What Happens to the Body When we Diet?
As soon as healthy dietary changes are implemented, the body begins to react positively. This is beneficial because over time, such adjustments can lower the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease while enhancing one’s overall well-being.
Control of blood glucose level
Consuming carbohydrates leads to an increase in blood sugar levels, with the magnitude of this increase influenced by a food’s glycemic index. The glycemic index, rated on a scale of 1 to 100, determines how a food impacts blood sugar levels.
Foods with a high glycemic index are rapidly digested, causing sharp spikes in blood sugar followed by rapid declines. These fluctuations heighten the risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Consequently, avoiding high-glycemic foods like soft drinks, candy, and white bread can mitigate these risks.
Opting for foods with a low glycemic index helps maintain steady blood sugar levels, sustaining energy throughout the day. This prevents the abrupt spikes and crashes in blood sugar, ensuring consistent energy levels. Moreover, stable blood glucose levels support cognitive function, as sharp drops in blood sugar can impair concentration and learning ability.
Coffee and cortisol
Reducing coffee consumption can lower the presence of the stress hormone cortisol in your body. Elevated cortisol levels can impair stress management abilities and weaken the immune system. Caffeine exacerbates these negative effects, so cutting back on coffee can swiftly mitigate the impact of cortisol.
Severely restricting calorie intake can hinder weight loss rather than facilitating it, as it hampers the body’s ability to effectively burn fat. When faced with significant calorie deprivation, the body reacts defensively as if it’s undergoing starvation. It becomes highly efficient in utilizing available energy, safeguarding fat stores and resorting to breaking down muscle and lean tissue for energy instead. This leads to muscle loss and subsequently lowers metabolism, reducing the body’s caloric needs and slowing down weight loss.
Muscle mass significantly influences metabolic rate, as muscle burns more calories compared to fat. Therefore, losing muscle decreases metabolic rate and the amount of calories burned. Maintaining a healthy metabolic rate is crucial, especially during dieting, necessitating a balanced approach to both diet and exercise. Strength-building exercises prove particularly effective in increasing muscle mass. For each additional pound of muscle gained, the body expends approximately 50 more calories daily.
To prevent a detrimental decline in metabolic rate, experts generally advise against restricting calorie intake to less than 1,000 to 1,200 calories per day.
