Why diets only spoil life and is it possible to lose weight without them

Miscellaneous / by admin / June 03, 2023

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Stop torturing yourself. What's more, it's pointless.

Why diets don't help you lose weight permanently

There are plenty of delicious high-calorie foods around, and they are often used as a cheap way to enjoy or relieve stress. People get fat, and then, having seen enough of models and fitness bloggers, they choose a diet for themselves and begin to lose weight. A calorie deficit helps you lose about 5-10% of your weight and even keep it off for several months. But this is not for long.

In one meta-analysis Using data from over 21,942 people, they found that people on diets lose an average of about 4.5 kg in 6 months, and regain everything back after a year. In a different review calculated that 29 to 64% of those who lost weight 4–5 years after food restrictions weighed even more than before.

Of course, you can sit on another diet. And then one more. But it's not that healthy. In the same review notedthat cycles of gaining and losing weight increase the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and diabetes, adversely affect blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and immune function. And even stronger than excess, but stable body weight.

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There are two main reasons why diets do not help to lose weight permanently and even for a long time. Food restrictions:

Slow down metabolism - the amount of energy that the body spends on daily needs. Body passes into economy mode, and when a person abandons the diet, it does not switch back. You spend less and eat the same way you did before the restrictions. As a result, the resulting calorie surplus leads to a quick return of lost kilograms.
Lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. Eating disorders are becoming more common. Scientists reviewed 94 studies from different countries and notedthat from 2006 to 2018 the number of people suffering from them increased from 3.5 to 7.8%. And in one American poll figured outthat 65% of women have an unhealthy relationship with food. For example, they want to lose weight despite being healthy, worry about their pounds, or eat when they are not hungry.

Moreover, diets worsen the quality of life. And this is perhaps the worst.

How diets ruin your life

In addition to the fact that diets do not help maintain healthy weightThey also make people suffer, feel guilty and hate themselves.

Moreover, the world of losing weight narrows and revolves around food - counting calories, waiting for the next meal, fighting with yourself. It takes away strength, increases stress levels and makes a person unhappy.

And I

When I was at university, I often went on a diet. My weight was within the normal range, but I wanted to be very slim, weighing about 50 kg or even less. At that time, I didn’t really know anything about losing weight and simply cut my diet to a minimum, down to a glass of yogurt with crackers and a vegetable salad for the whole day.

Quite expectedly, I got on a diet swing with hunger, sharp weight loss, breakdowns and weight gain. I fondly remember this period of my life. All your thoughts revolve around food. You count the hours before eating, count calories, count how much and how much you will lose weight. I remember how I lost my temper and ate a “Surprise” puff with condensed milk, and then, in order to “work it out”, I went for a run in the heat and almost fainted.

I lost a lot of weight in the spring, so my periods disappeared for half a year, then I gained weight over the summer and again constantly tried to lose weight. It was fucking hell. After university, all this devilry ended, and I just live in my normal weight. It changes periodically, depending on the load and even on the mood.

The body adapts to my lifestyle, its shape perfectly matches what requests the body receives from the environment. And I clearly understood that diets are the bottom, and there is no point in sitting on them. If you want to change your body, change your life.

Numerous weight loss marathons they offer a seemingly well-thought-out program: people are calculated the calorie content of the diet and the necessary BJU, they are asked to eat healthy foods. But they do not lead to good results either. People get on the same swing, suffer, break down and gain again.

Evgeniya

Before one important event, I decided to lose weight, although I then weighed 56 kg with a height of 160 cm. I didn’t think of anything better than joining a marathon of harmony. They promised training, a balanced diet, a general support group.

In fact, it all turned into severe food restrictions and exhausting daily sports. With such physical activity, my daily intake was 1,200 kilocalories. Of course, this was not enough. I was constantly hungry, I felt tired, apathetic and irritable.

Counting calories and weighing absolutely every bite of food was infuriating. But the weight melted before my eyes. In this scenario, there were breakdowns. There was self-hatred for them and terrible working off of what they had eaten. As a result, in a month I received the coveted 50 kg.

