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2005/04/03, 03:29 AM
This is very interesting! :) :
It's one of those weird things - no studies have been done, so there is no proof as such, but there is lots of empirical evidence from people like you and me, who diet, see no changes on the scale or in the mirror for as much as 2-4 weeks, and then the sudden WHOOSH happens, and you drop 4 pounds and a jean size seemingly overnight.
It is believed to be this:
The fat cell releases some fat, which gets burned in the usual way. However, the cell doesn't shrink immediately; instead, it makes up for its lost volume with water. This happens slowly over a time period. Then, possibly triggered by a change in diet (usually by the person eating more food than usual), the fat cell decides to release all its build-up of water - and you get the pleasant surprise on the scale and the waistline of your jeans the next day! One way to notice if this is indeed what is happening is that the fat you can pinch seems somehow squishier than it was before. This is something i have personally noticed, too, and what led to the assumption that the fat cell is holding water. Reasons for this behaviour are thought to be that the body is trying to help the skin recover its elasticity somewhat, to accommodate the change in size.
So in fact, you have been losing fat at a constant rate, it just looks like it all happens at once. You don't even see any differences in size, in the mirror, because due to the water in the fat cells, you take up the same amount of space!
My source for this is Lyle McDonald, a bit of a physiology guru, also an athlete himself and a personal trainer - if you google his name you'll get a multitude of information
I hope this explanation helps someone who is getting discouraged after being "good" for ages and not seeing any of the good stuff happening!!
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- Nina :o) Les Victoires éternelles sont celles du coeur.
www.nme-pro.com
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2005/04/03, 11:59 AM
Great observation Nina....that is why you are a mod. Using your head. So many folks give up on their diet just about the time it is going to start showing results. This happens over and over, a nice loss at the beginning, then all of a sudden nothing. But it does happen almost exactly as you say.
A good lesson for those who think they are "stuck". Stay with it, and don't go buy some "miracle" supplement. This is where alot of them get some type of rep that they worked, folks get frustrated and go out and buy one of these all the while dieting. Then when the normal fat loss occurs, they say it was the supplement. So much of this stuff is sold in this fashion.
Anyway, again, great post Nina.
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If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything....
bb1fit@freetrainers.com
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