drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
"There ARE situations where people eat 1200 calories without losing weight, but this is almost never in overweight individuals. Usually, normal-to-underweight people looking to lose those last percent of body-fat can reach this state, common among female athletes who have chronically dieted for years.
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Their bodies end up shutting down “non-essential” processes like menstruation and bone formation to save calories. The condition is called relative energy deficiency. The result is that these people are eating very little calories, not losing weight and jeopardizing their health.
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They could in fact be eating more calories without gaining weight as this process thankfully is reversible. Adding calories simply lets the body turn on all the processes that it previously shut down.
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If you are within the normal weight range and have dieted for years without more weight loss, we recommend you STOP DIETING. Allow your body to recover by eating maintenance or a small surplus of calories and focus on getting stronger instead of losing fat. Do this for at least as long of a period as you have been trying to diet.
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Often, relative energy deficiency can be the result of an eating disorder, so don’t hesitate to contact your healthcare professional for more help."
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THE EVIDENCE: Statuta SM, Asif IM, Drezner JA Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) Br J Sports Med 2017;51:1570-1571.
<body id="cke_pastebin" style="position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; left: -1000px;">"There ARE situations where people eat 1200 calories without losing weight, but this is almost never in overweight individuals. Usually, normal-to-underweight people looking to lose those last percent of body-fat can reach this state, common among female athletes who have chronically dieted for years.
.
Their bodies end up shutting down “non-essential” processes like menstruation and bone formation to save calories. The condition is called relative energy deficiency. The result is that these people are eating very little calories, not losing weight and jeopardizing their health.
.
They could in fact be eating more calories without gaining weight as this process thankfully is reversible. Adding calories simply lets the body turn on all the processes that it previously shut down.
.
If you are within the normal weight range and have dieted for years without more weight loss, we recommend you STOP DIETING. Allow your body to recover by eating maintenance or a small surplus of calories and focus on getting stronger instead of losing fat. Do this for at least as long of a period as you have been trying to diet.
.
Often, relative energy deficiency can be the result of an eating disorder, so don’t hesitate to contact your healthcare professional for more help."
.
If you want to learn more about body image, sustainable fat loss and optimizing health through diet, check out our ebook Diet Like a Doctor (link in bio @ebtofficialor Diet Like A Doctor | Evidence Based Training). The text above is an extract from the book.
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Like for knowledge, tag a friend for education and repost for SCIENCE! We are two doctors helping you burn fat, build muscle and stay healthy with easy research breakdowns. Follow @ebtofficial and visit EBT: Evidence Based Training, Your Science Guide for more! The information above is not medical advice.
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THE EVIDENCE: Statuta SM, Asif IM, Drezner JA Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) Br J Sports Med 2017;51:1570-1571.</body>
