It happens like this: you follow a diet, do aerobics and - hooray!— began to lose weight.And then suddenly this wonderful process stopped.There's diet and exercise, but you don't lose an ounce even if you get ripped!Also, you start gaining weight again…
Why exactly is this happening?Scientists only recently received an answer to this question.It turns out that when you suddenly stopped losing weight, your body reached the weight that it, your body, "likes" the most.Well, it's convenient for him to live like this!When you try to lose weight, your body countermeasures: your metabolism slows down and your appetite increases.This will continue until you return to a weight that your body considers optimal for itself.The fact is that your body weight is determined by genetics.
Genetics
Each person has his own individual "factory settings" - pressure, blood sugar level, cholesterol.Some people have high blood pressure while others have low blood pressure.Some people suffer from diabetes and others are fine with sugar.The situation is exactly the same with weight: some naturally have 50 kilograms, and others, unfortunately, all 90. It is very difficult to adjust these parameters determined by nature.The organism resists and reacts with hostility to any and especially hasty attempts to change its indicators.
What's going on?If fate made you fat, then so be it?Not at all!There is still room for improvement in the genotype.True, then with training and diet, you will have to maintain the "unnatural" weight until the last day.Life imprisonment?!Yes, but what is it?There is nothing worse than being out of breath and wearing an XXL dress.
What are your natural settings?To more accurately determine your "genetic" weight (which determines your weight loss limit), answer the following questions honestly:
- What weight feels most comfortable for your body (in other words, what number has the needle on your home bathroom scale been hovering around for years?)
- How much weight do you gain one and a half to two months after finishing the diet?
- What was your maximum weight?
All your answers (after the age of 25) will show about the same weight - it was determined for you by genetics.By how many kilograms is it different from your current weight - after aerobics and diet?If the difference is 4.5 kg or more, then you will have to work tirelessly to maintain your gains.Well, what if you want to lose even more weight?This is a completely disproportionately difficult task!
By the way, about 10% of women will give different answers to all three questions.This means that nature has not set strict limits for them.Such "lucky women" lose weight and gain weight at will, surprising mere mortals with supernatural metamorphoses.For example, from a plus size fat woman to a fashion model.And back.Are you not one of them?
Lose weight once and for all
So, each of us (exceptions do not count!) has his own set weight, and losing more weight than nature originally "allowed" is very difficult.What if you tried to change the weight loss limit itself?Let's say, "convince" the body that your "native" weight is 60 kg, not 90?At first glance, the task seems impossible.Argue with nature?Yes, it is the same as turning the Sun backwards!Fairy tales?Endocrinologists have certainly established that this is possible.
The secret is to maintain the desired weight with the help of a diet for 2-4 years.Imagine, the body gets used to the new weight, stops considering it as an "emergency" and then maintains it as "natural".
You can also try to trick your body.Small snag: how to last several years?Believe me, it is not so difficult if you live according to the algorithm developed by science.
Anyway...
Tasteless, but great.So your body staunchly protects its fat by lowering your metabolic rate and stimulating your appetite.In addition, you are attracted to precisely "harmful" high-calorie foods, such as sweets and buns.On the contrary, you have to limit yourself to the table.How?Very simple.Choose food that does not trigger emotions or appetite.In short, you find it tasteless.
Experiments have shown that the "natural" weight of rats fed unpleasant food will definitely decrease.In addition, they do not gain weight even if they are given fatty, high-calorie foods.Bottom line: the less you like what you eat, the less you'll gain extra pounds."Harmful" (high-calorie, fatty and sweet) products, according to an incomprehensible law of nature, always taste better.This means that you will inevitably eat more of them.Healthy products are not doing well.Most of them cannot be called tasty.So eat them!
Eat every 2.5-3 hours.Taking long breaks between meals is probably the most common mistake made by weight-lossers.The fact is that infrequent meals (every 4-5 hours) stimulate increased secretion of insulin and leptin.And this pair of hormones is directly responsible for the deposition of fat under our skin.If you eat frequently, insulin and leptin are released to a minimum.If you are serious about losing weight, you need to stop your traditional eating schedule and replace it with snacks.To do this, you will need to carry food in boxes so that it is always at hand.
