How to lose weight

Premise on the Slimming Mechanism

Lose weight is a physiological process characterized by the reduction of reserve adipose tissue, to which is added, as a consequence, a decrease in total body mass.

The slimming process is based on four main factors, which, depending on the case, can prevail over one another:

• lack of balance between energy introduced with food (lower) and energy consumed by cells (upper) → typical of low-calorie diets;
• increased metabolic impact of foods → typical of high-protein / ketogenic and / or nerve-rich diets;
• increased metabolism → typical of slimming regimens involving the association of moderately low-calorie diets with muscle toning and strengthening activities; temporarily favored also by the use of nervine / thermogenic foods or supplements;
• achieving nutritional balance that affects both nutrients and the nutritional components (first of all, fiber) → typical of balanced, moderately low-calorie weight loss regimens, which provide for a weight loss in the order of 500/750 grams per week.

Generally speaking, weight loss takes advantage of a complex mechanism of positive and negative feedbacks that affect the whole metabolism, the hormonal axis and the various cellular processes of the tissues. More precisely, to lose weight it is necessary to place the organism in conditions of "catabolism", that is, of "demolition" of the reserve tissues for energy purposes (the opposite "of anabolism" or "construction").

The main targets of the slimming catabolic process are subcutaneous fat, visceral fat, muscle glycogen and hepatic glycogen; however, for various reasons, an excessively intense or lengthy catabolic phase can significantly compromise the integrity of other structures, primarily the muscular one.

WARNING! Weight loss is NOT a selective process on fat mass, so a mild catabolism of other tissues is almost always inevitable; this can be limited by starting a well-considered muscle-building protocol or, less intelligently, using doping (thyroid hormones, steroids, somatotropin, etc.). On the other hand, this depletion can be both imperceptible and very intense, depending on the "speed" of weight reduction, nutritional balance, volume and type of motor activity, etc.

OVERWEIGHT AND HEALTH

Taking a small step back, I think it is appropriate to focus on some basic concepts that (alas) ALL the strategies for losing weight are of interest. If it is true that the reduction of adipose tissue is a physiological process, it is equally true that it is a tiring and not always necessary path, since it is often dictated by deviated aesthetic canons. On the other hand, it is true that being overweight (and the related complications) are among the main risk factors for early death in industrialized societies; therefore, in these cases, weight loss is used as a real THERAPY of medical interest.

Weight loss for health purposes is indicated only for those who cross the "health border", ie:

• Who has a Body Mass Index greater than 24.9
• Who has an unfavorable fat distribution and other risk factors
• Who presents traces of family metabolism complications

Therefore, all the other subjects, with the exception of the competitive athletes for whom it is essential to keep the fat mass at the lowest levels (cyclists, runners, etc.), could abstain from the desire to lose weight, saving yourself a good effort!

Why is losing weight often so difficult?

The various difficulties faced in weight loss derive from the fact that the adipose tissue and the mechanisms that regulate its tropism represent a system of self-defense against periods of famine and malnutrition; this process was developed through the evolution of the animal species, which lasted "only" a few million years.

It goes without saying that, in conditions of food overabundance (typical of consumerist societies), it is not particularly "easy" to maintain a moderate level of fatness. Simply put, whatever the type of diet you follow, LOSING IS ALWAYS MORE DIFFICULT THAN GREASING; I therefore invite the kind readers not to be deceived by the marketing and by the pseudo-scientific theories that lately (and more and more often) bombard the media, luring both the sick and the healthy who badly perceive their body shapes.

It is therefore not possible to lose weight without feeling appetite, even if with a good strategy you can safely avoid real hunger.

The best systems for losing weight are those that involve the use of a physical motor activity protocol, as they allow you to eat more. However, it is also advisable not to "open too much the gap" between the energy consumed with food and the energy consumed; with too drastic methods, in fact, there would be the risk of compromising the general state of health, worsening the muscular trophism, one of the side effects of the catabolism that we have seen to be necessary for the slimming process. That said, I once again invite the kind readers not to fall into the "phishing" of those who claim to "know the formula to lose weight fast while keeping the muscular masses intact or even to lose weight by increasing the general muscle building".

Lose weight: How to do it? Practical Tips

Therefore, in practice, to lose weight it is sufficient to eat less than what is consumed; certainly it is easier said than done!

First and foremost, the first piece of advice I address to those suffering from overweight, obesity or metabolic diseases is to rely on a professional in the field, or a dietitian, a dietician or a specialized nutritionist. Instead, for those who only want to improve their physical appearance, it is sufficient to make sure that they perform regular physical activity, correcting the diet with regard to the frequency of consumption and the portions of junk food (including alcohol!).

Ahinoi, given the current Italian economic condition (not too rosy, if compared to the half century just passed), not everyone can (or want) to afford to pay a healthcare provider who practices the profession; in parallel, public services are often poor and sometimes the waiting lists are particularly long. Here in such a situation low-cost services, such as "magazine" diets, "gym" diets (those produced improperly by weight room technicians), "supplement" diets (offered free in exchange of the purchase of herbal or similar material), diets by "telephone application" (not necessarily incorrect but often not practicable and always lacking the relationship between therapist and patient), diets "downloaded from the Internet" or even "personalized" diets. .. but for other people ".

Needless to say, no service that is too cheap can guarantee a precise and accurate procedure, which should include food history, the collection of subjective preferences, anthropometric detection and periodic checks with the possibility of "correcting the shot" along the way. However, it would be fairly dishonest to convey the message that "to lose weight ... so to eat less than necessary ... you have to spend money!" It is a paradox that does not stand up, even if professionalism is certainly a detail that makes the difference in terms of results and maintenance of health.

