How to lose weight? That’s like a most searched question and trust me when you search this, you will find a great many results. Those results are overwhelming.
On the internet, you can find tons of information and most of the time you will find confusing info. You will find how to lose weight fast, how to burn fat quickly, and how to lose belly fat in 10 days.
But, that’s all BS. Trust me, there’s no such thing as fast weight loss and even if there was, then it’s not healthy at all.
In this post, we will first discuss what happens when we lose weight too quickly and how to gradually lose weight, the healthy way.
Table of Contents
What happens when you lose weight quickly
First, let’s quickly talk about what will happen if you lose weight quickly, and this is the only quick thing we will be doing in this post.
You might have heard about claims like quick weight loss and lose 10 kg in a month. But, those claims are unrealistic. If you want to know that if you can lose 10 kg in a month, then answer to that is yes.
Yes, you can surely lose that much weight in a month, but the cost of doing that will be high. I am not talking about the financial aspect. I am talking about what possibly can happen to your body if you lose weight quickly.
First of all, this is a shortcut. You can find trainers and people online who make such claims and often people who want quick results or people who are less aware of reality end up accepting such things.
If anyone claims to make you lose quick weight, with just diet, then they are harming your body. The simple logic behind such claims is, your body is asked to go into deficiency and a lot of food from your diet will be marked crossed.
Not all, but the majority of people show carbs as a villain, so the first thing you will be asked to leave will be carbohydrates. Then, you will be asked to leave a lot of food and you will be given less to eat. Now you will obviously lose weight quickly.
But, it’s not just the weight you will be losing, you will also feel drained and weak. As the majority of food is crossed of your list and you are being fed less, then you will feel less efficient. You will surely be happy to see results, but such a diet is ruining your metabolism and as you are avoiding a lot of food, you might end up having many deficiencies.
Such diets are unrealistic and when you start eating normally, you will gain even faster. It will also give you food craving and potentially lead to stress.
How to gradually lose weight
Now, if I will share a few things that can actually work for people who want to lose weight. I don’t guarantee that you will get desired results, but you will find things that can actually work for you and will sound more realistic.
Reduce consumption of ultra processed foods
Ultra processed foods or shortcut food are bad for health. They are not fresh, have tons of additives and have extended shelf life. Eating them gives you nothing beneficial at all. Such foods are often considered replacement of healthy food. UPFs are easy to make and are more commonly available.
When you eat them, your brain will feel happy and it will demand for more. As I said, such foods give nothing healthy, in fact, they are making you sick. Such foods are cause of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and even cancer. The major problem with Upfs is, they are hard to process, many a time they are not digested properly and can lead to many troubles.
Such food is low in fiber, high in sugar, salt and calories. They are often designed to be addictive and one cannot understand when to stop. That means people end up eating more than they should.
Avoid sugary drinks and food
Same with sugary drinks like energy drinks and food like cake, etc. They don’t provide any nutritional and can lead to unhealthy increase of weight. Sugar gives instant energy, they get digested fast and hence they don’t give a feeling of fullness.
Simple carbs are easy to digest. That means you will not feel full while eating them and may not know when to stop. That puts additional calories, and that is stored as fat. Major problem with sugary drinks and food is, you cannot keep a tab on how much you are consuming.
With Upfs and sugary food, it’s hard to know the calorie intake, and it’s hard to keep a track. We should be eating food that we can understand and analyze.
Increase Fruits and Veggies increase
Fruits and veggies give the body all the essential nutrients. These nutrients are important for various bodily functions. A majority of fruits and veggies are high in water content. They contain essential nutrients that actually keep the body healthy.
Fruits and veggies can be effectively used as a healthy swap of unhealthy UPFs. You can easily know what you are eating and hence even know how much calorie you are consuming.
Fruits and veggies are also giving fibers. Fibers improve gut health, reduces sugar absorption, and even keep you full for much longer, that can avoid overeating and excess calorie intake.
With that also focus on eating sufficient protein from food. Protein helps in muscle prevention, as muscle loss is common during weight loss. Even helps in appetite control.
However, how much protein is needed and what protein should be taken matters a lot.
Manage stress
Weight loss and stress have complex relationship. In some cases, stress can be the reason for weight gain and vice versa. Stress can even lead to stress eating, where people find comfort with food and end up eating something unhealthy.
Most of the time, something sweet or spicy is what our brain desires when we are stressed or anxious. Brain don’t need food necessarily (when stressed), however brain’s reward system gets activated when we are stressed and crave for high-sugar foods or UPFs.
Also, sometimes food can become part of a memory and we think that eating certain thing will make us feel better. This is majorly associated with eating habits, etc.
Stress can also lead to muscle breakdown, lead to lack of motivation. Can even reduce glycogen storage and can lead to fatigue. Additionally, stress can disrupt the sleep and hinders body’s recovery.
Now, you understand why managing stress is important and directly indirectly, it is associated with weight gain.
Exercise
Other than diet, exercise is important if you want to lose weight. It’s totally up to you what kind of physical activity you want to do.
Like always, I won’t be promoting any specific form of exercise. However, if you need muscles or a specific physique, then you may need weight training. I suggest that you talk to a certified professional for better training.
You can still lose weight without weight training, a simple tip could be increase your daily steps. Take stairs instead of elevator and walk for a shorter distance.
Important thing to remember
I know this has already got longer than expected, but before I end this, I have something important to share.
- Weight loss should not be expensive. You can lose weight with simple home cooked food and simple home workout.
- There’s no standard for a good physique. If someone is telling you, you need to look like this or that, stay away from them.
- Accept yourself, every body is different, and every body is special. You are special and there can never be another you.
- Identify why you want to lose weight. Do it for yourself and not for others.
- Effective weight loss is possible by knowing how much calorie you need and how much are you consuming.
- Weight loss should not be a punishment. It can be fun.
- You don’t need weight loss supplements for rapid weight loss or anything.
- Don’t stress, this is progress. Go slow and trust the progress.
Conclusion
Weight loss should be gradual if you want long lasting and healthy results. Gradual and slow weight loss have benefits of its own.
You don’t need to stop eating your favorite food for weight loss. It can be achieved with meal planning and eating food wisely. You need to identify how much calories do you need in a day. But starving is not the way to lose weight.
If needed, talked to a trusted nutritionist. I’ve already shared what you need to look for.
Drop comments if you are struggling to stay healthy. Or drop a Hey if you like reading it.
Until next time, Keep smiling
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