Forget the drastic diet!
Why doesn't the same diet work the second time?
No two bodies and metabolism are the same, as a bride who wants to lose a size for the summer needs to eat differently than a 60-year-old diabetic man who needs to lose weight in order to prevent serious health complications. One thing is for sure, our body is set to retain the energy it takes in and has difficulty releasing it. We can disrupt this state with a fad diet and achieve spectacular changes in a short time, but this not only disrupts our metabolism, but serious deficiencies can also occur. The next time, our body will already defend itself against the diet and fasting will be ineffective. If we lose more than 10 percent of our body weight in a short period of time, its traces can remain in our body for up to 6 years.
So how do we lose weight?
Eat less, move more - that's the golden rule. According to Dr. Éva Bajnok, we should write down what we ate and drank for a few days, if we show this to a dietician, he will most likely spot where our diet is going wrong. Surprisingly, two daily coffees with milk and orange juice in the morning may be responsible, but there may also be a problem with the amount of food considered healthy or the frequency of meals. It doesn't matter where the fat is that we need to get rid of. The layer of fat between the skin and the muscle can be disturbing for aesthetic reasons, as it sticks out of the pants, and for women, the back becomes loopy from the bra, but from a health point of view, the "floating rubber" is not the dangerous thing. The layer of fat between our internal organs is called visceral fat. During its operation, it releases substances that lead to many diseases. Visceral fat can cause cardiovascular problems, diabetes and promote the development of tumors.
Who needs to lose weight?
Unfortunately, almost every second person in our country. There are easy measurements that can be performed at home, such as calculating the ratio of height to body weight, the diameter measured at the navel, which if it is more than 80-88 cm for women and 94-102 cm for men, then they most likely need to lose a few kilos. However, these measurements do not show how much muscle we have, how dense our bones are, and whether the fat we want to get rid of is visceral or just deposited on our muscles. If we want to get a really accurate picture of our body, it is worth ordering a test that shows the proportions and where specialists analyze our results and give guidance afterwards.
Do you have a healthy diet?
Any drastic diet can leave traces that the body remembers for many years, so it does not respond well the second time. Of course, there are gentler methods. The ketogenic diet, which is popular nowadays, can result in 2-3 kg more weight loss compared to diets that also contain carbohydrates, but we can maintain it for an average of 3 months, since carbohydrates are a basic source of energy, and after a while our body begins to miss them. It is not recommended for people with cardiovascular disease, expectant mothers and those performing tasks that require high concentration. Since the ketone bodies released during the ketogenic diet, resulting from the breakdown of fat, have an appetite-reducing effect, the diet really works effectively at first. In addition, we must not forget that it has been shown that our life prospects are best if the ratio of carbohydrate intake is 50% of the daily calorie intake.
The intermittent, i.e. reduced energy intake with interruptions (5:2 diet - when we consume only 500-600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, while on the other days we eat normally, and the 16/8 diet, when we condense our meals into 8 hours ) may be able to speed up the metabolism, thus resulting in slow but lasting weight loss. Our body does not experience starvation for a shorter period of time as drastically and does not slow down the metabolism. It is easier to comply, since we regularly and deliberately interrupt it. It doesn't prohibit anything, but it's reasonable to eat healthy, no more than necessary, even here on permitted days (hours). During longer or shorter periods of starvation, fat breakdown and loss of abdominal fat usually occur. The intermittent diet is not recommended for expectant mothers and insulin-treated diabetics. However, at the end of the day, the long-term solution is to change your lifestyle, which results in truly lasting weight loss.
The lifestyle change is not for a few months
It is also worth learning the tricks of weight maintenance from a professional, as it is a huge mistake that we can return to our previous lifestyle after finishing the diet. Changing your lifestyle is never easy. Calorie counting is only one of the "painful" elements, but some people are saddened by the suggestion of exercise. Dr. Éva Bajnok advises us to try to simplify the changes. In the beginning, just adjust the doses, then walk more, and so on. If you've tried every diet and do sports, but still don't lose weight, it's best to keep a food diary, as the specialist will see where the root of the problem lies.
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