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By Geoffrey Anderson Jr.
eDiets Contributor
Going on a diet and not losing weight is enough to make anyone go bananas.
If you’ve been cutting calories but the number on the scale hasn’t budged, it might be time to take a look at your workouts. New research out of Oregon Health & Science University suggests that diet without exercise is just plain old monkey business.
As part of the study, scientists observed 18 female monkeys at the school’s National Primate Research Center; the monkeys were fed a high-fat diet for several years. Eventually, they resumed eating a standard low-fat diet with a 30-percent reduction in calories, which was tracked for one month. At the end of the month, there was no significant weight loss seen among the monkeys.
However, a comparison group of three monkeys that followed the same diet but also exercised on a treadmill for one hour daily did see significant results at the end of the month. So why the big difference?
Judy Cameron, a senior scientist at the primate research center, says that your body tends to conserve energy when you reduce calories – your body enters a maintenance mode where your metabolism slows down. Without exercise to help start it back up, you’re less likely to shed excess pounds.
Fitness pro Raphael Calzadilla agrees that diet and fitness should always go hand-in-hand. By avoiding the gym and focusing on nutrition, you’re not only slowing down your progress but also losing valuable muscle mass.
“I can always tell when someone solely diets and neglects the gym because even though they may look thin, their muscles look soft,” says Raphael. “In a case such as this, the person lost muscle during the dieting process and even though they may be thrilled with their loss, it sadly was a combination of fat loss and muscle loss as opposed to just fat loss.”
And to kick-start your metabolism, you need to make sure you keep as much muscle as possible.
“Besides looking better, this added muscle will serve to speed the rate of the metabolism and allow someone to consume more calories (assuming calories are correct),” says Raphael. “Plus, you’ll be stronger and have more energy!”
So if you want to lose weight, do you have to act like a monkey and hit the treadmill every day for an hour? The answer is no.
“An hour a day on the treadmill 6-7 days a week is unrealistic for the average person who has a job, family and so on,” Raphael says. “I recommend four days of cardio (although 3-6 days is a good range) for 30-45 minutes. I also recommend 2-3 days of strength training for approximately 20-30 minutes.”
For the average person who wants to shed fat and retain muscle, Raphael’s recommendations will bring you closer to your goals. If you need help figuring out a workout plan or like a more structured approach, eDiets can help!
All of our online plans give you the best of both worlds: a healthy diet plan and a personalized fitness program. Plus, with the eDiets Virtual Trainer, you can see fitness animations that show you the proper form for hundreds of exercises.
So what are you waiting? Quit monkeying around and get moving!
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