If you are wondering how to not only quickly lose extra pounds but also button up your favorite outfit to celebrate, namely –how to lose weight properly, Congratulations! You have already chosen the right vector and are on the right strategic path.
Let's find out what proper weight loss means and how to lose weightRight, and how -incorrect? Everything is very simple here.
If, despite all your previous attempts to lose those hated pounds, you still have an unwanted weight, then most likely you have been losing weight the wrong way. How to lose weight correctly?
Of course, so that the kilos don't come back and of course without harm to health, because no one wants to be slim, but no one wants to pay for the results achieved with wounds and taking medications for a lifetime.
Improper weight loss leads to obesity
Nutritionists are increasingly citing poor weight loss as a major cause of the obesity epidemic. The more people try to lose weight, the more they end up weighing. It's a shame, annoying, but true!
Obviously, the problem lies in weight loss methods that are harmful to the body, which at best lead to the return of lost pounds, and at worst - to health problems.
So let's take a look at how to lose weight properly and maintain your results forever! We have put together the TOP 10 principles of proper nutrition for you that will help you get in shape even without a diet.
If you follow these tips systematically, confidently and consciously, you will enjoy every meal, will not have to strictly limit yourself in eating, and at the same time will be left behind from the extra pounds without the painful feeling of hunger and strong appetite suppression that you know to everyone I oncewas on a diet.
Principle 1. Lose weight slowly and correctly
Let's immediately agree with you (and in turn with yourself) that you should forever forget about the tempting diets a la: 10 kilograms in 10 days, minus 5 kg per week and so on.
Of course, if you try very hard, gather your willpower and do not jump off a strict mono-diet (most likely it will be one of its variants), it is quite possible that you will even achieve the promised result.
But that will have nothing to do with the question of how to lose weight correctly. In this case, another question is relevant: at what price?
It is impossible to eat buckwheat and cabbage leaves all your life; It is unthinkable to give up carbohydrates forever. As soon as the eliminated food ends up back in your fridge, on your table, on your plate, the kilos that you have lost so much will not be long in coming.
Principle 2. How to lose weight correctly - the calorie counter knows
If you want to lose weight efficiently, that is, seriously and in the long term, you need to remember two important words: "number of calories". And it makes no difference where they come from.
- If you eat more calories than you burn, your weight will increase.
- If you burn more calories than you consume, your weight will decrease.
The goal of any diet is to reduce the number of calories consumed through food. This can be done in a variety of ways: you can choose lower calorie foods, you can eat less overall, or you can combine both methods in a way that works best for you.
But reducing your calorie intake too much is the reason for many unsuccessful and therefore incorrect attempts to lose weight.
- When you skip meals or don't feel full because your portions are too small, you feel hungry and constantly craving snacks or high-calorie foods.
- If you have been on a diet for at least a week, you know how the psycho-emotional background deteriorates sharply, the mood deteriorates, irritability appears for some reason, which leads a person to lash out at family and friends.
Principle 3. The right way to lose weight while being well-nourished is to eat small, frequent meals.
The simplest strategy for proper weight loss is a combination of three small, nutritious meals with a snack in between and in the evening. This nutritional system allows you to have up to five meals a day!
Agree, this is much better than skipping breakfast, lunch or dinner. Frequent meals prevent hunger and small, dense, nutrient-dense portions ensure you get enough nutrients without excess calories.
Note that three small meals plus snacks is not the same as a chewing habit. This involves eating something constantly throughout the day, without taking hunger or satiety into account. This eating behavior leads to a calorie surplus and weight gain.
Frequent, shared meals prevent you from falling into the desperation and desperation of a starving person. Because you will soon be able to eat a snack again, how and with what - the following principles will tell you.
The most important thing that people who lose weight with this system notice is that they have never eaten as much as they did during such weight loss. And the body can more easily part with fat reserves: frequent meals not only boost metabolism, but also signal to the body that there is nothing to fear, there is no threat of hunger and there is no need to store anything for future use.
Here are simple and easy-to-implement tips to make it easier for you to eat five meals a day and make them as varied as possible:
- Plan in advance what you will eat during the day, including snacks. It is better to do this the day before.
- If you choose to lose weight the right way, you can take healthy foods to work or school in convenient, airtight containers.
- In the evening, prepare food for the new day. Then you can always eat foods with pre-calculated calorie content instead of buying snacks and other high-calorie products that are first available in stores at the time of eating.
