Proper weight loss diet does not involve strict restrictions, fasting and rejection of your favorite foods. First of all, this is taking care of yourself, food selectivity and what makes you feel great and improve the quality of your life.
The all or nothing principle does not work in this case. You should not try to change everything in one day and at once - this usually leads to breakdowns and, as a result, overeating. It is best to make small phase changes. This will help you achieve more results in the long run. As your small changes become a habit, add more healthy rules.
The main thing to remember is that the pursuit of health is a lifelong journey. You should enjoy, not stress.
Why eat healthy food?
In addition to helping you maintain a healthy weight, a healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy products, and protein, there are other important benefits.
Poor nutrition is the most common cause of immunodeficiency in the world. Scientists associate the appearance of many chronic diseases with improper diet. For example, 38. 5 thousand men and 67 thousand women participated in one of the surveys. During 8-12 years of observation, unhealthy foods have been found to contribute to the deterioration of biomarkers, and can also cause heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and some types of cancer.
Evidence shows that 30-35% of cancer deaths are related to diet, 25-30% due to tobacco, 15-20% due to infections, and the remaining percentage due to other factors such as radiation, stress, physical inadequacy activity, environmental pollution, etc. .
Poor nutrition affects not only physical but also mental health. According to the Mental Health Foundation, two-thirds of people who eat fresh fruits and vegetables daily do not have mental health problems.
Therefore, the link between good nutrition and healthy weight, reduced risk of chronic diseases and overall health is too important to be ignored.
How long does it take to form eating habits?
Everyone today is looking for a quick solution to the weight loss problem, and changing habits that promote it and last a long time takes time. This has been confirmed by recent studies.
It has long been believed that 21-28 days is enough to develop a stable habit. This statement primarily relates to the activities of a doctor named Maxwell Maltz. In the 1950s, he was a plastic surgeon and noted that it took his patients at least 21 days to learn to look comfortably in the mirror after surgery. In addition, he noted that people who had their leg or arm amputated took the same amount of time to lose the feeling of a phantom limb.
As a result, he developed this idea in his book Psychocybernetics, which was published in 1960. After that, the idea was accepted by many doctors, public figures, coaches. Over the years, the word "minimum" disappeared, and the period of 21 days became practically a "scientific" law.
What are the new studies about?
Philip Lally is a researcher in health psychology at University College London. In a paper published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, Lally and her analytical group set out to discover how much it actually takes to create a habit.
96 people participated in the research. Each selected one new habit for 12 weeks and reported each day whether they followed it or not.
Some people have adopted simple rules like "drink a bottle of water at lunch time. " Others have chosen more challenging tasks, like running 15 minutes before lunch. After 12 weeks, the researchers analyzed the data to determine how long it took each person to transition from the beginning of the new behavior to automatic enforcement.
On average, it took more than 2 months, or 66 days. But the time it takes to form a new habit can vary greatly depending on the behavior, the person, and the circumstances. Overall, the research lasted from 18 to 254 days.
How to start a proper diet and what habits can help in the weight loss process?
1. Be calorie deficient
The main idea is as old as the world -you need to burn more calories than you expend. . .
A negative calorie balance forces the body to use the accumulated reserves to provide it with the energy it needs. This energy mainly comes from the body’s stores of carbohydrates and fats.
During the weight loss phase, the daily caloric deficit should be between 300 and 500 kcal.
In addition, it is important to monitor the indicators of BJU (proteins, fats and carbohydrates).
2. Reduce the amount of fat in your diet
According to the WHO (World Health Organization), preference should be given to unsaturated fats (found in fish, avocados, nuts, etc. ) and reduced consumption of saturated fats (fatty meat, butter, palm, coconut oil, etc. ), as well as industrial trans fats. which are found in baked, smoked, fried foods, practical foods, pies, chips, crackers, etc.
Fats should not be more than 30% of the total food consumed during the weight loss diet, of which less than 10% should be saturated and not more than 1% of trans fats.
It is not necessary to completely give up fat in the diet. They are necessary for the supply of the body with polyunsaturated fatty acids, ie linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid. The body does not produce them, and they are mostly found in vegetable oils and fish.
3. Get enough protein
Proteins are the most important building block of the body and must cover about 40% of the total energy needs.
