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"If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do... the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." -- General George S. Patton, Commander, Third U.S. Army, Normandy.

A:

Honestly, this diet has serious issues.

I'm not sure how long you intend to stay on it, but it's clearly not sustainable long-term, so you'll probably burn out on it fairly quickly (probably already have at this point.)

This has all of the signs of a fad diet or "crash diet" -- with a focus on the elimination of entire meals, extreme calorie restriction (probably far below the minimum 1000 calories you need each day to fuel even basic activities, let alone a weight training and cardio routine) and "fasting."

There are a number of problems with this approach, as Dr. Dave has pointed out. First, you need energy to burn energy. Eating only once a day can be counterproductive for fat loss. Your body interprets the rapid and sustained reduction in calories as a sign of impending famine (i.e. starvation) and responds by conserving stored energy (in the form of body fat.) It lowers your metabolism as a survival mechanism, since it doesn't know how long you'll be in this state for.  This means it may actually hold on to body fat, versus tapping it for energy.

Second, you aren't eating enough calories to build muscle. To add muscle -- which should always be a goal when you are trying to reduce body fat ratios -- you need to eat. Period. Muscle will always look leaner than fat, so you want to always train and eat to maximize it. Women can't put on huge amounts of muscle like men, so you shouldn't worry about becoming bulky.

What you SHOULD be worried about is losing any muscle you already have -- since that can result in you becoming flabby, even if your scale weight drops.

Right now, at your calorie and activity levels, your body is probably already consuming it's own muscle tissue for energy. Unlike body fat, muscle consumes energy (calories) even at rest, so every pound you lose in lean tissue slows your metabolism even more. You are setting yourself up for a vicious circle here.

Finally, only 5 percent of people who pursue these types of crash or extreme diets are successful at keeping off the fat they've lost. Most rebound and actually add more body fat than what they had to begin with after the diet is over. Why would you put yourself through this kind of deprivation if there is a 95% chance that it won't give you a result that lasts beyond the diet itself?

A better approach would be to eat five to six smaller meals spread out across the day, lower your daily calories by 300-500 below what you need to maintain your weight (either through diet or exercise -- preferably a combination) and continue your exercise routine. With this approach, you would safely lose about two pounds of fat a week, while preserving muscle. Within about 10 weeks, you'll have hit your goal of 130 lbs. You'll also feel better, look better and not be starving yourself. And study after study has shown that people who lose weight more slowly (1-3 lbs a week), have a much higher propensity to keep that fat off over the long-term.

I really hope you'll reconsider this diet and approach to eating. It makes zero sense. I can understand the allure of fast weight loss, but this will be counterproductive ultimately. I would be willing to bet that within three months, you'll have started another "diet" because this one will not have helped you hit your goals.

I noticed you posted this question nearly a month ago. I'm curious ... are you still on this diet? And how did it work for you?

Best of luck!

 
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