- Don't rely on the same foods as snacks (like bananas or apples), even if you really like them. Monotony is also a kind of hunger. Five shared meals a day and an abundance of low-calorie and low-glycemic index foods allow for a varied diet while adhering to the chosen daily "calorie corridor".
Principle 4. To lose weight properly, do not deprive yourself of nutrients, but simply choose their optimal ratio
Changing the nutrient composition in the diet and the effect of such experiments on accelerating weight loss are still the focus of many nutritionists. Let's dwell on this topic in more detail, because many diets preach: give up carbohydrates, eliminate fats from the diet, load up on proteins - and slimness is guaranteed.
- In general, the recommended macronutrient distribution range suggests that 45 to 60% of calories come from carbohydrates, 20 to 35% from fat, and 10 to 35% from protein.
- Some nutrition experts believe that a healthier approach to weight loss is to increase protein intake to 45% and reduce carbohydrate intake to 25%.
- A number of studies report that protein diets result in greater weight loss compared to high-carbohydrate diets containing the same number of calories. And also that a diet with fewer carbohydrates and more protein prevents weight gain after reaching the target value.
Carbohydrates - enemies or friends for those who choose the right way to lose weight?
The theory that carbohydrates lead to weight gain and therefore reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the diet leads to weight loss is very popular and has found many supporters.
You or someone close to you has probably tried to lose weight on a low-carb diet. Although it is impossible to completely eliminate carbohydrates from the diet, one can greatly reduce their consumption, so it would be more correct to call this type of diet a low-carbohydrate diet.
Increased consumption of carbohydrate-rich, sugar-sweetened beverages correlates with weight gain observed in both children and adults in recent decades, scientists have found. It is logical to assume that as carbohydrate consumption increases, waist circumference also increases. But how exactly do carbohydrates affect body fat growth?
Some researchers argue that it's all about insulin, others that it's all about foods with a high glycemic index, and still others that carbohydrates alter appetite-stimulating hormones, which is why hunger occurs after eating foods containing carbohydrates.
The body needs insulin to process glucose. After eating, it reacts to an increase in blood sugar levels and transports it to the cells.
The more carbohydrates a person consumes, the more insulin they need to maintain normal blood sugar levels. However, this is not the only function of insulin. This pancreatic hormone also promotes fatty acid synthesis and lipogenesis in the liver.
Excess glucose that is not converted into glycogen and not used for energy is converted into fatty acids and stored as fat.
Theoretically, the more carbohydrates the body consumes, the more insulin is released by the pancreas and the greater the likelihood that glucose will be stored as fatty acids in adipocytes (fat cells).
Insulin also prevents beta-oxidation of fatty acids by inhibiting lipolysis of stored fat in adipose tissue, resulting in fatty acid retention in adipocytes.
Thus, the effect of insulin on fat metabolism leads to a tendency towards fat concentration. To avoid elevated insulin levels, it makes sense to switch to a low-carbohydrate diet.
But there is another side of the coin. The composition of food can affect the production of hormones that suppress hunger. As a reminder, hunger increases as ghrelin levels increase and decreases as leptin levels increase.
Choose carbohydrates with a low glycemic index
The evidence that carbohydrates contribute to weight gain is promising. . . But!
When researchers tested the effects of calorie-adjusted diets that were either high-carb/low-fat or high-protein/high-fat/low-carb on weight loss, they found that a high-protein diet had no benefit: weight loss was the same!
In addition, restricting carbohydrate intake significantly reduces the quality of the diet and the choice of dishes in general. Do you remember what you ate while on the low carb diet?
It is very difficult to follow a strict low-carbohydrate diet and at the same time lead an active lifestyle: work, study, drive, play sports.
"A diet based on a slight restriction of daily calories (10-15% of the usual level) and a significant restriction of foods with a high glycemic index works well. These are primarily sugar and products containing sugar. Plus a fractional diet and less red meat. "
If you are really wondering how to lose weight correctly, remember these simple rules:
- A balanced diet for weight loss should contain whole grains, legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables and as few high-glycemic carbohydrates as possible.
- Leave simple carbohydrates on the store shelf and pick up complex carbohydrates.