When you are trying to lose weight, a protein-rich diet can leave you feeling full for a long time by affecting the hunger hormone ghrelin. Protein also prevents muscle loss during dieting. The more muscle mass, the more energy is expended and the greater the need for calories.
Proteins of animal origin have a higher biological value than plant proteins. However, they also contain extra fat and cholesterol, so consumption should be moderate.
According to research, a high-protein breakfast can reduce food cravings and calorie intake throughout the day.
4. Avoid simple carbs
The total carbohydrates in the diet should be around 30%. They are usually divided into simple and complex. It takes more time to process the latter and make less insulin, which helps you feel full and avoid overeating.
Simple carbohydrate foods include sugars, white flour products, jams, sodas, juices and more. For simple carbohydrates it is better to choose the first half of the day, when the blood sugar level after sleep is low, glycogen stores are depleted and the body's energy needs to be restored.
For foods rich in carbohydrates, whole grains are ideal because, in addition to their high content of minerals and fiber, they saturate the body and improve digestion.
You can use as a guideThe pyramid of healthy eating at Harvard. . .
5. If you can’t but really want to
As you know, "forbidden fruit is sweet. " The more you forbid yourself something, the more you want it. And the feeling of guilt, which is overcome if you succumb to temptation, makes some people give up and give up on what they started.
Therefore, the first step may not be to completely discard the harmful product, but to reduce the portion size and reduce the frequency of its consumption. Over time, you will begin to experience less and less cravings for this food.
6. Avoid drinks that make you fat
Avoid fizzy drinks and fruit juices.According to the study, these drinks have few, if any, nutrients, and excessive consumption led Americans to 20% weight gain between 1977 and 2007.
A 0. 5 liter bottle of cola contains 240 calories and 65 grams of sugar. It has been proven that people who drink mostly water consume an average of 200 calories a day less than those who drink other drinks.
Drink water before meals. One study found that drinking water half an hour before a meal can reduce appetite and increase weight loss by 44% in just 3 months.
If you’re not ready to give up unhealthy drinks right away, use a simple trick that can fool your brain.
See image below. Which line is bigger: horizontal or vertical?
In fact, both lines are the same length, but our brains tend to overestimate vertical lines. In other words, by transferring this knowledge to the topic under consideration, more glasses and cups seem larger and more spacious to us than round and wide ones.
That way you can drink about 20% less from a tall and thin glass than from a small and wide glass without being dissatisfied.
7. Eliminate alcohol
When switching to a proper diet, it is recommended to give up alcohol. Why is this necessary?
- Alcohol triggers an increase in appetite by acting on neurons, and also increases the likelihood of breakdown, unhealthy food choices, and overeating.
- It negatively affects digestion, altering the secretion of gastric acid and its motility, leading to metabolic disorders.
- Alcohol makes the water stay in the body, which is why many find swelling and extra pounds on the scales in the morning.
- Drinking alcohol can impair the body's ability to recover from exercise, thus reducing the ability to burn excess calories through exercise.
- Alcohol consumption leads to shorter and lower quality sleep, which significantly affects hunger and forces people to switch from carbohydrates to eating fat. According to research, every 30-minute sleep deficit equals 83 extra calories during the day.
But it is worth clarifying that low-alcohol drinks in moderate doses do not cause significant harm to the body. 100 ml of dry red wine contains 80 kcal, 100 ml of beer contains 45 kcal. For comparison, in vodka - 230 kcal per 100 g. Therefore, a glass of dry wine or a glass of beer can be drunk once a week, without compromising weight loss.
8. Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables supply the body with fiber, minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals. They serve a number of important functions in the body and are essential for healthy metabolic processes.
It is recommended that you eat at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables a day (one serving is about 150 g). It is worth considering that excessive consumption of fruit is not recommended, because it contains a lot of fructose, unlike low-calorie and nutritious vegetables.
9. Pay attention to the speed of food intake
The speed at which you eat affects the portion size as well as the likelihood of gaining weight. Our brain and intestines are in constant communication, so if your brain interferes with your eating, you may not get a signal whether you are hungry or full.
Keep in mind that it takes an average of about 20 minutes to get this information, so a slower meal can prevent overeating.
In addition, eating slowly is associated with more thorough chewing, which also contributes to weight maintenance. Studies comparing different eating speeds show that they are 115% more likely to be obese than those who eat slowly.
