We will find out whether all diets are harmful, how to eat to lose weight and maintain the results for a long time, and whether you need to count calories for this.
The desire to be thin can force you to engage in novel, sometimes even dangerous, practices. But even if the weight goes away, it ends up coming back soon. Why is this happening?
A radical reduction in daily calorie intake usually only has a temporary effect if the cause of excess weight lies in lifestyle and diet.
A professional nutritionist explains what principles will help you lose weight without harming your health.
Which diet helps you lose weight?
So diets really help you lose weight. But before you get excited, let's note one important detail: None of the restrictive diets have a long-term effect and can even be harmful.
Every diet has a downside: For example, the keto diet can worsen existing liver disease, lead to kidney problems, and cause mood swings and irritability due to the lack of glucose in complex carbohydrates.
In addition, in the popular understanding, a diet is always about restrictions and restrictions are about malnutrition and failure. Even if you "sit" on it for a while and really lose weight, but don't change your eating habits, the weight will return. And this is a proven pattern.
The more varied the diet and the more flexible the nutrition plan, the easier it is to implement. This means not collapsing and achieving your goals without harming your body. Therefore, a completely healthy diet is better than restrictive diets.
But maybe there is a diet that will help you lose weight without harming your health?
A short-term change to a "healthy" diet does not lead to sudden weight loss. Besides, who said that real weight loss looks like this? You can smoothly achieve the desired result by developing new eating habits.
Therefore, the question arises, "Which diet will help you lose weight? ""better rephrased as "What is healthy eating? "
What is healthy eating?
A healthy diet is primarily balanced and varied. The diet should provide you with all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals necessary for the body to function properly. The "healthy plate" principle helps here.
- Eat fruits and vegetables of different colors. Fresh, cooked, dried – everything.
- Include complex whole grain carbohydrates in your diet: they are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber.
- Remember that dairy products and plant-based alternatives are an important source of calcium. Choose low-fat options with no added sugar.
- Try to eat fish and legumes at least twice a week.
- Use different vegetable oils.
Before you begin your weight loss journey, think about what "healthy" foods you enjoy so you have more delicious options for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Remember: the best "diet" is the one you stick to.
The right diet - without restrictions and the associated stress - can not only help you lose weight, but also improve your health. In many cases, simply switching to a balanced diet leads to weight loss.
But even if you eat a nutritious and varied diet, it is important not to eat too much. In addition to the internal guidelines - feeling hungry and full - exercise can help with this: Finding portions of food that are comfortable for you.
Should you count calories when losing weight?
The method of calculating calories for everyday life is not the best:
- Concentration on numbers associated with the body - parameters, weight, calories, etc. - can cause neuroticism, which is associated with the development of an eating disorder;
- From a quality perspective, not all calories are created equal – a brownie and avocado toast have different nutritional values;
- The calorie content depends on the condition of the product. For example, the same mass of nuts, whole or ground, yields a different amount of calories.
Therefore, calorie counting is more suitable for clinical practice when it comes to pathologies and/or hospital treatments.
At the same time, the calculation can still be used carefully to independently understand your own nutritional standard and the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates consumed.
You can use an app or website to count calories - it makes life easier in many ways. But such methods are often inaccurate: after all, you can forget something you ate or drank. This means that tens or hundreds of calories consumed are not included in the final numbers.
If you control the calorie intake of your diet, then do it efficiently: take into account snacks, drinks and various additions to main dishes - sauces and butter.
How to calculate your daily calorie intake
To calculate the correct daily calorie intake for yourself, use one of the following methods.
Method 1. Formula for calculating energy requirements
This EER formula takes into account age, gender, weight, height and physical activity and is suitable for adult men and women:
- EER for men = 662 – (9. 53 x age in years) + PA x [(15. 91 x weight in kg) + (539. 6 x height in meters)]
- EER for women = 354 – (6. 91 x age in years) + PA x [(9. 36 x weight in kg) + (726 x height in meters)]
PA is a physical activity level that can be assigned a value from the following parameters:
- sedentary lifestyle (practically no exercise) – PA = 1. 0;
- low activity (light exercise, sport 1–3 days per week) – PA = 1. 11–1. 25;
- moderate activity (moderate exercise, exercise 3–5 days per week – PA = 1. 26–1. 48);
- increased activity (heavy training, exercise 6–7 days per week) – PA = 1. 49–1. 94.
Method 2. Harris-Benedict formula
This formula will help you estimate your BMR – your basal metabolic rate, or the number of calories your body needs at rest. From the BMR, you can calculate the TDEE - total daily energy expenditure, taking into account your activity level.
For men:
- BMR = 66. 5 + (13. 75 x weight in kg) + (5. 003 x height in cm) – (6. 755 x age in years).
For women:
- BMR = 655. 1 + (9. 563 x weight in kg) + (1. 850 x height in cm) – (4. 676 x age in years).
To calculate your TDEE, multiply your displayed BMR by your activity factor based on the following values:
- sedentary lifestyle (practically no exercise) – BMR x 1, 2;
- light activity (light exercise, exercise 1–3 days per week) – BMR x 1, 375;
- average activity (moderate exercise, exercise 3–5 days per week) – BMR x 1. 55;
- increased activity (heavy training, exercise 6–7 days per week) – BMR x 1, 725;
- Overactivity (heavy training, sports and physical work) – BMR x 1. 9.
These methods have their disadvantages. For example, the Harris-Benedict equation, although it has been used for many years and serves as a standard guideline, does not take into account lean body mass, which can impact basal metabolic rate.
Furthermore, the equations only provide estimates and individual variations and metabolism can influence actual energy requirements.
Therefore, you should not rely solely on calorie counting. Consider your practical experience and comfortable portions and listen to your feelings of hunger and satiety.
What is important to know when losing weight?
Seven tips for anyone who wants to lose weight.
- The pursuit of fitness is great until it becomes an obsession. Analyze why you want to lose weight. Your weight may be healthy, but non-environmental motivation can, on the contrary, be harmful.
- Fat fulfills an important function in the body: it protects against cold and hunger, surrounds organs and protects them from injuries and supplies the body with energy. Before losing weight, determine how much of it you need. After all, obesity and obesity are not the same thing.
- Any restrictive diet is an unhealthy practice for your health. If they show results, they are short-term but can lead to neuroses and eating disorders. Remember that it is important for stars to lose weight "here and now", and therefore a beautiful image does not equate to health and may not be the best example.
- Excessive added sugar in the diet is a major cause of obesity. The most effective diet is to adapt your diet to the principles of a "healthy plate".
- Weight is influenced not only by diet, but also by sleep quality, level of physical activity and even psychological and mental state. If a change in diet does not lead to the desired changes, there may be another reason.
- Some experts recommend Mediterranean and Scandinavian diets as well as intermittent fasting for weight loss. But before you try a new eating plan, take stock of your eating habits and preferences. And if it's not your thing, then don't take it. Even forced eating habits can lead to negative results and harm your health.
- And of course no self-medication. If excess weight has already caused health problems, seek help from specialists.