- If you add foods rich in saturated fats to your diet, such as whole milk, whole milk cheese, fatty meats, butter, they will affect your cardiovascular system. Replace them with white meat, skinless chicken, fish, nuts and oils that are not only good for your waistline but also for your health (but remember: even unsaturated fats contain nine calories per gram, so don't eattoo much of nuts and oils, no matter how healthy they are - it's too easy to consume too many calories).
- The best combination for losing weight is low-calorie foods: fruits, vegetables, grains, some protein and some fat. This is a combination that contains all five main food groups, is balanced and can meet nutritional needs.
Principle 5. If you lose weight correctly, volume matters.
In this case, it's not about your forms, but about the contents of your plate. Both main meals and snacks should be large enough to keep you feeling full and satisfied.
A healthy diet with a proper weight loss strategy includes:
- consumption of foods with low energy density and high volume;
- Rejection of foods with high energy density and low volume, which can easily cover the daily calorie intake, but still do not cause a feeling of satiety;
- The focus is on low-calorie "bulk foods": vegetables with a high water content and fruits, which ensure a quick feeling of satiety and reduce hunger and thus the number of calories consumed.
In fact, if you eat a large plate of salad at the start of your meal - large quantity, low energy density - you will probably end up consuming at least 10% fewer calories than you otherwise would.
A similar effect can be achieved by adding vegetables to soups and sandwiches - portion size increases, satiety occurs sooner, and you consume fewer energy-dense foods
Energy density of food
- Low: These foods have seven-tenths to one-and-a-half calories per gram and are high in water and fiber. Examples include most vegetables and fruits, including tomatoes, melons, strawberries, broccoli and cauliflower. And also soups with light broth, yogurt and cottage cheese.
- Average:These products contain one and a half to four calories per gram and contain less water. These include baked goods, hard-boiled eggs, dried fruits, fillets, hummus, whole grain bread and cheese.
- High:These foods have four to nine calories per gram and are low in water. These include chips, cookies, crackers, cakes, butter, butter, fatty meats and bacon.
The main thing to remember is that the basis of the diet should be foods that are not too energy dense with a high fiber and water content, the rest can be eaten little by little - so your diet will be balanced and your weight will decrease.
Principle 6. Fiber and water help you lose weight properly
Fiber promotes a feeling of satiety and is found in most fruits and vegetables. It has been proven that overweight people consume less of it than people of normal weight. For this reason, foods rich in fiber are an important part of a weight loss diet.
It has long been a truism that drinking more water is recommended when losing weight.
Let's add some useful tips for every day:
- You should drink non-carbonated drinking water without flavors and additives (as a rule, they are all sweet, that is, they contain carbohydrates unnecessary for you);
- Always carry a bottle of water in your bag and keep it handy in the car and on your desk;
- It is not recommended to drink a glass in one gulp, it is better to drink in small sips and often;
- the water should not be too cold, room temperature is optimal;
- If you drink half a glass of water 10-15 minutes before meals, you are likely to eat slightly less.
"Overeating is a major cause of obesity. The problem is that you get used to the feeling of fullness in your stomach and then you no longer notice it at all. That's why it's important to develop healthy eating habits. "
Principle 7. Slimness begins in the gut - how to lose weight properly with knowledge of the microbiome
Eating more plant foods changes the bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract in ways that can have a positive effect on weight.
The term "microbiome" itself refers to the billions of microscopic organisms that live in the human body, including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, lungs and genital tract, and the oral cavity.
Most of them are concentrated in the large intestine, where they are involved in metabolic functions.
For example, intestinal bacteria silently do many useful things for humans:
- aid in digestion;
- affect metabolism;
- extract energy from undigested food;
- synthesize vitamins, including vitamin K;
- regulate the composition of adipose tissue;
- Control peptides released in the gastrointestinal tract.
More than a thousand species of bacteria live in the intestines. They vary from person to person, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity and body mass index.
Recently, scientists have discovered a link between certain bacteria and obesity. If this is true, could we change the composition of our gut bacteria and stop the obesity epidemic?
How you eat long-term and short-term determines what bacteria you have in your gut and how they manifest themselves.
Dietary changes affect the body's bacterial metabolism and immune functions by fermenting nutrients and altering the intestinal barrier - allowing bacteria and other intestinal organisms to enter the bloodstream and turn certain genes on or off.
By understanding the role of diet and gut bacteria, new approaches to preventing obesity can be found.
Principle 8. How to lose weight correctly? Moving!
