How to start losing weight? The topic of excess weight, diet and exercise is shrouded in many rumors and myths. Few things are as controversial as how to get rid of unwanted volumes. Despite the variety of techniques, there are basic and universal rules that work for absolutely everyone. We will talk about them in this article.
The environment and lifestyle have changed dramatically in recent decades. A lot of fast food appeared, a variety of street food, cafes and restaurants, people began to eat out and use delivery services, portion sizes increased significantly, and at the same time it became more difficult to choose healthy foods.
In addition, work and leisure have become sedentary. Despite the known benefits of physical activity, there is a downward trend around the world. According to the latest reports from the European Union, 6 out of 10 people over the age of 15 do not practice sports or do so very rarely. At the same time, a significant part of the adult population of Europe spends more than four hours a day sitting, which cannot help but affect health and appearance.
Thus, there are many factors that influence what we eat and the way of life we choose, so it is necessary to make a conscious decision to initiate changes.
Decide your motivation to lose weight
Often times this stage is not given due importance, thinking that the desire to fit into a once-favorite dress or take beautiful photos on the beach is an effective goal. But aesthetic appeal is only one side of the coin, on the second there are much more important and significant things: getting rid of complexes and doubts, the desire to have healthy children, the need to get rid of shortness of breath, disturbances hormonal. and other related problems.
It is always difficult to take the first steps, you want to postpone them for later, pause or abandon the idea completely. Additionally, unrealistic weight loss goals are often set early, leading to high expectations, which later lead to frustration, stress, and lack of progress. Don't be guided by the all or nothing principle. Set your desired end goal and lots of intermediate (realistic! ) Goals. Imagine building a route for a car, the principle is the same.
Remember, food should not be a reward for exercise or an "exercise" from the chocolate you eat. Guilt is a motivation killer.
At the same time, analyze why you are overweight. Is this a recent change or a long-term image? Have you started to do things differently: eat more away from home, reduce your activity, or change your diet? Knowing the root cause will help you move faster toward your goal.
The quieter you go, the further you will go
Losing weight is a long-term and systematic process. Even a small weight loss (5-10% of total body weight) can provide health benefits, such as improving blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels, and reducing risk factors for chronic diseases associated with the obesity.
Do not resort to radical diets and exhausting fasting systems. They lead to rapid weight loss in the first few weeks, but are unlikely to work in the long term because such lifestyle changes cannot be sustained. As soon as you cancel the regimen, go back to old habits and gain weight.
Also, keep in mind that women generally have a higher fat-to-muscle ratio than men and have a 5-10% lower resting metabolic rate. For example, an 8-week study of more than 2, 000 participants on a low-calorie diet (800 kcal per day) found that men lost 16% more weight than women under the same conditions.
Review the quantity and quality of the food consumed.
Many people have no idea how many calories they eat. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, two groups of people who were similar in weight, height, body fat percentage, level of education, and more, were asked to report how many calories they thought they were consuming per day. Both groups underestimated the actual amount by an average of 1000 calories!
Determine your daily calorie intake.
Determining how many calories to consume is half the battle, it is also important to consider the nutritional value of the food. For example, 500 calories in French fries is not the same as 500 calories in raw vegetables.
Nutritionists insist that it is important to follow the rule of losing weight: burn more calories than you consume. The daily deficit should be 500 kcal on average. In this condition, you can lose a kilogram in two weeks, without even resorting to physical activity. But in the long term, this method will not work, over time, the body accumulates a feeling of stress and anxiety due to a constant lack of food and instead of losing weight, the body begins to accumulate fat in case of a critical situation . .
Reduce your portions
This is where size matters. Portion control will eventually transition from a healthy habit to a lifestyle that eliminates constant food intake. An easy way to reduce your portion size is to use a smaller plate. Another is to eat more slowly so that the brain has time to receive a signal about feeling full. On average, this takes about 20 minutes.