The formula for healthy eating looks like this: 4-6 meals a day, each 300-400 calories.
Eat more!It sounds tragic, but this method really works.If you get less than 1200 calories per day, the body switches to an emergency, very economical, energy-wasting mode and the metabolism "falls asleep".To "shred" it, try to eat 100-200 calories more than your individual norm suggests.When receiving an excessive amount of calories, the body loses alertness and easily separates from subcutaneous fat.
It sounds like an impossible paradox, but on a starvation diet, one actually loses fat at a slower rate than on a reasonably balanced diet.Science has accurately calculated the difference in rates.If you suddenly stop eating, you will lose weight 10% slower than those who exercise and maintain a caloric intake.
Vegetables
Load up on veggies!This is your first ally in the fight against excess weight.They contain very few calories, but most importantly, they are “bulky”.For this reason, any meal should start with a big bowl of vegetable salad.This will fill your stomach and less of everything else will go into it.
Fruits
As for fruits, be careful with them.They have a lot of calories.To avoid overeating, it is better to chop the fruit and add it to the porridge.Fruit juices are absolutely contraindicated for you.There are very concentrated fruit calories, and manufacturers also add sugar to the juice to improve the taste.
The official basis of your diet should be carbohydrates with a low glycemic index - these are grains and other cereals, rice, legumes.Serve them with vegetables and add protein to them three more times a day: lean beef, chicken, fish.
Fat
Fats should be healthy.Don't make the fatal mistake of ditching fat altogether.Animal fats are harmful, but vegetable fats are healthy.Fat is the "lubricant" of the joints, the "raw material" for the production of hormones.Fat deficiency causes psoriasis, hair loss, joint disease and brittle nails.Don't eat anything fried in animal fat, but you can safely add a spoon or two of peanut or sesame oil to your vegetable salad.
And fish oil should be consumed without restriction.It contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.They will help you lose weight.When performing aerobic exercises, they "burn", forming special compounds that prevent the accumulation of subcutaneous fat.
Do not eat chocolates.They contain so-called trans fats.They are added to keep the candies soft longer.Trans fats have been proven to be carcinogenic.
Drink water
Another important point on the way to weight loss is plain water.Water is removed from the body through the kidneys.When drinking a lot, the kidneys begin to work actively and at the same time the adrenal glands are activated - the hormonal glands on the tops of the kidneys.They release more hormones and they are all “fat burning”.The more you drink, the more weight you lose.There is no such thing as too much water!In addition, water carries with it metabolic by-products.The less "garbage" there is in the blood, the less the load on the liver, and then it will be able to start burning fat without any problems.
For those who forgot school biology: during aerobics, the increased blood flow removes fat molecules from fat deposits and "burns" them, energizing the muscles.But not all.The rest travel through the bloodstream and eventually end up in the liver, which destroys them so that the blood does not thicken with fat and lose fluidity.Together with the kidneys, the liver deals with the neutralization of the already mentioned metabolic "waste".If the kidneys do most of this work, the liver will destroy more fat.Drink more!
Running to lose weight
Aerobics?But only an interval!Cardio training with a constant intensity is of little use.Pedaling an exercise bike at one pace for an hour is not only boring, but also pointless: such an activity can only help in the early stages of the sport, and then it stops working.Modern science knows of only one effective way to burn fat, called “interval” or circuit training.
What is it?This is what they call "now fast, now slow" training.For example, 30 seconds of insanely high intensity is followed by 60 seconds of low tempo.And so the whole 25-30 minute workout.The effect is stunning!The secret is that this type of aerobics dramatically increases the secretion of the most powerful "fat burning" hormones - norepinephrine and growth hormone.
Interval training is the only way to shake off a body tired from weight loss.
Do not overestimate aerobics.Physical activity really helps you lose weight.This is an indisputable, scientifically proven fact.In one experiment, when scientists forced rats to switch from a sedentary lifestyle to exercise, they began to lose weight.But!If the rats were already moving a lot, increasing physical activity was pointless - it had no effect on their weight.Conclusion: aerobics is not omnipotent.
