It would seem that losing weight is very simple. It is enough to adhere to a strict diet, actively engage in sports, and extra pounds will disappear. But this approach to weight loss is not always effective and safe. Often strict diets and excessive exercise can lead to health problems, such as metabolic disorders or fatigue.
It is possible to lose excess weight without harming your health by following basic rules, such as a balanced diet and regular physical activity. It is important to approach the weight loss process reasonably, taking into account the individual characteristics of the body and avoiding drastic restrictions.
The main causes of overweight
Overweight can be caused by physiological disorders in the body, for example, failures in the endocrine system, as well as incorrect gastronomic behavior. Before proceeding to the rules of safe weight loss, let’s clarify the main causes of excess body weight, namely:
- The predominance of unhealthy food on the menu. This group includes smoked meats, pickles, fast food, convenience foods, convenience foods, fast food. They contain a large amount of salt, harmful fats and other concentrates.
- Consumption of daily calories more than the allotted individual norm. This indicator is calculated personally, taking into account physical activity, body weight, age.
- Non-observance of the diet. The lack of a single schedule (breakfast, lunch, dinner) leads to overeating. It is also not recommended to eat once a day, because in this case the liver will more intensively begin to produce glucose, and its excess will be deposited in fat cells.
Rules for safe weight loss
You can lose weight without harming your health by following simple rules:
- Reduce the caloric content of the diet
Here it is important to adhere to the principles of consistency and rationality. You should not reduce the number of calories too sharply, because it is a stress for the body. A large concentration of calories is in fats, but you should not completely limit their consumption. They are also necessary for normal vital activity. We recommend choosing lean meats, minimize the use of cheese, fast food, sweets, sweet curds, and yogurts.
- Take care of a balanced diet
This is an optimal diet that includes an individual ratio of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and other nutrients. It is also important to correctly distribute calorie intake. With three meals a day, the maximum share should be at lunch, as at this time the strongest digestion is observed. We do not recommend using mono-diets, because after them the weight often returns. Unloading days are allowed, but they should not be abused.
- Divide food intake into 5 meals per day
Such a schedule is optimal for a person, as it avoids overeating. Three main meals and several snacks are recommended. Ideally, the portion size should not exceed 200 -300 grams. This weight is enough to eat enough for an adult. Note that the food should be healthy, otherwise there will be no positive result from changing the format of eating. So, the effectiveness of five meals a day is due to the following principles:
– frequent meals to avoid exacerbation of hunger;
– a small amount of food, allowing satiety, but not overeating;
– a strict dietary regimen to ensure better digestion.
- Drink enough water to speed up metabolism
Ideally, at least 30 ml per kg of weight should be consumed. This does not include soups and other liquid meals.
- Sleep at least 8 hours a day
Sleep and weight loss are interrelated processes. Sufficient sleep promotes fat loss, regulates hormones, cleanses the body of toxins, controls the amount of lipids in the blood.
- Don’t forget to get moving
Add more dynamics to your life, and you will see that the extra pounds will start to gradually go away. This can be fitness, regular cardio or strength training at the gym, walking in the fresh air, cycling.
- Reduce sugar intake
This does not mean that it should be completely abandoned. Sugar is found in fruits and vegetables, but refined sugar is better to limit, as well as sweets in your diet (cakes, pastries, yogurt, sweet cottage cheese).
Exercise for fast weight loss
To lose weight quickly without harm to health will not be possible without physical activity. It is known that cardio exercises are maximally effective for weight loss, but they have a large number of contraindications. For those who can not apply cardio for health reasons, the best solution will be classes with a gentle load. Let’s consider the main types of training.
- Cardio exercises
An effective option for fat burning for men and women. To achieve results, it is necessary to exercise 3-4 times a week. It is better to give preference to jumping on a jump rope, side-stepping with arm lifting, boxing, kicking the leg to the side.
- Anaerobic training
Their main purpose is to strengthen muscles and give them a certain shape. In anaerobic training, metabolism is carried out at the expense of glycogen with minimal oxygen intake. These exercises burn a lot of calories while building muscle mass. This includes weightlifting, bodybuilding, pull-ups, sprinting, short distance swimming, etc.
- Interval training
These are workouts with your own body weight without additional weights. A large number of calories are expended during the exercise. The program usually includes a cycle of exercises to be repeated 5-6 times.
Nutrition for weight loss
80% of weight loss success is due to a proper, balanced diet and 20% to exercise. It is possible to lose weight safely by selecting the optimal ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Protein food is better to get from lean meat (beef, lamb, turkey, rabbit), eggs and cottage cheese. Carbohydrates should be replenished by vegetables and fruits, and sweets and sugar should be excluded. Trans fats, which are contained in convenience foods, ice cream, cakes and mayonnaise, should be removed from the diet. Useful fats can be obtained from lean fish, meat, avocado, pumpkin seeds, milk and bitter chocolate.
If the following recommendations are followed, it is possible to lose weight safely:
- the basis of the diet should be vegetables (preferably steamed or fresh) and meat;
- 30 minutes before a meal you should drink a glass of water or green tea (this procedure helps to reduce body weight);
- limiting salt intake will help to avoid fluid stagnation;
- replacement of purchased juices with freshly squeezed juices of your own preparation will eliminate the ingestion of “hidden” sugar;
- the last meal should be at least 2 hours before bedtime.
The following foods have no place in a healthy diet:
- mayonnaise;
- meat raised with hormones and antibiotics (pork, chicken);
- sugary drinks;
- smoked products (sausage, sausages, wieners);
- sweets (cakes, pastries, ice cream, cookies);
- alcoholic beverages;
- refined vegetable oil.
Quick ways to lose weight
Before any method of losing weight, you should undergo a medical examination. It is necessary to determine the cause of excess body weight, assess the general state of health and develop a personalized menu taking into account the deficit / deficiency of biologically active substances.
The traditional variant of weight loss is based on a fractional diet in small portions at intervals of 3-4 hours. During this period, a person does not have time to get hungry, so does not overeat.
There are no other quick ways to lose weight without harming your health. Popular mono-diets and interval fasting, of course, lead to a short-term reduction of fat deposits in the abdomen, arms, thighs, but they have serious enough side effects: violation of circadian rhythms, insomnia, flatulence.
So, quickly and safely lose weight without harm to health can only be combined with a proper, balanced diet with regular motor activity. The daily calorie content of meals and selected training depends on weight, age, health status. And remember: in obesity, doctors treat the patient, not the disease, so first you need to understand the causes of extra pounds.
