Lots of men and women are overweight. Often it's a consequence of overeating, eating high-calorie foods, and lack of physical activity. Many people are aware of this problem and want to start losing weight. But there are many pitfalls along the way. What is the right way to start losing weight?
Where the Excess Weight Comes From
Obesity is a disease that occurs when excess fat accumulates not only in the subcutaneous tissue but also in tissues and organs.
You will be diagnosed with obesity if your body weight has increased by more than 10%. Then you can talk about the first degree of this disease. If your body weight has increased by less than 10%, you are slightly overweight. This is not terrible, but it is still better to engage in its correction.
The Main "Pathways" of Excess Weight Accumulation
Disturbed Sleep Patterns
First, lack of sleep increases the level of endocannabinoids (a special class of neurotransmitters). Scientists at the University of Chicago conducted an experiment involving 14 male and female volunteers between the ages of 20 and 30. One group of subjects slept 7.5 to 8 hours a night, while the other group slept less than 5. The experiment found that the number of fats eaten by the second group doubled, and the number of calories consumed doubled by 50%. So it's better not to play at or watch Netflix at 2 am, even if there are new promising releases.
Overeating
You don't have to eat too much at night to notice overeating. It can also hide in frequent snacking on the run, while watching a movie, as well as go side by side with eating negative emotions and encouraging yourself with food for some achievements.
A Sedentary Lifestyle
Hyperdynamics can play a crucial role in weight gain. If you don't move much, your metabolism slows down, which means unspent calories turn into fat stores.
As you age, the synthesis of steroid hormones and various enzymes, especially those of the digestive system, decreases. This contributes to increased adipose tissue growth and decreased muscle mass.
Deficiency of protein in the diet and excessive consumption of carbohydrates
Such a ratio is immediately deposited in the form of extra centimeters on the waist.
Chronic Stress
Modern man lives under constant stress. This leads to high levels of cortisol in the blood. And it contributes to the accumulation of fatty tissue.
Why You Need to Lose Excess Weight
The Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Increases
There is a simple connection: the more extra pounds a person has, the harder it is for the heart to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the cells and organs. This means that the heart begins to experience increased strain, contracting many times faster.
Also fat is deposited around the heart muscle, which increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and angina.
The Metabolism Is Disturbed
Excess weight blocks the excretion of metabolic products, reduces the absorption of useful substances, disturbs digestion, reduces the sensitivity of insulin. This increases the likelihood of gastritis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, kidney stones.
There Is a Hormonal Imbalance
Obesity disrupts the synthesis, accumulation and metabolism of sex hormones. Because of this imbalance in women can appear irregular menstruation, polycystic menopause, infertility, and in men - erectile dysfunction (with decreased testosterone).
How to Start Losing Weight Correctly
First, there is the psychological aspect of this problem. Ask yourself: "Why do I need to lose weight?", "What am I doing it for?", "Do I want to lose weight quickly or come to the right and suitable for me diet?".
If the opinion about weight loss is imposed by society, then you need to see a psychologist and deal with the internal conflict. If the desire to lose weight is your own, then it's better not to proceed to this on your own, and contact a qualified endocrinologist.
Why do we recommend losing weight with a specialist and not doing it alone?
- In most cases, the advice "Eat less and move more" doesn't work. Even if you don't suffer from overeating, and each meal is conscious, then even in this scenario isn't excluded the possibility that the consumed calories simply are not burned. This means that the causes are hidden at a deeper level.
- Unlike most dietitians and nutritionists, the endocrinologist has a higher medical education, which allows him to correctly correlate the processes occurring in the body.
- The endocrinologist makes an individual diet and exercise plan for each person and gives clear advice on how not to gain weight after losing weight.
- The doctor will appoint the appropriate tests that will give a full picture of the state of your body. During the weight loss process, the specialist will watch the results of the tests in dynamics to see the positive or negative aspects.
- The endocrinologist will also help diagnose diseases that have led to excess weight (hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, diabetes).
Stages of Weight Loss
Approximate Weight Loss Plan
Only regularity (in training, proper diet, calorie restriction) will lead you to results. So it's worth thinking about and prescribing in writing detailed instructions for the week ahead. We advise you not to "rush to the grenade" and not to put your physical and mental health in front of severe restrictions. Think about how many workouts a week will be easy for you to do? What kind of nutrition will be not only healthy but also tasty for you? With detailed instructions in front of you, it will be much easier for you to stick to your goals.
Initial Phase
During the initial phase, the weight-loser quickly sheds weight because there is a drastic restriction of calories. Our body perceives this signal as "hard time", so it starts to optimize energy expenditure instantly. At the beginning of the way you will see that there are already visible results, so the motivation will not leave you.
However, it's worth understanding that you are losing not fat, but extra water and muscle, as it's the proteins (contained in the GI tract, liver, skeletal muscles) that the body consumes first.
The Preliminary Plateau Phase
Next, the body begins to get used to the workload, so the weight goes away slowly.
Plateau Phase
The weight goes even slower and can "stand up". At this phase, motivation also decreases, illusions about the ease of the process go away. Therefore, most people who lose weight give up their way exactly at this stage. The phase lasts 4 weeks.
Slow Decline Phase
The weight starts to go a little faster. Here it is important not only not to give up physical activity, but also to make it more intense and perhaps change the type of sporting activity. This helps excess weight to be burned more intensively, increasing the metabolism.
Weight Stabilization
It starts when you have reached the result - your desired weight. There may be slight fluctuations from the ideal figure on the scales (on average 1 kg).
Quitting the Diet.
A very important stage. It's unnecessary to immediately pile on what has been forbidden for a long time. Firstly, by this moment you will develop a habit not to eat everything in a row. Secondly, you are unlikely to want to lose what you have worked for many weeks and months.
