The following article has been prepared by the expert paper editing service essay editor in association with their smart essay editor Melisa Marzett. There are people who have been on a diet for years and cannot lose weight. But why? The stable weight provides a balance between food intake and energy expended. If a person eats more calories than he spends, he gains weight, if he spends more than he receives, he loses weight. But this is a general rule. In reality, there are many nuances to consider. There are common mistakes that prevent people from losing weight. Moreover, sometimes those who are losing weight do not even understand what kind of mistake they make and whether they make it at all.
Reasons why we cannot lose weight
- Frequent use of fast diets
A rigid diet puts the body in an “energy-saving mode”. Metabolism slows down, the body begins to make reserves. Therefore, any surfeit (buns, cakes) immediately remains on the hips or waist. And going back to the usual nutrition system, the lost weight returns in the shortest possible time. A gentle, comfortable diet (even more likely just a reasonable restriction in nutrition) should not become a one-time action, but a regular diet: only in this case it will bring a long-lasting result.
- Irregular nutrition
You can often find recommendations that include large omissions in meals. Some of them advise not to eat after 4 pm, others – skip breakfast. But the body perceives a 12-14-hour break in food as a hunger strike. Therefore, during long breaks in meals, blood glucose levels drop sharply, which leads to an uncontrolled appetite. If a necessary meal is missed, a hormonal riot begins in the body, which negatively affects well-being, health, and appearance. The optimal breaks between meals are 4-6 hours. The night break should be no more than 9-10 hours.
- Additional nutrition during increased physical activity
It is generally accepted that a person involved in sports can eat whatever he wants. In fact, only 30% of people can lose weight through dietary restriction and vigorous exercise. The remaining 70% do not lose weight during intense physical activity but increase even more in volume. Going in for sports, but without changing anything in the nutritional system, a person recovers due to the inevitable increase in appetite after muscle loading. Physical activity is necessary, but not for burning fat, but for the prevention and treatment of diseases associated with obesity (hypertension, type 2 diabetes, etc.).
- Use of low-fat products
Are you choosing low-fat diet foods while shopping? They also inhibit the process of losing weight. Manufacturers usually add large amounts of sugar to them. And sugar is the main enemy of the figure. In addition, it is almost impossible to eat fill dietary products. After two hours you will need a refill, moreover, more thorough than usual.
- Sweet drinks
Only water has zero calorie content. The rest of the drinks are quite material, especially if sugar is added to them. A glass of pure black tea contains 4 kcal. If you add two tablespoons of sugar to it – already 134. Two glasses of sweet tea are almost 270 kcal (bun, however, has a little more – on average, about 350 kcal – but dieters cannot afford baking, but they drink tea no limits).
Carbonated drinks are comparable in calories to desserts. It is even scary to think about the calorie content of alcohol, not to mention that it slows down the metabolism, which is why the food eaten with it burns more slowly.
What we should know about metabolism
By the way…
Why can some people eat whatever they want, and in unlimited quantities, while others get fat even drinking water?
It is all about the metabolism, it depends on how quickly the body uses the energy it receives from food. If the metabolism is slow, the person gets better quickly. If normal, then any amount of food of any calorie value burns without consequences for the figure. Metabolism is usually genetically determined. However, one cannot endlessly rely on good genes. After 40 years, the metabolism slows down, and those who, in their youth, used to eat uncontrollably, recover quickly at this age.
There are ways to speed up your metabolism, which are physical activity, hardening procedures and … food. Some foods help to activate metabolism, so including them in the diet allows you to lose weight faster. These include:
Meat. The body takes more time and energy to process protein than to digest plant foods, and this starts the metabolism.
Spice. The main assistant for losing weight is red pepper. A teaspoon of ground pepper speeds up metabolism by 23%. The effect lasts about 30 minutes.
Porridge. American researchers have found that people who skip breakfast have a significantly lower metabolism. While a square morning meal allows you to keep weight.
Water is essential for processing nutrients and burning calories. This only applies to pure water, no added sugar.
Green tea. 4 cups of green tea a day will provide an additional energy consumption of 50-60 kilocalories.
Women planning to go on a diet need to take into account some features of their body since their weight is subject to serious fluctuations depending on the phase of the cycle. In the first phase (from 2-3 days of menstruation to 14-15 days), when the level of estrogen in the body rises, metabolic processes proceed more intensively, the woman loses weight. In the second phase (one week before menstruation), progesterone levels rise. At this time, the metabolism slows down, fluid in the body is retained, and weight increases.
Weight gain in women peaks during menopause. At this time, the level of female sex hormones in the body drops sharply. And since the synthesis of estrogens occurs in adipose tissue, the body, trying to make up for their lack, increases its volume. As a result, in a short time, a woman can gain up to 10-15 kg of weight, which can be very difficult to get rid of, since the metabolism slows down in adulthood. At this time, it is very important to eat right, try to limit the consumption of foods containing fast carbohydrates and animal fats, and eat low-calorie and easily digestible plant foods.
