Behind the Lines with Orriant Coaches (Part 2)

As stated in part 1 of our post, Orriant coaches often discuss relevant topics with one another for help with tackling crucial health issues or alarming trends. The following dialogue is another snapshot of a recent coach forum.

Topic of Discussion: Addressing the dangers of very low calorie intake with individuals who are seeing success in losing weight this way.

*Please note that identifying information is kept strictly confidential.

Health Coach Megan F. says:

It's hard when an individual is feeling great on a regime like this and they feel that eating this way is the ONLY way they'll lose weight. A big part of comes down to the fact that they aren't getting the calories they need each day. If you're eating only a few hundred calories a day you're probably going to lose weight, but it isn’t necessarily healthy weight loss.

I'll talk to these individuals about how your metabolism runs better with a constant fuel source. Using the word “metabolism” can be good because people associate a quick metabolism with weight loss. What I've also found will click with some people is

that with so little calories, our body has a hard time sustaining muscle tissue. Muscle is more metabolically active and burns more calories for us. This also means that it takes more calories to sustain muscle. If you are eating too little your body isn't going to get rid of body fat first. It’s harder to keep muscle so it gets rid of that first. While you are losing weight, you’re most likely losing a lot of muscle mass as well—effectively getting rid of your body's ability to burn calories and, in the long run, its ability to continue and maintain the weight loss.

Health Coach Janae D. says:

I have also found that along with talking about losing muscle, one thing that tends to make people think about restrictive diets is this: The brain needs at least five grams of glucose each hour to function correctly and have the energy it needs. One of the reasons why you are recommended to eat every three to five hours is to keep your blood sugar at the right level to feed your brain. Your liver can only store six to eight hours of glycogen to maintain your blood sugar. After that, your body has to use other methods of energy for your brain (e.g. ketones, which alter the pH (acidity) of your body, and in turn can have a negative effect on the health of every organ system).