Only healthy lifestyle, not fad diets, aid weight loss

Discussions about weight loss tend to be more about fads rather than healthy habits. There is a lot of information available online about how to maintain your body mass index (BMI) and keep fit. But there is much more misinformation spread by fitness influencers and lapped up by fitness freaks. It has therefore never been more important to set the record straight.

There is a myth that the fewer calories you consume, the more weight you lose. So, you think if you eat one idli less in a three-idli meal, you’ll lose weight. But the assumption is wrong because the body needs a certain level of calories. When you don’t consume enough calories, it leads to a weight loss plateau.

Weight loss can be achieved only by having the right food at the right time in the right proportions.

Another myth believed by several people is that if you eat starch-rich carbohydrates, you will put on weight. The fact is that carbohydrates provide nutrition and energy, aiding in the balanced and uniform functioning of the body. It is ghrelin, a hormone, which plays a pivotal role in body weight reduction. When sufficient carbohydrate-rich foods are not consumed, ghrelin stirs hunger and cravings for fast food, which is quite dangerous.

Foods rich in complex carbohydrates with high fibre content do not lead to an increase in body weight. As these foods have a low glycemic index, they release sugars into the bloodstream slowly and are thus helpful in not just keeping diabetes at bay also with maintaining body mass and weight.

Nowadays, supermarkets are flooded with foods and beverages claiming to be conducive to weight loss. Not only are many of the claims questionable, the main issue is that just as a garment that is tailor-made for one person is not suitable for another, there is no one single diet or product that will work for everyone.

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Metabolism differs from person to person. The diet suitable for one person’s metabolism may not be right for another. So, don’t get carried away by glossy ads on processed foods and beverages advertised for weight loss, and instead consult a professional nutritionist for a diet that’s right for your metabolism.

There may be vegetarians and vegans who shun meat and animal-based products for religious reasons or because they are against animal cruelty. But there are others who go vegetarian or vegan under the misconception that meats and eggs tend to raise one’s body weight, whereas vegetarian dishes keep body weight under control. But what they are unaware of is that the meat is rich in protein, and the varieties with low cholesterol can be eaten without worrying about weight gain.

A balanced diet containing the right proportions of both plant foods and animal foods will go a long way in keeping your body weight optimal, and even reducing weight if needed.

The misplaced assumption that cholesterol in your diet is to blame for weight gain and flabby muscles, some people resort to a fat-free diet. However, when the body does not produce enough cholesterol, one’s thinking faculty suffers a setback: cholesterol holds the key to the healthy functioning of the brain. To put it precisely, cholesterol feeds our brain. So fat-free diets are nothing but bunkum.

Good cholesterol-rich food items, particularly those rich in Omega 3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, such as eggs, fish and flax seeds must be consumed so that body weight, diabetes and hormone imbalances are set right.

There are people who strictly follow a short-term diet and lose a target amount of weight and number of inches within, say, three months or four months. But then they relapse into their old customary diet and find themselves gaining body weight again. So, it is better to eschew fad diets and instead adopt long-term or permanent eating habits. For example, if you lose body weight by 12 kg in six months, thereafter you must adopt a weight maintenance diet. Instead if you revive your old food habits, you will end up gaining weight again soon.

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There are people who complain that in spite of working out or walking an hour a day, they are yet to experience the desired weight loss. The reason could be that they are sedentary for many more hours than they are active. In such cases, their metabolism may be slow.

So, the only long-term solution is that you change your entire lifestyle into a healthy one, and become discerning about what you consume as well as what you avoid, and also what you must certainly eat. Nutritious food, physical exercises and small everyday measures such as using a staircase instead of a lift or any necessary small activity that keeps your body moving and limbs active will go a long way in keeping your body weight proportional to your height.

below is the video on the subject: