Everyone who is obese, or who has gained at least 4-5 pounds, dreams of an effective weight loss diet. It looks simple, affordable and effective: you can eat any amount of anything while the pounds melt away quickly. Too bad it was just a dream. According to experts, losing weight quickly is bad for your health, especially losing 10-15kg or more in a short period of time. This can lead to serious problems with metabolism, hormones and internal organs. Of course, there are many diets that are balanced, reduced in calories, and full of nutrients, but they lead to gradual weight loss. Let's try to figure out how a good diet is different from a dangerous diet, and which are the most effective?
Dieting to lose weight fast: why is it dangerous?
Of course, significant weight loss in a short period of time is the most desired outcome for anyone who is overweight. But doctors' tireless repetition of rapid weight loss can seriously damage physical health and mental health.
First, it is possible to regain the kilos lost after the weight loss program ended. Also, as a result, the weight may become higher than before. It is believed that the optimal weight loss rate is no more than 1. 5-2 kg per week. So to lose 10kg, you need at least 5-7 weeks, maybe longer.
Second, rapid weight loss is often achieved through strict calorie restriction, fasting, or a combination of both with hard workouts. But these life changes are not permanent, and after reaching the "ideal" weight, people return to their usual eating and activity habits. As a result, the weight comes back and you need to lose weight again.
Therefore, in order to be truly successful, you need to change your entire lifestyle, eating patterns and activities to allow for consistent calorie consumption and reduced food intake.
An Effective Weight Loss Diet: Does It Exist?
If we were to talk about whether there is a one-size-fits-all weight loss diet that works for everyone, the answer is no. Weight gain can be caused by a variety of factors, from mediocre overeating, inactivity, and laziness, to severe endocrine and neurological disorders, and pathological changes in internal organs. For example, weight gain is typical of many conditions such as type 2 diabetes, Cushing's disease or hypothyroidism, Pickwick syndrome, pancreatic tumors (insulinomas), and many others.
Therefore, for relatively healthy people, almost any balanced diet is suitable, which limits the calorie content of the diet to a certain extent, while providing the body with all the necessary nutrients. If you add regular training to this, expand your daily activities - the weight will gradually disappear. But for patients with severe disease, a special therapeutic diet is required, taking into account the peculiarities of metabolic changes, and concurrent treatment of the underlying disease - removal of the tumor, correction of hormone levels, hypoglycemic drugs or insulin injections for diabetes.
Eating Well: Characteristics of Men
In addition to health status, gender differences also play a role in weight gain and loss. In men and women, the body stores and metabolizes (breaks down) body fat differently, which is related to evolutionary mechanisms. Therefore, a good diet for men may not work at all, nor will it lose weight in women. But why?
As happened in ancient times, men had to hunt to provide food for their families. As such, they need strength, endurance, and muscle mass so they can run, drag mammoths, and escape predators. Today, although times have changed, the metabolic characteristics of the male body have remained the same. So if they reduce the calorie content of food and exercise, they will lose weight faster and easier. Male bodies burn fat and gain muscle mass faster than females. Testosterone helps with this. As testosterone levels decline with age, men gain more weight and lose more weight.
Men need more calories, more protein and fat, and they consume it faster. But they can eat less sugar, it provides quick energy, but it's not enough, and not enough for active muscle work in the long term, it's better to prioritize complex carbs in grains.
The "women's" diet
From a biological and evolutionary point of view, the main purpose of women is to successfully bear and bear children. In order for the fetus to develop actively, you need a lot of energy and nutrients. Therefore, the female body initially stores fat in the hips and partially in the waist and chest, back and arms. In addition to costs during pregnancy, energy costs during breastfeeding are equally important. Therefore, all women gain extra fat during pregnancy. This is an emergency supply during breastfeeding if food is insufficient.
Because of these traits, women need less protein - they have lower muscle mass, but the beautiful half of humanity has an "evolutionary" craving for sweets. It is from carbohydrates that you get a lot of energy easily and quickly, which can be stored in the form of subcutaneous fat. Women's diets are lower in total calorie content. Evolutionarily, women do collecting and household chores, and their bodies don't need as many muscles as men. A woman's diet should include saturated fat, some protein, and complex carbohydrates. If light carbs prevail, the frugal body immediately converts the excess energy into a reserve form—fat in the problem area.
Fad diets: good or bad?
Every diet, no matter how good, has its advantages and disadvantages, and contraindications to its use. So, for example, today's popular ketogenic diet can trigger psoriatic rashes, according to Austrian researchers. Scientists note that a ketogenic diet that includes medium-chain triglycerides and omega-3 fatty acids from nuts, seeds, and fish oils may signal the onset of psoriasis. A study titled "Effects of a ketogenic diet on psoriatic skin inflammation" was published in the Journal of Dermatological Research in August 2019. Therefore, people with a genetic predisposition to the disease should avoid this diet, which is popular today, for weight loss.