The marathon is over, I lost weight by the event - it seems like it's time to tie it up. But I continued to live at this pace and further and kept myself in fear. It took about a year to return to a normal diet and attitude. Now I weigh 53-55 kg depending on the season, eat intuitively and plan to never experiment like that again.

All stories about trying to lose weight by restricting calories are strikingly similar. And none of them ends like this: "I've been following this diet without interruption for 10 years now and I have no problems with weight and health." This can only be read in an advertisement for some marathon or another super-effective diet.

But this does not mean that it is impossible to change the body and if you have gained extra pounds, you will have to live with them until the end of your days. It's just that the path to weight loss is not where everyone is looking for it.

Is it possible to change the body without diets

An authoritarian approach to your body does not work. But a careful and sensitive attitude can help.

Anna

As a teenager, I had the thought: “Now, if I were thinner, then everything in my life would be fine.” Food restrictions have begun. I constantly tried different nutrition schemes, dreamed of a thin beautiful body. So five years passed. There were moments when I lost a lot of weight, then gained back, also with a plus.

In the end, I realized that I was not really living. All the thoughts in my head revolved around food and how I want any "forbidden" in unlimited quantities. I was very tired of this and I just wanted to enjoy life.

In the end, after reading about intuitive eating and eating habits, I decided to allow myself to eat everything, because it’s no longer possible to live like this. I understood and accepted that I would get better. A strange period has begun. I bought sweets in bags. Everything I dreamed about, I ate every day in huge quantities, I didn’t go in for sports. I asked myself: “What do you want now?” — and did it.

Of course, I got bigger. Then I agreed with myself that all that follows from this is that I buy myself clothes in a larger size. And that's it. A full life without obsessive thoughts about food has become more valuable for me. Then I wanted to give a little load to the body, but not in order to work out what I had eaten, namely, in order to get high, to enjoy the movement.

I started with stretching, then I connected the pole sport. I tried different things, for example, acrobatics on canvases and a ring. Oddly enough, I started to lose weight. In the end, these swings left, the weight became stably average. But the main thing is that these obsessive thoughts about food are gone, and I can think about anything with pleasure.

And here's something else I realized: the attitude of other people towards you or some kind of life achievements do not depend on the weight and quality of the body. When I recovered, friends and acquaintances did not turn away from me, and a slender figure did not magically solve my problems. But after I allowed myself to eat, the quality of life improved one hundred percent.

This story is a perfect example of how accepting your body and his needs helps to stay in shape without any effort on his part. Of course, this is not the only path to a healthy and stable weight. Everyone has to find their own, and no one will give you a 100% proven recipe.

How to start changing

There are several general directions that should be guided.

Get rid of the bans

This applies to both the total caloric content of the diet, and individual products. Inhibitions breed cravings and relapses, while malnutrition sets the body and mind in constant search for food. Therefore, allow yourself absolutely everything and get rid of feelings of guilt about this.

Listen to your body

Your body knows best what it needs, but you don't always listening. If you communicate, watch videos or read while eating, it is easy to miss the moment when saturation has already come. As a result, you will simply put spoon after spoon into your mouth out of habit.

For those who were forced by their parents to eat everything on their plate as children, it can be difficult to determine this moment on their own. Work on it. Learn to understand when you no longer feel like eating, and boldly throw away everything that is left.

Mindfulness with food will also help you understand what foods you really enjoy, what you want, and what you can easily refuse. And do not worry that only sweets or chips.

As soon as you allow yourself to eat them in any quantity, the forbidden fruit will lose its appeal, and you you will be able to discover many other products that, in addition to pleasure, will also bring benefits for health.

Accept and love yourself

Losing weight people often think that a lot depends on their weight: harmony promises happiness and success, and fullness will lead to loneliness and suffering. In fact, looks don't mean that much.

The figure does not affect your personal life, does not make you a good friend, a valuable specialist, an interesting person. Just like being overweight does not prevent you from enjoying life in all its manifestations.

Cultivate love and acceptance. This can be tricky, especially if you're used to self-flagellation. Allow yourself to be anything, stop blaming yourself and being afraid of condemnation.

Become your own best friend and loving parent who will always support, console and tell you what a good person you really are. Any positive change starts from there.