It happens like this: you diet, do aerobics and — hooray!- start losing weight.And then suddenly this wonderful process stops.There's both diet and physical activity, but you don't lose a single gram, even if you get cracking!Furthermore, you start gaining weight again...
Why exactly does this happen?Scientists have only recently received the answer to this question.It turns out that when you suddenly stop losing weight, your body has reached the weight that your body “likes” the most.Well, it's convenient for him to live like this!As you try to lose more weight, your body takes countermeasures: your metabolism slows down and your appetite increases.This will continue until you return to the weight your body considers optimal.The reality is that your body weight is determined by genetics.
Genetics
Everyone has their own “factory settings” - blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol.Some people have high blood pressure, while others have low blood pressure.Some people have diabetes, while others are fine with sugar.The situation is exactly the same with weight: for some people it is natural to weigh 50 kg, and for others, alas, all 90. These parameters set by nature are very difficult to adjust.The body resists and encounters any hostile, and especially hasty, attempts to change its indicators.
What happens?What if fate says you're fat?Nothing!There is still room for genotyping improvement.That's right, then you will have to maintain your "unnatural" weight until the last day by exercising and dieting.Life sentence?!Yes, but what is it?There's nothing worse than having trouble breathing and having to wear XXL dresses.
What is your natural setting?To more accurately determine your “genetic” weight (set a weight loss limit), answer the following questions honestly:
- What weight seems most “comfortable” for your body (in other words, what level has your home bathroom scale been hovering at over the years?)
- How much weight did you gain a month and a half to two months after finishing the diet?
- What is your maximum weight?
In all your answers (after 25 years old) there will be approximately the same weight - this is what genetics has determined for you.How many kilograms does it differ from your current one - after aerobics and diet?If the difference is 4.5 kg or more, then to maintain the gain you will have to work tirelessly.Well, what if you want to lose even more weight?This is an absolutely difficult task!
By the way, about 10% of women will give different answers to all three questions.This means that nature has not yet placed strict limits on them.Such “lucky women” lose and gain weight at will, surprising mortals with supernatural transformations.For example, from a plus-size woman to a fashion model.And come back.You are not one of them?
Lose weight once and for all
Therefore, each of us (without exceptions!) has his own weight, and losing more weight than your initial "allowance" is very difficult.What would happen if you tried to change your own weight loss limit?Let's say, "convince" the body that your "native" weight is 60 kg, not 90?At first glance, the task seems impossible.Arguing with nature?Yes, it's like turning the Sun backwards!Fairy tales?Endocrinologists have definitely determined that this is possible.
The secret is to maintain the desired weight with a diet for 2-4 years.Imagine, the body gets used to the new weight, stops considering it an “emergency” and then maintains it on its own as “natural”.
You can also try to trick your own body.One small obstacle: how to hold out for a few years?Believe me, it's not that difficult if you live according to the algorithm developed by science.
By all means...
Tasteless, but great.So your body steadfastly protects fat by slowing down your metabolism and stimulating your appetite.Furthermore, you are precisely attracted to “harmful” high-calorie foods such as candy and bread.On the contrary, you need to limit sitting at the table.How?Very simple.Choose foods that don't arouse your emotions or appetite.In short, it may seem tasteless to you.
Experiments have shown that the “natural” weight of mice fed unpalatable food is definitely reduced.Furthermore, they did not gain weight even when fed fatty, high-calorie foods.Conclusion: the less you like what you eat, the less weight you gain.“Harmful” products (high in calories, fat and sweet), according to an incomprehensible law of nature, are always tastier.This means you will definitely eat more of them.Health products are out of luck.Most of them cannot be called delicious.So eat them!
Eat every 2.5-3 hours.Taking too long between meals is probably the most common mistake people make when losing weight.The fact is that rare meals (every 4-5 hours) stimulate increased secretion of insulin and leptin.And this pair of hormones is precisely responsible for the accumulation of fat under our skin.If you eat regularly, insulin and leptin will be released at minimal levels.If you're serious about losing weight, you need to break your traditional eating schedule and replace it with snacks.To do this, you will have to carry food in boxes so that you always have it on hand.