Regular physical activity not only naturally increases the daily calorie deficit required for weight loss, but also helps reduce sedentary habits that are often accompanied by the desire to chew something. When you walk you burn calories. Sitting in front of the TV with a bag of chips, on the contrary, you type.
People are recommended to engage in moderate physical activity for one to one and a half hours daily to prevent weight gain or promote weight loss.
Moderate physical activity includes walking at a speed of five kilometers per hour and equivalents: light gardening, cycling, swimming.
The longer you exercise, the more oxygen is consumed and the higher your metabolism is. Accordingly, more calories are burned throughout the day, even when resting.
Well, when you combine cardio exercises and strength exercises, your metabolism speeds up even more - muscles require more energy. Remember that a person who weighs more than 70 kg burns more calories, and a person who weighs less burns fewer.
Research shows that walking ten thousand steps a day (that's about seven kilometers) is enough to significantly reduce the risk of obesity. But on average, people take between nine hundred and three thousand steps, and increasing that number to ten thousand requires most conscious effort.
Principle 9. Will you lose weight correctly? Understand the essence of aerobic and anaerobic exercise
Even if you are far from sports, in order to embark on the path of proper weight loss, you need to regulate your life not only through diet, but also through exercise.
It is not necessary to set sports records, it is just advisable to increase physical activity, but not on a whim, but rather consciously and deliberately. You can only exercise for so long, but with your mind there are special exercise groups for losing weight for a reason.
So what are the potential benefits of different types and intensities of exercise related to weight loss?
- Aerobic exercise is low- to moderate-intensity physical activity that elicits aerobic responses to produce adenosine triphosphate. Carbohydrates, fats and proteins provide energy for aerobic exercise, be it brisk walking, jogging, hiking or skiing.
- Anaerobic exercises include weight lifting, fast running, jumping rope, and climbing stairs. They are more intense than aerobic exercise and are also shorter in duration because they simply cannot be sustained for as long as lower intensity exercise. During anaerobic exercise, less fat is oxidized and more glycogen and glucose are used for energy production.
Although aerobic exercise (moderate physical activity) has many health benefits such as: Such as controlling blood sugar levels, lowering blood pressure and increasing high-density lipoprotein levels, especially in overweight and obese people, research shows that in the context of weight loss they provide insignificant results.
Combine exercise and losing weight correctly
In a recent study conducted at American Duke University (Durham, North Carolina, USA), scientists observed subjects (there were more than two hundred volunteers) who were overweight and obese. The first group performed aerobic exercises, the second did weight training, and the third combined both.
The first group ran approximately twenty kilometers per week on a treadmill or other equivalent activity. The second group worked with weights three times a week: three sets per day, eight to twelve repetitions per set. The third group did both.
After ten weeks, the first and third groups had lost more weight and fat than the second. What is interesting is that the third group also showed a significant decrease in waist circumference, which was not observed in the others.
Another study tested the hypothesis that short-term aerobic activity combined with anaerobic exercise is guaranteed to produce better results than aerobic activity alone.
Sixteen overweight people were divided into two groups. The first did half an hour of aerobic exercise for four weeks, while the second did twenty-five minutes of aerobic exercise and another five minutes of anaerobic exercise.
These five minutes resulted in a significant reduction in body fat compared to the results of the first group.
Total body fat, visceral fat and abdominal fat also decreased significantly. Add anaerobic exercises to your workout and accumulated fat will be broken down more actively.
It is also important to choose the right exercises with a lot of weight to avoid injury.
Principle 10. Do not deviate from your plans: Motivation and self-confidence are the most important things in implementing a plan to lose weight correctly
How many good weight loss initiatives failed not because of the inability to lose weight, a genetic tendency to be overweight and other excuses that obese people indulge in, but because of banal laziness.
If you seriously decide that this will be the last time, be consistent and methodical. It's not that difficult and can even become an exciting task, especially if you manage to awaken your passion for the sport and the will to win.
How can you do that? Here are some tips:
A food diary or food diary will be a great help in systematizing the process of losing weight according to the rules described above and, above all, in increasing motivation.
With a food diary you can track what you eat during the day, when, where and how much, in what mood and how strong your physical hunger is. You can use this information to change your environment, your reactions to it, or both to improve your eating habits and change your weight.
Even if you carry excess weight with you all your life, it can only mean one thing: all attempts to lose weight were not right for your body. Try again by applying 10 principles to lose weight properly!