All kinds of dietary supplements and teas for weight loss really reduce weight for a while. But many of us really want to find a wonderful and instant solution to a problem of any complexity. And of course, swallowing a pill and watching the weight go away is much easier than giving up your favorite treats. But is it necessary to do it?
The so-called overweight results from malnutrition and mainly as a result of overeating. Indeed, by overeating, the body often responds to a number of psychological troubles. There are episodes in life when we really try to get positive emotions in any way. The simplest solution to the problem is the numerous chocolates and cakes eaten in moments of depression.
Thus, with the help of food, the body first of all tries to seize some discomfort. But no matter how we «jam» psychological problems, in the body they are absorbed quite specifically into extra pounds, because food is kilocalories and nutrients.
- Remember the feeling of hunger
Building a relationship with… food
If you ask each of you now, without hesitation, to name a few favorite foods, then surely there will not be a single person who will say that this is celery or low-fat natural yogurt (or any other product that is considered healthy). In any case, I have not yet met a single such person.
But at the same time, let’s think about what is healthy and what is unhealthy food, and where is the line between them?
For example, is a dietary protein shake with an optimal content of proteins and carbohydrates and a minimum percentage of fat content useful or not? Of course, you say, useful, what doubts there can be! I must admit that, perhaps, using such a “miracle” mix and nothing more, you will still be able to lose weight. But at what cost?
Our food has several important functions: energy (restoration of energy reserves), plastic (essential food factors) and psycho-emotional, being a source of pleasure. So, if we consider food only from the first two positions, then we can replace it with several cocktails and handfuls of dietary supplements — we will replenish energy! But what about the emotional component? The pleasure of delicious food cannot be completely replaced by any other pleasure. And attempts to forbid yourself tasty lead to depression and breakdowns. As a result, a vicious vicious circle is formed — “chocolates” are wanted more and more! And after another breakdown — a deepening of depression and a new breakdown, leading to immoderate eating of what was previously under a total ban.
And what is remarkable, the mind has absolutely nothing to do with it! Scientists have long concluded that food choices are only partly conscious. For the most part, it is carried out unconsciously, based on taste buds (which are laid down in utero) and eating habits (which are brought up from early childhood).
- How You Eat: What Your Diet Says About You
Golden mean
So maybe there is no point in excluding our favorite “harmful things” from our diet? After all, if you think sensibly, then the mere presence of sweets or instant coffee in our food does not make food harmful. And certainly does not lead to obesity and other diseases. The secret to a proper diet lies in eating them in moderation.
The risk of gaining extra pounds arises even from “super healthy” products. For example, many people consider vegetable oil to be “lean”, they richly flavor their salad with it, naively believing that it is much healthier than, for example, sour cream. At the same time, one tablespoon of oil contains about 170 kcal, while sour cream (10%) contains 1,6 g of fat and about 21 kcal. By the way, the same amount of fat as in a tablespoon of vegetable oil is contained in half a 100-gram bar of chocolate.1. Well, what is more «pleasure»? I think the answer is obvious…
Those who follow dietary trends will certainly remember the campaigns against salt and sugar (“white death”), fried meats, carbohydrates, as well as fats in general and animal fats in particular. However, in recent years, scientists have been able to figure out how different components of food affect health. The latest scientific research has proven how much undeservedly «offended» foods like coffee, chocolate and sunflower seeds can be beneficial for health.2.
Therefore, do not rush to give up your favorite foods, remember the saying of Paracelsus: “Everything is a poison, and everything is a medicine. Only the dose makes a substance both poison and medicine.
1 The composition of food products is given according to the tables from the book «The chemical composition of Russian food products» ed. I. Skurikhin and V. Tutelyan (DeLi print, 2002).
2 M. Leitzmann et al. «Coffee intake is associated with lower risk of symptomatic gallstone disease in women», Harvard Gastroenterology, 2002, vol. 123.