The healthy eating formula is as follows: 4-6 meals per day, each meal 300-400 calories.
Eat more!It may sound counterintuitive, but this method really works.If you get less than 1200 calories per day, the body goes into emergency mode, is very economical, wastes energy and the metabolism "falls asleep".To “crush” it, try eating 100-200 calories more than your personal norm.Having received excess calories, the body loses its vigilance and easily separates the layer of subcutaneous fat.
It may sound like an impossible paradox, but when fasting, a person actually loses fat more slowly than on a properly balanced diet.Science has accurately calculated the difference in proportions.If you suddenly stop eating, you will lose weight 10% slower than people who exercise and maintain their calorie intake.
Vegetable
Load up on veggies!This is your first ally in the fight against excess weight.They contain very few calories, but most importantly they are “bulky”.For this reason, you should start any meal with a large bowl of vegetable salad.It will fill your stomach and less other things will go in there.
fruit
As for fruits, be careful with them.They have a lot of calories.To avoid overeating, it is better to cut the fruit into small pieces and add it to porridge.Fruit juice is completely contraindicated for you.The calories from fruit are concentrated there and manufacturers also add sugar to the juice to improve the taste.
The official basis of your diet should be carbohydrates with a low glycemic index - these are cereals and other cereals, rice, legumes.You need to serve them with vegetables and supplement them with protein three times a day: lean beef, chicken, fish.
Fat
Fat should be healthy.Don't make the fatal mistake of completely eliminating fat.Animal fats are harmful but vegetable fats are good for health.Fat is the "lubricant" for joints and the "raw material" for hormone production.Lack of fat leads to psoriasis, hair loss, joint disease and brittle nails.Don't eat anything fried in animal fat, but you can safely add a spoonful or two of peanut oil or sesame oil to vegetable salads.
And you should take fish oil without any restrictions.It contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.They will help you lose weight.During aerobic exercise, they "burn" to form special compounds that prevent the accumulation of fat under the skin.
Don't eat chocolate candy.They contain so-called trans fats.They are added to keep the candy soft longer.It has been proven that trans fats are carcinogenic.
Drinking water
Another important point on the path to weight loss is regular water.Water is removed from the body by the kidneys.When you drink a lot, the kidneys begin to work actively, and the adrenal glands - hormone glands above the kidneys - are activated.They secrete more hormones and all have a “fat burning” effect.The more you drink, the more weight you lose.There's no such thing as too much water!In addition, water also carries byproducts of metabolism.The less "junk" there is in the blood, the less burden there is on the liver, and then the liver will be able to start burning fat without interference.
For those who forgot biology at school: when you do aerobics, increased blood flow separates fat molecules from the surface of fat deposits and they "burn", providing energy to the muscles.But not all.The remainder travels through the bloodstream and eventually reaches the liver, which destroys them so that the blood does not thicken with fat and lose fluidity.Together with the kidneys, the liver participates in neutralizing the already mentioned metabolic "garbage".If the kidneys take on most of this work, the liver will destroy more fat.Drink more!
Run to lose weight
Aerobics?But there's only so much time!Cardiovascular training at a constant intensity has little effect.Cycling an exercise bike for an hour at the same speed is not only boring, but also meaningless: such activity can help only in the initial stages of sports, and then it stops working.Modern science knows of only one effective way to burn fat, called “interval” training or circuit training.
What is this?This is what they call training according to the “now fast, now slow” principle.For example, after 30 seconds of extreme load, followed by 60 seconds of low speed.And so on for the entire 25-30 minute workout.The effect is amazing!The secret is that this type of aerobics aggravates the secretion of the most powerful “fat-burning” hormones - norepinephrine and growth hormone.
Interval training is the only way to wake up your weight loss-tired body.
Don't overestimate aerobic exercise.Physical activity really helps you lose weight.This is an irrefutable fact, proven by science.In one experiment, scientists forced mice to switch from a sedentary lifestyle to a physically active one, and they began to lose weight.But!If the mice are already moving around a lot, increasing physical activity is useless - it has no effect on their weight.Conclusion: aerobics is not omnipotent.
