Losing weight, just like quitting smoking, is not an easy thing to do. Most of us have done it many times after all.
But why so many times? After all, we do not undertake the trouble of losing kilograms in order to struggle with the same problem again in some time (usually short).
We dream of a slim figure, identifying it with a sense of attractiveness and life success. Our goal is clearly outlined, often too ambitious, but we forget that the path to it must have a well-thought-out sense and cannot be the result of a tendency to feast and an ideal taken from colorful magazines.
Fun in kilos
Let’s skip the frivolous (and widespread) slimming here, when the culprit gets tired 5 days a week, often starving, and during the weekend he makes up for everything with a vengeance, justifying himself with a family barbecue or dinner at his mother-in-law. On the following Monday, he starts all over again, possibly overwhelmed by guilt and the nonsense of his efforts, he gives up and returns to his old style of eating without restrictions. After all, we have thick bones, or “such genes.” Without realizing that obesity or overweight is not the problem, we have no reason to start fighting.
Smart slimming
Fatness of the body is only the end result, the result of an improper lifestyle and bad eating habits. When losing weight, we do not fight with kilograms or adipose tissue, but with our own weaknesses and comfort. A patient who is even successful in losing weight, who in his imagination already sees a table set as a reward for the present time, does not have a good prognosis. Usually these dreams are just traces of the previous lifestyle that led us to ruin. The desire to return huge portions, sweets without moderation, fatty sauces.
A quick return to the old weight (often with a vengeance) is called the yo-yo effect and is the bane of all those struggling with unnecessary kilograms. Meanwhile, repeated fluctuations in body weight (the yo-yo effect is considered to be fluctuations in excess of 5% of the total body weight) are detrimental to health. The heart especially hates it – irresponsible swing is a straightforward way to coronary heart disease. Also, the skin, forced to frequent stretching and narrowing, reacts with the formation of very unsightly stretch marks. Poles have a special love for all kinds of action and acting on the spur of the moment. However, it makes no sense to spend the month before the vacation on losing weight, because although with proper tormenting your body it can be successful and we will present ourselves with Japanese “as much” on the beach, in September the weight will reach its spring state. And that’s not the point.
Let us give up all hope of success in miracle diets, which are often based on the consumption of large amounts of one type of food. Yes, you can lose even a few kilos a week, but it is also just an invitation to the yo-yo effect. There is no sensible diet where we will lose more than 1 kilogram a week. The body does not lose its energy needs at all, it should still be provided with wholesome meals. Their calorific value must simply be appropriate to the type of work of a person, his age, and health problems.
A young and healthy person, who is diabetic in a different way, loses weight in a different way. There is no such thing as a diet for the masses. There are only general tips for healthy eating. An effective diet must be selected individually, so the most advisable would be to visit a dietitian who, after an interview, will create a weight loss program for us and distribute it over time.
For some reason, the most underrated and neglected element of the fight against excess weight is what costs us nothing. We often treat movement incentives as customary and approach them with a pinch of salt. Meanwhile, the recommended effort is a walk or a short run. On the first day, let’s run around our own block twice, the next three or four. This is supposed to be a health move, not winning marathons. We don’t have to go off into the blue on a bike either. At the beginning, it is enough to circle the nearby park a few times.
Do not be crazy!
Let’s not forget that the reward is a slim figure, not a return to immoderation at the table. The body after weight loss has lower energy needs compared to those before the diet. Therefore, the portions can no longer be what they used to be. During the first gluttony after the break, the stomach signals it with faster filling and a sense of satiety. The portion we once ate with no problem is suddenly too large. Unfortunately, it ends just as suddenly, because the increased amounts of food are quickly recognized by the body as the norm, and the surpluses are again deposited as reserves in the form of adipose tissue.
Text: Jarosław Wypych