Half of your plate should be vegetables, a quarter should be low-fat protein sources (chicken, turkey, fish, eggs), and the rest should be cereals or whole grains.
Cut back on carbohydrates
If you eat foods rich in simple carbohydrates (such as cakes, soda, white flour bread, or potato chips), your body releases insulin to help control the flow of glucose in your bloodstream. Research shows that a spike in blood sugar levels after a few hours leaves you feeling hungry, cravings for food, and often leads to overeating. Fast and refined carbohydrates quickly replenish the body with energy, but when consumed in excess, they are transformed into fat stores. Give preference to complex carbohydrates and be sure to combine them with natural fiber.
Eat more whole foods
Whole foods are single ingredient foods that are rich in vitamins and micronutrients with no chemical additives or processing. These include fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, shellfish, legumes, eggs, nuts, etc. They help speed up metabolism, regulate weight, reduce hunger, and affect hormone production.
One study involved 786 people who were divided into two groups. One of them was on a low-micronutrient diet, the other on a high-micronutrient diet. Almost 80% of the participants felt full after eating a high-micronutrient diet, despite consuming fewer calories overall.
Also, whole foods do not contain trans fat. A recent study found that monkeys that ate the most artificial trans fat gained an average of 7. 2% in weight compared to monkeys that ate a diet rich in monounsaturated fats.
Drink your daily amount of water
Drinking water can speed up your metabolism by 24-30%, helping you burn more calories. One of the studies showed that the consumption of 0, 5 liters. Drinking water half an hour before meals helped dieters consume fewer calories and lose 44% more weight compared to those who did not drink water.
Avoid juices and carbonated sugary drinks. According to research, its daily consumption is associated with a 60% increased risk of obesity in children.
By replacing your daily consumption of a glass of juice or soda with water, you can reduce your annual caloric intake by an average of 219, 000 kcal. Awesome, right?
Choose effective exercise for weight loss
Regular exercise is vital for physical and mental health. A disciplined and targeted increase in exercise frequency is often critical to successful weight loss.
WHO recommends that people between the ages of 18 and 64 exercise at least 150 minutes per week.
The easiest and cheapest way to exercise is through aerobic exercise.
- Examples of moderate intensity aerobic activity are badminton, brisk walking, cycling, tennis.
- Examples of high intensity aerobic activity are running, swimming, team sports (soccer, basketball), etc.
- Also, you can introduce useful rules into your daily routine: take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, go a stop to your destination and walk, park your car a little further from your home or office, etc.
Cardio for weight loss is essential if you train properly, focus on heart rate (heart rate), use different techniques and intervals.
Of course, it is important not only to lose weight, but also to keep your muscles toned. Resistance exercise is essential to developing a toned body. Research shows that strength training helps maintain a high metabolic rate and prevents the loss of precious muscle mass.
There are many exercise routines available for both the home and the gym.
Give preference to loads in all muscle groups, rather than local ones. You will not lose weight in the waist and abdomen for a long time, doing exercises only in the abdomen, this is evidenced in the results of many studies. The same goes for weight loss in the legs, hips, arms, and other parts of the body.
According to studies, one of the most common obstacles to losing weight is lack of time, more than 73% of the women surveyed said that they do not practice sports for this reason. To the rescue come the circular workouts, fat burners and high intensity intervals, which do not last more than half an hour and are considered one of the most effective to lose weight.
Circular trainingit takes an average of 30 minutes. It consists of alternating several exercises (normally 5 to 10), aimed at different muscle groups, doing rest intervals between them. This method improves your aerobic fitness and burns calories efficiently.
Fat burning workoutsThey are similar in principle to the circular ones, but the complex consists of loads of greater intensity on different muscle groups, which are carried out without interruption. Rest is allowed only after completing the exercise block.
The last few years have gained great popularityhigh intensity workoutsthat take 5 to 30 minutes a day. They alternate between maximal activity and rest (one to two). For example, run for 1 minute as fast as possible, then walk slowly or rest for 2 minutes, then repeat all over again. Studies have shown that this training method helps you burn 25% to 30% more calories than other types of exercise.