How to Lose Weight Without Leaning on a Professional?

It is not impossible, it is a fairly simple path to understand, but still difficult to apply and maintain; below, I will try to give some simple tips to rearrange the ideas of the thousands of self-learners who intend to lose weight independently and consciously:

1. Follow a BALANCED diet, without venturing into potentially failed experiments that would slowly weaken the practitioner's determination. The guidelines for a correct and healthy diet are effectively disseminated by INRAN (National Research Institute for Food and Human Nutrition)
2. Compensate for periods of overeating by increasing physical activity and following for short periods of non-binding diets that have the same duration as the transgression. In fact, more often than not, being overweight is simply the result of an occasional increase in weight which, however, recurs several times over the medium and long term; the main recurrences in which the famous "chiletto" accumulates are: Christmas period, carnival period, Easter period and summer holidays. In this case, it is possible to accumulate around 4kg a year and up to 40kg in 10 years, or what separates a perfectly normal person from a serious obese.
3. At the beginning of the therapy, make sure that the weight trend is stable, not oscillatory, and write down a food diary as accurate as possible. Weight stability, which is evaluated weekly or every 14 days, is a sign of "energy balance", which ensures that the current diet is normocaloric. By filling in the food diary, in case of stable weight, a "photograph" of the diet that "DOES NOT make you fat" can be obtained, then facilitating the compilation of the maintenance diet. On the contrary, if the diet is not normocaloric and induces a small but inexorable increase (eg 100g every 14 days), it is better to proceed with the first changes to the diet. In the first place, it is advisable to eliminate "useless" foods and beverages, ie those that do not contribute positively to maintaining health (eg coca-cola, beer, fast-food, sauces, snacks, etc.).
4. While a nutrition professional is able to draw up a perfectly fitting diet, without "going by trial and error", when you proceed in total autonomy you need to "take small steps". So, having reached the much-desired normocaloric, the very first step of the autodidact concerns the increase (if necessary) of physical motor activity (in a conscious and progressive way, first of all to avoid injuries) KEEPING THE SAME FEED that we talked about. This is possible by choosing to take the stairs rather than take the elevator, traveling by bicycle or on foot for the routes that allow it and carrying out a sport activity that affects the weekly energy balance (in practice, at least 3 or 4 training sessions of 50 ' each with an intensity that is in full aerobic or higher range). Continuing with the weight measurement every week or every 14 days, it should be possible to deduce a significant weight reduction; for example, around 300-400g every seven days. WARNING! Using a muscle-building protocol it is possible that the body weight remains at first unchanged, in fact, the increase in muscular trophism - typical of the very first training period for hypertrophy - compensates for the loss of body fat induced by the increased energy expenditure.
5. If the overweight is slight, what summarized in the previous phases may also be sufficient; on the contrary, if the "road is long", better to increase the speed of weight loss. To do this it is necessary to cut off about 15-20% of the energy with respect to the initial normocaloric, since in synergy with the increase in caloric expenditure (physical activity) it should cause a weight reduction of about 750g (and no more than 1000g) per week . To tell the truth, it is not so easy to understand "how much" and "what" to take away from food, but exercising my profession I have noticed that the most significant redundancies concern:
1. The excess of pasta, which for most should NEVER be greater than 90g per serving and which should not be consumed more than once a day; moreover, it is better to limit their frequency to 2-3 times a week.
2. The excess of bread, which must accompany the side dish and the dish (second course), but should NEVER exceed 50% of the weight (except for the salad). 2 slices of bread every 200g of vegetables, meat or fish are more than enough.
3. The excess of potatoes, since very often these tubers are inserted in the group of vegetables. In truth, they cannot be contextualised in such a set because they contain 2, 3 or 4 times as much energy as vegetables (depending on the product). It is preferable to use them as a side dish (150-200g) if you choose dishes of modest size (such as two eggs or 100g ricotta) or as a first course (in the form of velvety, up to 400g of potatoes).
4. The excess of dressing oil, which is often the result of a nutritional misunderstanding. It is true that extra virgin olive oil "is good for the organism", especially when it replaces animal fat, but this does not mean that YOU DO NOT GREASE! On average, I suggest not to exceed 20-30g / day and, for those who like to consume "many courses", it is better to calculate at most 5g each (excluding all cheeses, which do not require seasoning ... not even mozzarella!).
5. The excess of meat, fish and eggs, also the result of a popular misunderstanding; recently there has been a veritable explosion of carnivorous diets, promoting the belief that proteins do not make you fat. Obviously, this is a real distortion. The excess is always potentially fattening, even the protein one, especially in association with considerable amounts of fat (sausages, ribs, salami, salmon, etc.); the suitable portion (of lean dishes) is always between 150 and 250g (for eggs and cheese, even less!).
6. The excess of fruit, a group of foods certainly beneficial but absolutely NOT acorical. An apple, which is NOT among the most caloric fruits, contains the energy of a slice of bread! In general, two fruits per day are easily contextualized in a medium-scale low-calorie diet.
6. Once at the ideal weight (the subjectively perceived one), which most of the times DOES NOT correspond to the physiological one, it is possible to adopt again the initial normocaloric diet and proceed with the consolidation of the obtained results.

WARNING! At the end of a slimming diet almost always a very slight "bounce" effect occurs, in which the body reacts by depositing again a small amount of energy reserves (sometimes proportional to the amount of weight loss achieved). This is an almost normal condition, due to small transgressions or a sort of reaction to the energy increase in the diet.