The number on the weighing machine for many people has been the beacon that guided their fitness regimes for the handsome portion of their life. And this is where the health-conscious generation is wrong.
The risk of diabetes, obesity-related cancer and cardiovascular diseases are the primary reasons for people wanting to slash on the numbers that appear on the weighing machines. But when the number does dip, we have to make sure that it is the fat which is lost, not the essential muscles in the process of dieting. In other words – we need to be more focussed on body fat loss than the scale weight loss.
Risks associated with losing lean body mass:
- Sarcopenia: Resulting in impaired muscle functioning
- Cardiac Muscle atrophy: Weakening of the heart muscles
Why might this be happening in the first place though? Let’s take a deeper dive:
Lesser Protein Intake
The diet regime that most people follow misses out on an important nutrient – protein. This leads the body into a state of muscular breakdown, or catabolism. The number on the weighing machine certainly plummets but to no good cause, because a large part of weight loss is the water weight of muscles which eventually leads to the muscular breakdown.
A study by Layman and Baum, titled Dietary protein impact on glycemic control during weight loss maintains the fact that diets rich in protein and low in carbohydrates tend to increase fat loss and preserve lean body mass. In fact, you may want to be aware of how protein content is measured accurately in our dedicated post.
Large Calorie Deficit
Another study suggests that a very large calorie deficit, when compounded by a low protein diet, results in cardiac muscle atrophy.
Large calorie deficits may be helpful for the people with a large body fat percentage but as the body gets leaner, large calorie deficit eats away the muscle.
The underlying principle in a calorie deficit diet is, that when the body is deficient in the energy it will extract the energy from the fat deposits in adipose tissues. But when the calorie deficit is way too much the energy required to fuel the body is extracted from muscles. This leads to the breakdown of muscles and in the eventual loss of muscle mass.
Sleep deprivation
Lack of sleep disturbs the hormonal balance of our bodies. The levels of cortisol and ghrelin rise and the levels of leptin fall.
- Cortisol: Main stress hormone believed to be responsible for the breakdown of muscles.
- Ghrelin: The hormone responsible for the feeling of hunger.
- Leptin: The hormone responsible for the satiety and the feeling of fullness after meals.
When the body is sleep-deprived, the interplay of these hormones leads to the loss in muscle mass and building up of fat tissue. Sleep deprivation increases insulin production, leading to an increased storage fat and risk of contracting type 2 diabetes. Leptin secretion falls off and a spike in ghrelin, results in an unchecked binge eating. It comes as no surprise that ever since 1980, obesity has almost doubled, a trend rising in parallel to chronic sleep deprivation, a recent study suggested. Another study suggests that insulin sensitivity also decreases by chronic sleep deprivation, resulting in inefficient usage of glucose and a consequent increase in blood sugar level.
Heavy Cardio exercises
The first thing that comes to mind when we think of burning fat is a lot of cardio-based exercises. In a study conducted by Keefe, titled Potential Adverse Cardiovascular Effects From Excessive Endurance Exercise, it was observed that a structural weakening of heart muscle may occur if go down that path. Excessive cardio takes a significant toll on muscles and with fat, it leads to the loss of muscle mass as well. Amalgamating certain resistance and weight training along with moderate cardio can prevent the loss of lean body mass. Read our workout strategy guide for men and women here.
In short – tracking body fat percentages will be a better method at ensuring no losses of lean muscles. It’s important to shed our misconceptions and head into 2020 with the right kind of awareness for our bodies 🙂