Special circuit training- 30-minute female fitness, consisting of warm-up, cardio, strength training, cool-down, and stretching. Each workout is performed under the supervision of a trainer who monitors the technique of performing the exercises, teaches and selects the optimal version of the load. The exercises are performed in simulators, created taking into account the physiological characteristics of the female body. They are based on hydraulic resistance and are safe for people of all physical conditions.
Learn to enjoy exercise and weight loss exercises. Think about how much energy, joy, and self-satisfaction the workout brings you.
Get support
Losing weight is not easy and doing it alone is even more difficult. If you are trying to shed those extra pounds and improve your overall health, remember that you don't have to go down this path yourself. You can find like-minded people offline or online and join them.
Research has shown that support, healthy competition, and regular demonstration of results can help maintain consistent exercise performance and be more responsible in the process.
Track your progress
Self-control is the most important factor for successful weight loss. When we see real, tangible movement toward our goals, we tend to be more motivated to keep working. The most important thing is not to obsess.
Don't just focus on weight. Weighing yourself on a daily basis can cause unnecessary anxiety and anxiety. Focus on the indicators of the waist circumference, hips, chest, legs and arms. Measure them at the same time interval, for example, every 2 weeks or once a month. Capture numbers in a notebook, app, or specialized web portals. This will help you track the result and analyze which actions are generating the most results.
Remember that weight loss is a gradual process, do not be discouraged if those extra pounds do not disappear at the rate you expected. Your task is to learn to lose weight correctly and not in 3 days.
Eliminate stress and lack of sleep.
Healthy sleep is just as important as proper nutrition and exercise.
Research shows that irregular sleep is associated with an 89% increased risk of obesity in children and 55% in adults. Also, insufficient or poor quality sleep slows down the conversion of calories into energy (metabolism). When it is not working properly, the body can store unused energy in the form of fat. Additionally, poor sleep can increase insulin and cortisol production, as well as interfere with the regulation of the hormones leptin and ghrelin that control appetite. It is leptin that sends satiety signals to the brain.
Another study found that sleep-deprived people consume 385 more calories per day than those who get regular and sufficient sleep. Therefore, just by disturbing your sleep rhythm, you can gain an additional 7 kilograms per year.
When it comes to stress, it triggers the release of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. If you feel anxious all the time, cortisol gets trapped in the bloodstream and signals the body to replenish nutrient stores with carbohydrates, often leading to overeating.
The researchers found that the 8-week stress management program led to significant decreases in BMI in overweight and obese children and adolescents.
Take a look at some of the methods for dealing with stress:
- yoga
- meditation
- breathing practices
- nature walks, gardening, etc.
Do not use diet pills
The idea of magic diet pills to make fat dissolve like a dream is tempting. But alas, this is too good to be true (if it weren't already obvious).
Here are some of the side effects of diet pills:
- Depletion of the nervous system.
- Increased blood pressure
- Incrise of cardiac frecuency
- Violation of the work of internal organs.
- Insomnia
- Dizziness
- Anxiety
- Lazy bowel syndrome
Diet pills often promise immediate results, but they don't interfere with your diet or lifestyle that has made your body "unhealthy. "So even if you manage to overcome the unpleasant side effects and get short-term results, you will eventually get back to where you started. We dedicate a separate article to fat burners, detailing their disadvantages, benefits, and possible risks.
Remember, to achieve lasting results, you must fundamentally change your fitness and nutrition habits.
New weight loss books, articles, TV shows and videos are published every day, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution to permanent healthy weight loss. What works for one person may not work for you, as the body reacts differently to different foods and loads, depending on genetics and many other factors. Finding the right method will take time and patience, dedication and consistency.
To lose weight without suffering, make realistic changes in your diet and physical activity that will become part of your lifestyle, otherwise you will quickly return to your old habits and original weight.