Contrary to popular belief, we can lose weight quickly without regaining weight, but on the contrary – to maintain the desired weight. For many people, the quickly achieved effect is highly motivating and they manage to maintain their new figure without much effort, simply by not giving in to temptation and inertia. This is not a diet based on apples and yogurt. Of course, you should eat less, but above all be careful what you consume. Less fat and sugar, more protein – this will melt excess fat without losing muscle mass. It is necessary to increase the amount of vegetables – they are low in calories, and at the same time saturate and supply valuable vitamins, minerals, and trace elements.
What does healthy weight loss mean?
Let’s start by clarifying some basic concepts. Is there a healthy weight loss and if so – how to achieve it?
The association of most people when it comes to weight loss is associated with deprivation, starvation, and struggle. But this does not have to be the case to deal with extra pounds. On the contrary – prolonged fasting is often associated with concomitant problems for the body, but not only. This weight loss is neither permanent nor healthy.
When we talk about healthy weight loss, we must emphasize the diet. The general rule is – exclude pasta, sugar, and high-calorie drinks, which we replace with seasonal vegetables and fruits (berry fruits have the lowest carbohydrate content), prepared with seafood or meat.
Proper nutrition, combined with good body hydration and sports, will give a slow but sure result. Most of us associate sports with excessive physical activity, tiring hours in the gym, and dozens of miles. However, this is not necessary to be in good shape. Two-hour walks in the park at a moderate pace, light morning gymnastics and a bicycle to get around the neighborhood are enough. This formula is a proven and tested method for a lot of calories burned. Read more in our article on healthy weight loss.
Top 10 weight loss tips
1. Replace processed foods with unprocessed ones – Excess weight gain or obesity can be due to many reasons, but the basis is almost always the intake of a large number of processed foods. Foods such as french fries, sweets, cakes, pastries, sodas, and others provide a significant number of calories without satisfying the appetite or having good nutritional value. They can even increase the feeling of hunger shortly after consumption, as they have a serious effect on blood sugar. Eating foods in their natural state or as close to natural as possible such as meat, fish, eggs, rice, oatmeal, potatoes, raw nuts, vegetables, and fruits will also provide a significant number of calories, but will satisfy the appetite for a longer time and will stabilize energy levels.
2. Consume protein with every meal (if possible) – While there are countless debates about whether low-carb diets are best for weight loss, one thing is for sure. A high protein diet helps you lose weight faster. Foods rich in protein saturate for a long time without containing a large number of calories. (200 grams of chicken breast contains ~ 46 grams of protein, 2 grams of fat, and 220 calories). Also, 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories, 1 gram of protein or carbohydrate contains only 4. It should not be concluded that food sources of fat are harmful, but that foods rich in protein can often saturate for a long time and provide a small number of calories.
Protein sources do not have to be of animal origin alone. Food supplements such as protein powder or vegetables with a high percentage of protein can be used.
3. Drink more water – Water consumption is strongly associated with easier weight loss. Good hydration can increase the feeling of satiety, especially if you drink a glass of water before meals. If you weigh 70 kilograms, the recommended daily amount of water will be in the range of 2.5 and 4 liters. When determining which limit to choose, consider: climate, physical activity, and sweating.
4. Have between 7 and 9 hours of sleep at night – Quality sleep can be one of the most important habits to achieve faster weight loss. Helps control appetite. Provides more energy for exercise and helps recovery. Lack of sleep is associated with an increased feeling of hunger, loss of muscle mass, and therefore an increase in unhealthy weight.
5. Keep notes of what you eat – Tracking your eating habits by writing in a text document or diary can open your eyes to mistakes you don’t suspect you’re making – like eating too many calories from healthy foods or drinking. Understanding and realizing the habits you have will help make the change easier and can help you lose weight in the long run.
6. Calculate your daily calorie intake – Once you create a sense of eating habits, it’s time to calculate your daily caloric goal. This ensures that the calorie deficit is present and you are moving in the right direction. It should be remembered that if more calories are consumed than burned, no weight loss will occur. If you have difficulty with this task, you can seek the help of a professional to calculate your caloric goal for you.
7. Follow a diet – Once you have an idea of how many calories you are eating and you know your eating habits, it’s time to create a diet. You can use the tips in this article to create your own. This will be easier once you are aware of the goal – to eat food that satisfies the appetite without providing too many calories to reach your daily caloric goal.
8. Follow a training regimen – Physical activity helps to create a deficit by burning extra calories and at the same time is a must if we want to achieve better body composition, not just weight loss. You can create your own regime by following the tips in the article or seek help in preparing a training program.
9. Train your whole body in one workout – This type of workout helps increase metabolism and burns calories, while at the same time preventing muscle loss. To optimize calorie burning, focus on multi-joint exercises that work large muscle groups. Examples of this type of exercise: barbell squats, deadlifts, bench press, lunges, push-ups, push-ups, and more. These workouts are the perfect addition to a training split.
10. Be patient – Weight loss, especially when it comes to fat, is slow. As long as it is possible to lose 5 pounds in one day with starvation and dehydration, this will not have any lasting or positive effect from a health point of view. Also, setting too high a goal for weight loss and fat for a short period of time will lead to loss of muscle mass. The end result will be less pounds on the scales, but a worse appearance in the mirror and side effects such as sagging skin, stretch marks, cellulite, and others.
11. You could use red light therapy – While it may sound too good to be true, proponents of red light therapy claim it has helped remove “stubborn” fat that diet and exercise have failed to get rid of. Red light therapy has the potential to energize your body’s cells and help your body’s natural fat-burning mechanisms work more efficiently. Also known as low-level light therapy, it is a non-invasive procedure that may help remove fat from targeted areas of your body. Though the mechanism is unclear and controversial, one common theory is that LLLT temporarily breaks down part of the cell membrane. This allows stored fat cells to leach out, shrink, and be removed through your body’s natural waste removal process.
If all this still doesn’t help, try Saxenda – a medicine listed in addition to diet and exercise to promote weight management in adult patients. Saxenda is an injectable medicine used for weight loss for obese or overweight people, as it helps to reduce appetite and control body weight and can lead to a reduction of up to 10% of the total weight when associated with a healthy and practical diet and regular exercise.