Anyone who is obese, or who is at least 4-5 pounds overweight, dreams of an effective weight loss diet. It sounds simple, affordable and effective: you can eat everything, in any quantity, and at the same time the weight will melt away quickly. Too bad it's only a dream. According to experts, rapid weight loss is dangerous for health, especially if 10-15 kg or more are lost in a short time. This can lead to serious problems with metabolism, hormones and internal organs. Of course, there are a number of balanced, calorie-reduced and nutrient-adequate diets, but they lead to gradual weight loss. Let's try to understand how a good diet differs from a dangerous diet, and which ones are more effective?
Losing weight quickly while dieting: why is it dangerous?
Naturally, significant weight loss in a short time is the most desired result for anyone who is overweight. But doctors do not tire of repeating that rapid weight loss can seriously harm both physical health and psyche.
First, the kilograms lost after the end of the weight loss program can be regained again. Also, as a result, the weight may become even higher than it was originally. It is believed that the optimal rate of weight loss is no more than 1. 5-2 kg per week. Thus, to lose 10 kg, you need at least 5 to 7 weeks, or even more.
Second, rapid weight loss is usually achieved through severe calorie restriction, fasting, or a combination of both with strenuous workouts. But these life changes are not permanent and once the "ideal" weight is reached, the person resumes their usual eating habits and activities. As a result, the body weight returns and you have to lose weight again.
Thus, to achieve real success, you need to change your entire lifestyle, diet and activity, creating the conditions for constant calorie expenditure and less food intake.
An effective diet to lose weight: does it exist?
If we talk 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, ranging from banal overeating, inactivity and laziness, ending with serious endocrine disorders and neurological diseases, pathologies of internal organs. For example, weight gain is typical of type 2 diabetes, Cushing's disease or hypothyroidism, Pickwick syndrome, pancreatic tumor (insulinoma), and many others.
Accordingly, for relatively healthy people, almost any balanced diet is suitable, which somewhat limits the caloric content of the diet, while providing the body with all the necessary nutrients. If you add to this regular training, expand your daily activities - the weight will gradually disappear. But for patients with serious diseases, a special therapeutic regimen is required, taking into account the peculiarities of metabolic changes, as well as parallel treatment of the underlying disease - removal of the tumor, correction of hormone levels, blood sugar lowering drugs or insulin injections for diabetes.
Proper diet: features in men
In addition to health status, gender differences also play a role in weight gain and weight loss. In men and women, the body stores and metabolizes (breaks down) body fat in different ways, which is associated with evolutionary mechanisms. Therefore, a good diet ideal for men may not work at all and may not reduce a woman's body weight. But why is this?
Men, as happened in ancient times, had to hunt to feed their families. Therefore, they need strength, stamina, and muscle mass to run, drag mammoths, and evade predators. Although times have changed today, the characteristics of male body metabolism have remained the same. Therefore, they lose weight faster and easier if they reduce the calorie content of food and exercise. The male body burns fat faster than the female and builds muscle mass. Testosterone helps with this. As testosterone levels decline with age, men also gain weight faster and lose it more poorly.
Men need more calories, more protein and fat, they are consumed faster. But they can eat less sugar, it gives energy quickly, but it is not enough, and it will not be enough for long-term active muscle work, it is better to give preference to complex carbohydrates from cereals.
Women's regime
The main purpose of a woman, from the point of view of biology and evolution, is to bear and give birth to children. For the 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, the energy costs during lactation are equally important. Therefore, all women gain weight during pregnancy. It is an emergency supply for the duration of the lactation, if the food is not enough.
Due to these characteristics, women need less protein - their muscle mass is lower, but the 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, which can be stored in the form of subcutaneous fat. The total caloric content of the female diet is lower. During evolution, women were engaged in gathering and household chores, their bodies did not need as many muscles as men. A woman's diet should include saturated fats, proteins and complex carbohydrates. If light carbohydrates predominate, the sparing body will immediately transfer excess energy into a reserve form - fats in problem areas.
Fad diets: good or bad?
Each diet, no matter how good, has its pros and cons, contraindications for use. So, for example, the keto diet that is popular today, according to Austrian researchers, can cause psoriatic flares. Scientists have noted that keto diets that include medium-chain triglycerides, as well as omega-3 fatty acids derived from nuts, seeds, and fish oil, may be predictive of psoriasis flares. A study titled "The Effect of Ketogenic Diets on Psoriasis-Like Skin Inflammation" was published in August 2019 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. Thus, people with a hereditary predisposition to this disease should avoid losing weight using this fad diet today.