During the period of weight loss, the rate of loss tends to slow down. This phenomenon is called the “plateau”. The body's energy expenditure decreases as a person's weight decreases. The gap between input and expense is found to be smaller. Thus, the rate of weight loss slows down. To continue weight loss, therefore, calorie intake must gradually decrease as a person's weight decreases.
In
conclusion, the body has sophisticated mechanisms to manage weight. These
mechanisms are used to keep the body as normal as possible despite variations
in food intake and energy expenditure. Dependent on millennia, these mechanisms
protect the body well from shortages, but respond poorly in a situation of
abundance. Thus, when the person reduces their intake or increases their energy
expenditure substantially, protective mechanisms are put in place.
square. The
person who consumes only a few hundred calories per day is almost in a state of
fasting and even more sophisticated and deleterious coping mechanisms will be
set in motion, and the demand on vital organs for energy production may become
critical ( Riou and Laville, 2006; Flatt and Tremblay, 1998).
Use of body fat as a source of energy
When the
energy deficit is prolonged, all the tissues which can do so will preferentially
use the energy from fat reserves, and this, quickly enough so as not to
severely mortgage vital organs and muscles. Fats are then captured by the liver
and partially broken down into glucose and ketones. These substances are
released into the circulation and are used by muscles and organs. Massive
mobilization of adipose tissue can be toxic and harm health, releasing a
significant amount of ketones. These are known to damage blood vessels and
organs (Beisswenger et al., 2005).
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