Yes, if after many years of living a sedentary life, a woman starts doing aerobics, she will lose weight.But if you've been exercising for a long time, increasing your aerobic activity may not be effective.What should we do?For aerobics, it is necessary to add fundamentally different anaerobic loads.Simply put, you need to do strength exercises.At least 3 times a week, do 25-30 minutes of aerobic interval training and two more serious workouts on the machine.
Why do you need muscles?The reality is that muscles are a living biological system that requires nutrition.Muscles actively "consume" calories even in a resting state, when you watch TV and sleep.Adding an extra kilogram of muscle automatically speeds up metabolism by 2.5-3%.So strength training will definitely speed up your metabolism and with it fat burning, if aerobics refuses to do this.
Take deeper breaths
Some people are genetically predetermined to be fat, while others are thin.The cause of this injustice lies in the difference in the natural amounts of these two hormones.Some accumulate fat, others break it down.It seems that you need to analyze your own hormonal background to determine your genetic predisposition and take action.For example, if everything is fine with hormones, then “wrong” nutrition or lack of physical activity is the cause of obesity.However, all this work is too complicated and can only be carried out by a specialist of the highest standards.
There is a simpler parameter that allows you to accurately determine who is at risk of obesity and who is not, even in the district clinic.This is called the respiratory coefficient, that is, the ratio of the volume of carbon dioxide exhaled to the volume of oxygen inhaled.Thanks to this coefficient, you can understand where your body "prefers" to get energy from - from carbohydrates or fats.
People with a high respiratory index “burn” carbohydrates.Fat acts as a source of energy in the back, and therefore physical activity does not bring quick results.On the contrary, people with a low coefficient will get energy from fat and lose weight quickly.Women with a high respiratory rate will gain extra weight, even with dietary restrictions.
Let's change our lifestyle!
Losing weight is difficult not just because of the damn “fixed” weight.Habits and lifestyle play a huge negative role.For example, eating nothing at breakfast, overeating in the evening or adding more fat to everything - "to make it taste better".Therefore, the rate of weight loss will depend largely on your general culture.
The following argument may be put forward in support.Among women in the lower social classes, about 30% are obese, among representatives of the middle class - 16%, and in the upper classes of society only 5% of women are overweight.In any case, buy popular books on nutrition and finally find out all these proteins, fats and carbohydrates.You need to know exactly what is good and what is bad in nutrition.And teach this to your children.Otherwise, they will encounter the same problems.
Let's say you break your diet.We need to sit down and find out why.Each of us has our own list of “dangerous” situations.Here's an example: sitting at a desk - stuffing candy into your mouth, watching a movie on TV - cracking potato chips... All this needs to be carefully analyzed and a safe substitute for “dangerous” products - apples, dry bread and the like - must be prepared.
Psychologists believe that transmission is rarely conscious.It is stimulated by hasty eating, when you eat in a hurry or want to quickly throw away food, then you will eat automatically.It is situations like this that need to be completely eliminated from life!Very often, automatic eating is triggered by eating with friends.This is why psychologists advise developing the habit of eating alone.You can't watch TV and read at the same time!
When you're alone, it's easier to teach yourself to eat slowly.And here is another secret to successful weight loss.The signal from the stomach to the brain increases very slowly - about 20 minutes.And all this time, you will seem hungry and not have eaten much, even though your stomach may have been full for a long time.Conclusion?Eat slowly.After 20 minutes, your brain will tell your appetite to "turn off" even if you have eaten less than half of your calorie intake.
So you will have to spend the next 2-4 years on a unique "genetic" experiment.Your family and friends will be shocked: you will become so different that you will be unrecognizable.It seems like there is hard work ahead - having to diet constantly and exercise regularly for many years.However, fitness experts say there is no silver bullet in all of this.A person quickly gets used to good things.In a few months, all those people who are addicted to junk food and do not know the joy of exercise will seem strange to you... Well, how can you do without fitness?