How might we protect bone and mass on a low-calorie weight-reduction plan? One of the constant advantages of calorie restriction is that blood strain improves in as little as one or two weeks. Blood strain might even be normalized in a matter of weeks and blood strain drugs discontinued. Sadly, this may work a bit of too effectively and trigger orthostatic intolerance, which may manifest as lightheadedness or dizziness upon standing and, in extreme instances, might trigger fainting, although staying hydrated may also help. What about lack of muscle mass? Within the CALERIE trial, which I profile in my video Potential Pitfalls of Calorie Restriction, 70 p.c of the physique weight the themes misplaced was fats and 30 p.c was lean physique mass. So, they ended up with an improved physique composition of about 72 p.c lean mass in comparison with 66 p.c within the management group, as you may see at 0:51 in my video. And, regardless that leg muscle mass and power declined in absolute phrases, relative to their new physique measurement, they often obtained stronger.
Is there any strategy to protect much more lean mass, significantly amongst older people who naturally are likely to lose muscle mass with age? Elevated protein intakes are generally instructed, however most research fail to discover a useful impact on preserving muscle power or perform whether or not you’re younger or outdated, energetic or sedentary. For instance, throughout a 25 p.c calorie restriction, researchers randomized chubby older women and men to both a normal-protein weight-reduction plan with 4 grams for each ten kilos of physique weight or a high-protein weight-reduction plan with about 8 grams per ten kilos. That doubling of protein consumption had no discernible impact on lean physique mass, muscle power, or bodily efficiency. As you may see under and at 1:48 in my video, most such research discovered the identical lack of profit, however after they’re all put collectively, one can tease out a small benefit of about one or two kilos of lean mass over a median of six months.
Sadly, excessive protein consumption throughout weight reduction has additionally been discovered to have “profound” unfavourable metabolic results, together with undermining the advantages of weight reduction on insulin sensitivity. As you may see within the graph under and at 2:14 in my video, if you happen to lose 20 kilos, you may dramatically enhance your physique’s skill to deal with blood sugars, in comparison with topics in a management group who maintained their weight. However, if you happen to lose the very same quantity of weight on a high-protein weight-reduction plan, getting about an additional 30 grams a day, it’s such as you by no means misplaced any weight in any respect.
Although you may at all times bulk again up after weight reduction, one of the best ways to protect muscle mass throughout weight reduction is to train. The CALERIE examine had no structured train part, and, just like bariatric surgical procedure, about 30 p.c of the burden loss was lean mass. In distinction, that proportion was solely about 16 p.c of The Greatest Loser contestants, chalked as much as their “vigorous train program.” Resistance coaching even simply 3 times every week can stop greater than 90 p.c of lean physique mass loss throughout calorie restriction. The identical could also be true of bone loss. Drop some weight by way of calorie restriction alone, and also you expertise a decline in bone mineral density in fracture threat websites, such because the hip and backbone. In the identical examine, although, these randomized to shed weight with train didn’t undergo any bone loss. The researchers concluded: “Our outcomes recommend that common EX [exercise] needs to be included as a part of a complete weight reduction program to offset the antagonistic results of CR [caloric restriction] on bone.” It’s onerous to argue with requires elevated bodily exercise, however even with out an train routine, the “very small” drop in bone mineral density within the CALERIE trial may solely improve a ten-year threat of osteoporotic fracture by about 0.2 p.c. The advantages of calorie restriction revealed by the examine included enhancements in blood strain and ldl cholesterol, as you may see within the graph under and at 3:54 in my video, in addition to improved temper, libido, and sleep. These would appear to far outweigh any potential dangers. The truth that a discount in energy appeared to have such wide-ranging advantages on high quality of life led commentators within the AMA’s inside medication journal to put in writing: “The findings of this well-designed examine recommend that consumption of extra energy is just not solely a burden to our bodily homeostasis [or equilibrium], but in addition on our psychological well-being.”
Take a look at my different movies on calorie restriction, fasting, intermittent fasting, and time-restricted consuming within the associated movies under.