We will understand whether all diets are harmful, how to eat to lose weight and maintain results for a long time, and whether you need to count calories for that.
The desire to be slim can push you to new, sometimes even dangerous, practices. But eventually, even if the weight goes away, it soon comes back. Why is this happening?
As a rule, a radical reduction in daily caloric intake gives only a temporary effect when the cause of excess weight is lifestyle and diet.
A professional nutritionist explains which principles help you lose weight without harming your health.
Which diet will help you lose weight
So dieting really helps you lose weight. But before you rejoice, let's note one important detail: none of the restrictive types of diets work in the long term, and can even cause harm.
Every diet has a downside: for example, the keto diet can worsen existing liver disease, lead to kidney problems, and cause mood swings and irritability due to the lack of glucose contained in complex carbohydrates.
In addition, dieting in popular understanding is always about restrictions, and restrictions are about malnutrition and breakdowns. As a result, even if you "sit" on it for a while and really lose weight, but do not change your eating habits, the weight will return. And this is a proven pattern.
The more varied the diet and the more flexible the meal plan, the easier it is to follow. This means that you don't break down and achieve your goals without harming your body. Therefore, a complete healthy diet is better than restrictive diets.
But maybe there is a diet that will help you lose weight without harming your health?
A short-term change to a "healthy" diet will not lead to sudden weight loss. Besides, who said this is what proper weight loss looks like? You can achieve the desired result smoothly by forming new eating habits.
Therefore, the question "Which diet will help you lose weight? " is better rephrased as "What is a healthy diet? "
What is a healthy diet?
A healthy diet is primarily balanced and varied. Nutrition should provide you with all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals necessary for the quality functioning of the body. The "healthy plate" principle will help in this.
- Eat fruits and vegetables of different colors. Fresh, cooked, dried - any.
- Include complex carbohydrates from whole grains in your diet: they are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber.
- Remember that dairy products and plant-based alternatives are important sources of calcium. Choose options with low fat and no added sugar.
- Try to eat fish and legumes at least twice a week.
- Use different vegetable oils.
Before you start your weight loss journey, think about the "healthy" foods you enjoy so you have more delicious options for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Remember, the best "diet" is the one you stick to.
Proper nutrition - without the restrictions and stress they cause - can help not only in losing weight, but also in improving health. In many cases, even a simple switch to a balanced diet leads to weight loss.
However, even if you eat a nutritious and varied diet, it is important not to overeat. In addition to internal guidance - feelings of hunger and satiety - this can also be helped by practice: finding portions of food that are pleasant to you.
Should you count calories when losing weight?
The method of calculating calories for the daily routine is not the best:
- concentration on numbers related to the body - parameters, weight, kcal and so on - can cause neuroticism associated with the development of eating disorders;
- Not all calories are the same from a qualitative point of view – cookies and avocado toast have different nutritional values;
- caloric content depends on the state of the product, for example, the same mass of nuts, whole or ground, gives a different amount of calories.
Therefore, counting calories is more suitable for clinical practice when it comes to pathologies and/or hospital treatment.
At the same time, the calculation can still be carefully used to independently understand one's own nutritional standards and the level of protein, fat and carbohydrates consumed.
You can use an app or website to count calories – it makes life easier in many ways. But often such methods are incorrect: after all, something eaten and drunk can be forgotten. This means that tens or hundreds of kcal entered will not be taken into account in the final figures.
If you control the caloric intake of your diet, then do it effectively: take into account snacks, drinks and various additions to the main dishes - sauces and butter.
How to calculate daily calorie intake
To calculate the correct daily calorie intake yourself, use one of the following methods.
Method 1. Formula for calculating energy needs
This EER formula takes into account age, gender, weight, height and physical activity level and is suitable for adult men and women:
- EER for men = 662 – (9. 53 x age in years) + PA x [(15. 91 x weight in kg) + (539. 6 x height in meters)]
- EER for women = 354 – (6. 91 x age in years) + PA x [(9. 36 x weight in kg) + (726 x height in meters)]
PA is the level of physical activity that can be assigned a value from the following parameters:
- sedentary lifestyle (practically without exercise) - PA = 1. 0;
- low activity (light exercises, sports 1–3 days a week) – PA = 1. 11–1. 25;
- moderate activity (moderate exercise, sports 3-5 days a week—PA = 1, 26-1, 48);
- increased activity (hard exercises, sports 6–7 days a week) - PA = 1. 49–1. 94.
Method 2. Harris-Benedict formula
This formula will help you estimate your BMR – your basal metabolic rate, or the number of calories your body needs at rest. From BMR, taking into account your activity level, you can calculate TDEE - total daily energy expenditure.
for men:
- BMR = 66. 5 + (13. 75 x weight in kg) + (5. 003 x height in cm) – (6. 755 x age in years).
For women:
- BMR = 655. 1 + (9, 563 x weight in kg) + (1, 850 x height in cm) – (4, 676 x age in years).
To calculate your TDEE, multiply your emissions BMR by the activity factor, based on the following values:
- sedentary lifestyle (practically without exercise) - BMR x 1, 2;
- light activity (light exercises, sports 1-3 days a week) - BMR x 1, 375;
- average activity (moderate exercise, sports 3-5 days a week) - BMR x 1. 55;
- increased activity (hard exercises, sports 6-7 days a week) - BMR x 1, 725;
- excessive activity (hard exercises, sports and physical work) - BMR x 1. 9.
These methods have their drawbacks. For example, the Harris-Benedict equation, although used for many years as a standard guideline, does not take into account lean body mass, which can affect basal metabolic rate.
Moreover, the equations only provide estimates, and individual variation and metabolism can affect actual energy requirements.
Therefore, you should not rely only on counting calories. Consider your practical experience and comfort portions and listen to your feelings of hunger and satiety.
What is important to know when losing weight
Seven tips for those who want to lose weight.
- The pursuit of fitness is great until it becomes an obsession. Analyze why you want to lose weight. Your weight may be healthy, but non-environmental motivation can, on the contrary, cause harm.
- Fat has an important function in the body: it protects against cold and hunger, surrounds the organs and protects them from injury, and gives the body energy. Before you lose weight, assess how much you need. After all, obesity and fat are not the same thing.
- Any restrictive diet is an unhealthy practice for your health. If they give results, they are short-lived, but they can lead to neuroses and eating disorders. Remember that for stars it is important to lose weight "here and now", therefore a beautiful image does not equal health and, perhaps, is not the best example.
- Excess added sugar in the diet is one of the leading causes of obesity. Adapting your diet to the principles of a "healthy plate" is the most effective diet.
- Weight is not only affected by diet, but also by the quality of sleep, the level of physical activity, and even the mental and psychological state. If adjusting your diet doesn't produce the desired changes, there may be another reason.
- Some experts recommend the Mediterranean and Scandinavian diets, as well as intermittent fasting, for weight loss. However, before you try a new meal plan, check your eating habits and preferences. And if that's not your thing, don't take it. Forced eating can lead to negative results and harm your health.
- And, of course, don't self-medicate. If the excess weight has already led to health problems, seek professional help.