maybe some weight or possibly our self-esteem. The fact is, as most of us have regrettably discovered, that drastically reducing our calorie tally only serves to slow our metabolism and make us even more efficient at the business of storing and hoarding fat. Since ver-low-calorie diets didn’t work alone, exercise was added to the regime. This also failed miserably because the first thing the body does when it is in a starvation mode is to burn off muscle mass so as to conserve energy supplies. In fact, in animal studies, semi-starved animals maintained nearly the same fat to muscle ratio as their well fed-litter mates. Even worse, when food is again available the body not only gains back all the original fat but an additional few pounds just in case this ever happens again. Is it any wonder that yo-yo dieting leads to obesity and a host of other problems? The reconstruction of muscle mass after starvation, a much slower process than regaining body fat, leaves a person feeling weal and even more lethargic than before he started his diet. 

All Calories Are Not Created Equal 
When we eat more than our daily energy requirements (and most of us do), the extra energy is stored as fat. The human body is designed to stockpile fat very easily. This tendency is related to innate mechanisms intended to protect us against starvation or the threat of a diminished food supply. Fat cells provide extra fuel which can be utilized if necessary to sustain life. Those survival fat pounds settle on the hips, waist, thighs, upper arms and back, not to mention around organs, like the heart and kidneys. Some ethnic groups, whose ancestors repeatedly suffered from famines, are especially efficient in energy storage. These include the Pima tribe in the United States, the Aborigines of Australia, and many of those of African descent. Fats are very readily converted to pounds. Carbohydrates and proteins require more complicated digestive processes to convert and store their energy than fat does. Calories from carbohydrates and proteins are usually burned and thrown off as heat (thermogenesis). Naturally, overeating proteins and carbohydrates can result in weight gain, however the body has to work harder to convert these nutrients to fat stores. It takes 20 to 25 percent of the energy in carbohydrates and proteins to convert them into body fat. It only takes about 5 percent of the energy content of dietary fat to store it as body fat. Fat is also twice as energy dense (9 calories per gram) as carbohydrates or proteins (4 calories per gram) making fat at least twice as dangerous from weight grain standpoint. Blood taken from an individual soon after they have eaten a double cheeseburger, french fries and a thick milk will often be a milky pink color due to the infusion of fat from the digestive system. This fat circulates throughout the system until it is either burned or stored. 

A Winning Combination 
Most people would agree that exercise combined with a low-fat, high-fiber diet would be a winning combination for maintaining and improving health. Exercise is important in any health maintenance program. It is especially important in weight control since the amount of energy we expend in the resting state, our Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), is a function of our muscle mass and tone. There is