A Common Mistake of Many Dieters

Have you ever heard someone say they were going on a diet and planned on cutting back on calories to lose weight? You may have said it yourself at one time. Cutting back on calories, especially empty calories is not a bad idea, however it can be harmful if done to the extreme. Our bodies have a control system that assures that we have enough calories coming in to fuel the fire while making sure that we don't take on too much fuel. Taking in too much fuel would cause the body to a store any excess fuel as either fat or glycogen. The two hormones that help make this happen are Ghrelin and Leptin. They are the control system for our caloric intake. When your body senses that there is enough fuel on board Leptin levels are increased in the body which sends a signal to the brain saying you are not hungry. When your body senses that there is not enough fuel on board it decreases Leptin levels and increases ghrelin levels sending a message to your brain that you are hungry, that's the empty feeling you get when you get hungry.
Here's the problem.
Many dieters restrict there calorie intake and eliminate carbs from their diet to the extreme. This can result in something called Gluconeogenesis.

gluconeogenesis

(gloo´kōnē´ōjen´sis),
n the formation of glycogen or glucose from noncarbohydrate sources (e.g., the glycogenic amino acids, glycerol, lactate, and pyruvate) by pathways mainly involving the citric acid cycle and glycolysis.

Here it is in simple terms:

Your body senses that it does not have enough fuel ( Carbs, Glucose, Glycogen)  available in storage provide energy for your bodies needs.  At this point your body releases a hormone called cortisol ( cortisol is also released in times of stress) which breaks down muscle tissue to create sugar for energy. In addition the body will store any available carbs as fat. The bottom line is that you need to have the proper balance of available carbs, fat and protein for your body to function properly.