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Have you watched the show, ALONE? It’s a competition where survival experts attempt to outlast each other surviving alone in the Canadian tundra. They each choose 10 essential items to survive, and have to build shelter, hunt, fish, trap or gather food, stay warm, and stay safe.
These folks are pros. Some have managed to last as many as 100 days in the frozen arctic.
It’s rough. Nature is savage.
My oldest son and I have watched most every season, and while we’re in no way survival experts I think we both dream of building a shelter in the woods and catching our own food one day.
But what is often most striking is how quickly these folks become malnourished, and the devastating impact that has on their health.
The contestants can go days or even weeks without eating anything substantial, relying on their reserves of fat to maintain them.
Even those who manage to hunt large game can still be malnourished.
One contestant who brought down a moose, and had plenty of lean moose meat was still losing weight because he wasn’t eating enough fat or carbohydrates to sustain his energy stores.
Most contestants go in with a strategy to stave off starvation: They’ll hunt, or trap, or fish. Usually all three. They gather berries and mushrooms until those are frozen over.
But things don’t usually go as planned, and most end up losing a huge amount of weight, becoming lethargic, dizzy and lightheaded, and some end up being pulled from the competition for risk of serious health issues.
Those that make it the longest have been successful at hunting and fishing, and tough it out longer than the rest.
This is obviously an extreme example of what happens when you don’t eat enough.
Our obsession with cutting calories has created a metabolically unhealthy population.
And while no one is literally starving themselves like on ALONE, many people don’t eat nearly enough calories each day to fuel their bodies in a healthy way.
All because they’ve been told that to lose weight and be healthy, they have to cut calories.
Yes, a modest calorie deficit can help trigger weight loss, but too much of a deficit can start burning away muscle, as well as fat.
Cutting calories often comes at the expense of the most nutritious foods, like meat and eggs, and like our friends on ALONE, you can’t live on berries and leaves for long. Eventually, nutrient deficiencies start to pop up, causing issues with hormones, energy levels, skin and hair health, digestion, the works.
Not to mention, a long-term or severe calorie deficit tells our body not to expect as much energy from food, so it turns down the fire (your metabolism) to compensate, putting you into survival mode.
Survival mode is what it sounds like: Your body prioritizes functions that keep you alive, like blood flow to the vital organs, burning fat stores when glucose is depleted, and ultimately starts to break down muscle tissue.
Clearly, none of that is good for us long term.
While a slight, short-term caloric deficit can help you lose weight, ensuring you get enough high quality, nutrient-dense whole foods to fuel your body is the plan for long-term health.
Y’all, in my 6-month, 1-on-1 nutrition program, I’ll help you track your calories and macronutrients to not only make sure you’re getting enough fuel, but a healthy balance of protein, fats and carbs as well. Not to mention all those amazing micronutrients like iron, zinc and magnesium essential to a healthy metabolism and immune system.
If you’ve been struggling with cutting calories and feeling lethargic and fatigued, and are having a hard time losing weight, this program is for you.
Ready? Let’s go!
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