Yes, if a woman starts doing aerobics after many years of a sedentary lifestyle, she will lose weight.But if you've been training for a long time, increasing aerobic activity may be pointless.What should we do?A fundamentally different anaerobic load must be added to aerobics.Simply put, you need to do strength training.Do interval aerobic training for 25-30 minutes at least 3 times a week and train seriously twice more on the machines.
Why do you need muscles?The fact is that muscles are a living biosystem that needs nutrition.Muscles actively "consume" calories even in a state of physical rest, when you watch TV and sleep.Adding an extra kilogram of muscle causes an automatic acceleration of metabolic processes by 2.5-3%.Thus, strength training will definitely boost your metabolism and therefore your fat burning if aerobics refuses to do so.
Breathe deeper
Some people are genetically predestined to be fat, while others are thin.The reason for this injustice is the difference between the natural amount of the two types of hormones.Some accumulate fat, others break it down.It seems that you need to analyze your hormonal background to determine the genetic predisposition and take action.For example, if everything is fine with hormones, then "wrong" diet or lack of physical movement is to blame for obesity.But all this work is too complicated and can be done only by a specialist of the highest level.
There is one simpler parameter that allows you to accurately determine who is at risk of becoming obese and who is not, even in a district clinic.This is the so-called respiratory coefficient, that is, the ratio of the volume of carbon dioxide exhaled to the amount of oxygen inhaled.Thanks to this ratio, you can understand where your body "prefers" to get energy - from carbohydrates or fats.
People with a high respiratory rate "burn" carbohydrates.Fat as a source of energy is in the background, and therefore physical activity does not give a quick return.Well, those with a low ratio, on the contrary, get energy from fat and lose weight quickly.Women with a high respiratory quotient gain extra pounds even when they restrict their diet.
Let's change our lifestyle!
Losing weight is hard, not just because of the cursed “set” weight.Habits and lifestyle play a huge negative role.For example, don't eat anything for breakfast, eat too much at night, or add a ton of fat to everything - "to make it tastier".Therefore, the rate of weight loss will largely depend on your general culture.
The following argument can be made in support.Among women in the lowest social strata, approximately 30% are obese, among representatives of the middle class - 16%, and in the highest social strata, only 5% of women are overweight.Anyway, buy some popular nutrition books and finally figure out all those proteins, fats and carbs.You need to know exactly what is good and what is bad in your diet.And teach it to your children.Otherwise, they will suffer from the same problems.
Let's say you stop dieting.We need to sit down and find out why.Each of us has our own list of "dangerous" situations.Here are examples: sitting at a desk - putting candy in your mouth, watching a movie on TV - crunching chips... All this should be carefully analyzed and a safe substitute for "dangerous" products - apples, pretzels and the like - should be prepared.
Psychologists believe that transference rarely occurs consciously.It is provoked by hurried eating, when you eat in a hurry or want to get rid of food quickly, and then eat automatically.Such situations should be completely excluded from life!Very often automatic eating is triggered by eating in company.Therefore, psychologists recommend developing the habit of eating alone.You can't watch TV and read at the same time!
It is easier to teach to eat slowly when you are alone.And this is another secret to successful weight loss.Signals from the stomach to the brain travel very slowly - about 20 minutes.And all this time you will feel that you are hungry and have eaten little, although your stomach could have been full for a long time.The conclusion?Eat slowly.After 20 minutes, your brain will tell your appetite to “turn off the lights,” even if you've eaten less than half of your caloric intake.
So you will have to spend the next 2-4 years on a unique "genetic" experiment.Your family and friends will be shocked: you will become unrecognizably different.Sitting on a constant diet and exercising regularly for years seems like a hell of a job ahead.However, fitness professionals say there is no heroic end to it all.A person quickly gets used to good things.After a few months, all those who choked on junk food and don't know the joy of training will seem like aliens to you... Well, how can you live without fitness?