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Did you know that you have two different food storage systems? Neither did I. I knew about fat but not glycogen. You’ve got about 4 pounds of glycogen ready in your liver, muscles, and bloodstream ready and waiting any time you need a boost of energy and don’t have enough food calories.
That also explains the frustrating plateau after you lose your first big chunk of weight. Your body switches weight loss system, and then you start the hard grind of having to burn 3500 cal beyond what your body uses to lose one fat pound.
So many times I’d start off great losing weight and then hit a wall, but never knew why. Has this happened to you? You drop a few pounds really quickly. You’re feeling good about it and then Bam! You plateau and get frustrated because your diet suddenly isn’t working. You scream at the scale asking, “Whyyyyy?!”
The why turns out to be that if you’re eating less than you need to maintain you body, it’s the glycogen that gets turned into energy first. It’s an interest-free bridge loan your body takes out to keep you going. So lose the first few pounds melt away fast when you start a diet. People call it “water weight,” but what does that mean when your body’s mostly water?