10. Redefine the way food is prepared
The way you prepare food directly affects your health.
Grilling, smoking, frying, deep frying are all popular methods for preparing meat and fish. However, using such methods, several potentially toxic compounds (polycyclic and heterocyclic) are created in food, which are associated with various chronic diseases, including cancer and heart disease.
Healthier methods include baking, stewing, steaming, etc. They do not contribute to the formation of these harmful compounds and thus make your food healthier.
11. Eat from small plates
It has been shown that the size of the dishes can affect how much you eat. In large plates, people put portions that are on average 30% more than in standard dishes.
The brain perceives the same amount of food differently on a large and small plate, this is called Delbeuf's illusion.
You agree, it seems like the part on the left is pretty small. We bet you’ll want a supplement. At the same time, the part on the plate on the right, filled to the top, is more noticeable and, accordingly, there is a feeling that it will be more satisfied.
12. Reduce spices and flavor enhancers
Salt, spices, store-bought sauces and ketchup should be consumed to a minimum. Many of them contain sugar, dyes, preservatives, flavor enhancers and stabilizers. They have a negative effect on the work of the gastrointestinal tract.
The WHO recommends consuming no more than 5 grams of iodized salt per day (approximately 1 teaspoon). WHO member states have set a goal to reduce global consumption by 30% by 2025, which should help prevent hypertension and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke in adults.
13. Control emotional eating.
Our relationship with food is closely related to emotional health. We don’t always take food to satisfy hunger. Many turn to food to relieve stress or deal with unpleasant emotions such as anxiety, sadness, loneliness, or boredom. But learning healthier ways to deal with them can help you regain control. Serotonin levels play a key role here.
It is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep and appetite, controls mood and suppresses pain. Since about 95% of serotonin is produced in the gastrointestinal tract, and the gastrointestinal tract is lined with hundreds of millions of nerve cells, it is logical that the internal workings of the digestive system not only help digest food but also manage emotional states.
14. Choose healthy snacks
Snacking is one of the main factors in maintaining a healthy diet and nutrition. If you choose healthy foods rich in protein and nutrients, snacks can be an integral part of your weight loss. Some of them can even help you stay full throughout the day and limit your cravings for junk food.
Avoid cookies and sweets, sandwiches and glazed cheeses in favor of dried fruits, nuts, vegetable sticks with hummus, natural yogurt, fruits, etc.
15. Be selective in the supermarket
In supermarkets, there is an unspoken rule of the so-called "outer ring". As a rule, the healthiest products are located along the rim - fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, dairy products, cereals, etc. Mostly packaged and processed food is placed between the rows.
Why is processed food harmful? Scientists are increasingly coming to the conclusion that processed foods with all the additives, lack of sugar and fiber can negatively affect the gut microbiota and the various bacteria that line its walls. As a result, the risk of chronic diseases increases and fertile ground for overeating is created.
In one study, the consumption of processed foods was associated with an increase in cardiovascular disease, in another - with an increasing risk of dying for any reason.
In addition, special attention must be paid to labels on products indicating storage conditions and composition. Note that the ingredients are listed in descending order, from highest to lowest. The less the better. Make sure that the product does not contain sweeteners such as sugar alcohols, monosodium glutamate (E621), formaldehyde (E240), trans fats, dyes (E102, E104, E110, E122, E124, E129), etc.
16. Don’t get distracted while eating
New research claims that the perception of the sound of food intake affects eating habits. The study involved two groups of people who ate crunchy food, one with headphones with white noise and the other without. As a result, participants who were disturbed by the white noise heard less food sound, which is why they ate more than those who heard crunch.
Another interesting experiment, the result of which was published in 2016, claims that scrolling through social networks in which you follow culinary audiences or various grocery stores can cause the so-called "visual hunger". In other words, even if you don’t physically need food, the body sends a brain signal using the hunger hormone you want to eat.
The main thing to remember for a healthy relationship with food is, "Food is not the enemy. " Instead of focusing on what you shouldn’t eat, consider what healthy, new, and delicious things you can add to your meals to diversify your diet. Don't try to change everything at once, create new healthy habits gradually and without stress.
As you know, a balanced diet is at least 50% of the results in the weight loss process! Without it, even the most competent training will not bring the expected results.