weight loss” generally when we go on a diet. And while some are content with simply watching the numbers of the scale go down, it is important that you focus solely on losing fat rather than precious, lean body mass.
If you want to simply lose weight…and you don’t care where the weight comes from (body fat, bones, muscle, organs, etc.) then the fastest way to accomplish that is through dietary fasting (not eating anything). Fasting is the fastest way to lose weight…but it comes with a hefty price, up to and including death.
After about a day of fasting, your body is getting 80-90% of its energy from its own body fat, which is a very good thing. However, when the body goes several hours without protein (amino acids needed to sustain life), it begins to attack its own protein stores. Sooner or later, lean body mass is attacked to a point where you are unable to move and your organs malfunction, which will later result in your death.
The fact is, there are certain diets out there that have great success in helping people achieve weight loss— with studies to prove it—however, by the way those diets are structured, a large portion of the weight that are lost is not body fat, but instead, lean body mass. Lean body mass is basically everything that is not body fat. This includes skeletal muscle, organs and bones. Remember, a decrease in lean body mass equates to a slower running metabolism. A slow metabolism will make it harder to lose weight and easier for you to put weight back on once it’s lost. The 3 Week Diet is designed to not only keep your metabolism churning along, but also works to reset and increase its ability so that you are constantly running at your body’s maximum potential.
The diets that focus solely on the numbers of the scale do more harm to your body than good. These types of diets actually slow your body’s ability to lose body fat and they force your body to attack itself for the essential nutrients it needs. You can spot these diets from a mile away, if you know what you’re looking for. The red flag when looking for these diets (often called fasts) are those that have an obvious lack protein as their primary food source. Diets like the Hollywood Juice Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, the Lemonade Diet, etc. can definitely help you lose weight…but trust me when I say this: the weight you lose on these types of diets is not the weight you want to lose. In fact, these diets do more bad than good because you will lose precious lean body mass in the process of losing weight. And again, when you lose that precious lean body mass, you slow down your metabolism which in turn slows your ability to lose weight. The more lean body mass you have, the more calories your body needs to keep that mass functioning properly.
Again when the body goes without protein for a length of time, it is going to get its protein needs by eating your skin for lunch and your hair for dinner. The hair and skin are the first protein stores to be attacked and if you look closely at people on protein-deficient types of diets, you will notice a lack of glow and sheen to the hair and skin. This is because the protein that keeps the skin and hair healthy and vibrant will be missing. People on these types of diets are noticeably haggard, wrinkly and dull looking.
But it won’t stop there. Think about it. Can you really afford to lose part of your heart, liver, brain, kidneys and other vital organs? Do you really want to sacrifice your precious skeletal muscle that actually helps you burn fat all day long? I know none of this sounds too pleasant but it is a fact. When looking to lose weight, it is imperative that the weight you lose is laser-focused on body fat, rather than lean body mass. Certain diets and misinformation about nutrients can lead to protein deficiency.
If you have any of the following symptoms, chances are you are not getting enough protein in your diet:
- thin, brittle hair.
- hair loss.
- reduced pigmentation in the hair.
- ridges in fingernails and toenails.
- skin rashes, flaky skin, dry skin.
- weakness and cramps in your muscles.
- difficulty sleeping.
- nausea
- slow healing in wounds, cuts, scrapes
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should take a good look at your daily protein intake. Sometimes these unexplainable conditions come down to an easy fix—more protein in your diet.
Protein deficiency can be even more serious than you think. Long term or frequent protein deficiency can result in even more serious health risks, such as:
- gallstones.
- Arthritis.
- heart problems.
- organ failure.
- muscle deterioration.
- death
As you can see, a lack of protein in your diet can be very serious—even life threatening. If you take nothing else from this book, be absolutely certain that you are getting adequate amounts of protein every day. In the diet portion of The 3 Week Diet, you’ll learn how to calculate your true daily protein requirements.
On The 3 Week Diet, we attempt to emulate “starvation” and all the fat-burning qualities it produces—but without all the negative side effects (hunger, lean body mass loss, etc.). To do this, we will focus on depleting the body of carbohydrates to trigger the starvation response. Again, this starvation response forces the body to switch over to burning incredible amounts of fat for our daily energy needs. Meanwhile, we will “sneak” adequate amounts of protein to the body every few hours. Instead of attacking our own lean body mass, the body will use this “easy” protein (the protein we eat) and turn it into glucose, which requires even more fuel (body fat) to accomplish. Basically, we are going to throw all kinds of things at the body to force it to burn more and more body fat, which will result in ultra-fast weight loss.
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