Every person who is obese, or who is at least 4-5 kilograms overweight, dreams of an effective diet for weight loss. It seems simple, affordable and efficient: you can eat everything, in any amount, and the weight will melt quickly. Too bad it's just a dream. According to experts, rapid weight loss is dangerous to health, especially if you lose 10-15 kg or more in a short time. This can lead to serious problems with metabolism, hormones and internal organs. Of course, there are diets that are balanced, reduced in calories and adequate for nutrients, but they lead to gradual weight loss. Let's try to understand how a good diet differs from a dangerous one and which ones are the most effective?
Rapid weight loss on a diet: why is it dangerous?
Of course, significant weight loss in a short time is the most expected result for any person who is overweight. But doctors do not tire of repeating that fast weight loss can seriously harm both physical health and psyche.
First, the pounds lost after the end of the weight loss program can be regained. Moreover, as a result, the weight may become even higher than it was originally. It is believed that the optimal rate of weight loss is not more than 1, 5-2 kg per week. So, to lose 10 kg, you need at least 5-7 weeks, and even more.
Second, rapid weight loss is usually achieved by strict calorie restriction, fasting, or a combination of both with strenuous exercise. But these changes in life are not permanent, and after reaching the "ideal" weight, the person returns to his usual habits in diet and activities. As a result, your body weight returns and you have to lose weight again.
So, in order to achieve real success, it is necessary to change the entire lifestyle, diet and activities, creating conditions for constant calorie consumption and lower food intake.
Effective weight loss diet: is there?
If we are talking about whether there is a universal and effective weight loss diet that will help everyone, the answer is no. The reasons for weight gain can be various factors, from banal overeating, inactivity and laziness, to serious endocrine disorders and neurological diseases, pathology of internal organs. For example, weight gain is typical of type 2 diabetes, Cushing's disease or hypothyroidism, Pickwick's syndrome, pancreatic tumor (insulin) and many others.
Consequently, for relatively healthy people, almost any balanced diet is suitable, which somewhat limits the caloric content of the diet, while the body supplies all the necessary nutrients. If you add regular training to that, expand your daily activities - the weight will gradually disappear. But patients with serious diseases need a special therapeutic diet, taking into account the peculiarities of metabolic changes, as well as parallel treatment of the underlying disease - tumor removal, correction of hormone levels, hypoglycemic drugs or insulin injections for diabetes. .
Good nutrition: characteristics in men
In addition to health status, gender differences also play a role in weight gain and weight loss. In both men and women, the body stores and metabolizes (breaks down) body fat in different ways, which is related to evolutionary mechanisms. Therefore, a good diet that is ideal for men may not work at all and will not reduce a woman's body weight. But why is that so?
Men, as was the case in ancient times, have to hunt to provide food for their families. Therefore, they need strength, endurance and muscle mass to run, pull mammoths and run away from predators. Although times have changed today, the characteristics of the male body’s metabolism have remained the same. Therefore, they lose weight faster and easier if they reduce the caloric content of food and exercise. The male body burns fat faster than the female and builds muscle mass. Testosterone helps with that. As testosterone levels decline with age, men also gain weight faster and lose it harder.
Men need more calories, more protein and fat, they consume faster. But I can eat less sugar, it gives faster energy, but that is not enough, and it will not be enough for active muscle work in the long run, it is better to give preference to complex carbohydrates from cereals.
"Women's" diet
The main purpose of a woman, from the point of view of biology and evolution, is to give birth successfully and to give birth to children. In order for a fetus to actively develop, you need a lot of energy and nutrients. Therefore, the female body initially stores fat in the hips, partly in the waist and chest, back and arms. In addition to the costs during pregnancy, energy costs during breastfeeding are equally important. That is why all women get excess fat during pregnancy. This is an emergency supply during lactation, if food is not enough.
Because of these traits, women need less protein - their muscle mass is less, but a beautiful half of humanity has an "evolutionary" craving for sweet foods. It is from carbohydrates that you can easily and quickly get a lot of energy that can be stored in the form of subcutaneous fat. The total caloric content of women's diet is lower. Evolutionarily, women were involved in gathering and housework, their bodies did not need as much muscle as men. A woman's diet should contain saturated fats, some protein and complex carbohydrates. If light carbohydrates predominate, the frugal body will immediately transfer the excess energy to the reserve form - fat in problem areas.
Diet Trends: Good or Bad?
Every diet, no matter how good it is, has its advantages and disadvantages, contraindications for use. So, for example, today's popular keto diet, according to researchers from Austria, can cause psoriatic rash. Scientists have noted that a keto diet that includes medium-chain triglycerides, along with omega-3 fatty acids derived from nuts, seeds and fish oil, can predict an outbreak of psoriasis. A study called "The effect of a ketogenic diet on psoriasis-like skin inflammation" was published in August 2019 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. Therefore, people with a hereditary predisposition to this disease should avoid losing weight by using this modern diet today.