Every person who is obese or at least 4-5 in excess dreams of an effective diet. It seems simple, affordable and effective: you can eat anything, in any quantity, while the weight melts quickly. Too bad it's just a dream. Experts say rapid weight loss is dangerous to health, especially if you lose 10-15 kg or more in a short time. This can lead to severe metabolic, hormonal and internal organ problems. Of course, there are a number of balanced, reduced-calorie, and nutritious diets, but these lead to gradual weight loss. Let’s try to figure out how a good diet is different from a dangerous one and which ones are the most effective?
Fast weight loss diet: why dangerous?
Of course, for any overweight person, significant weight loss in the short term is the most expected outcome. But doctors don’t bother to reiterate that rapid weight loss can severely damage both your physical health and your psyche.
First, the pounds lost after completing the weight loss program can be regained. Moreover, as a result, the weight may be even higher than originally. It is believed that the optimal rate of weight loss does not exceed 1, 5-2 kg per week. Thus, to lose 10 kg you need at least 5-7 weeks or more.
Second, rapid weight loss is usually achieved through severe calorie restriction, fasting, or a combination of the two, with strenuous workouts. But these life changes are not permanent, and once you reach your "ideal" weight, you return to your normal eating and activity habits. As a result, your weight returns and you need to lose weight again.
Thus, to achieve true success, you need to change your entire lifestyle, diet, and activity, creating the conditions for constant calorie intake and less food intake.
An effective diet for weight loss: does it exist?
If we are talking about whether there is a universal and effective diet for weight loss that helps everyone, the answer is no. The causes of weight gain can range from banal overeating, inactivity and laziness, to severe endocrine disorders and neurological diseases, to pathologies of the internal organs. For example, weight gain is typical of type 2 diabetes, Cushing's disease or hypothyroidism, Pickwick syndrome, pancreatic cancer (insulinoma), and more.
Accordingly, for almost healthy people, almost any balanced diet is adequate, which somewhat limits the caloric content of the diet while providing the body with all the necessary nutrients. Add to this the regular workout to expand your daily activities - the weight will gradually decrease. But patients with severe illness require a special therapeutic diet, taking into account the specifics of metabolic changes and the concomitant treatment of the underlying disease - tumor removal, hormone correction, hypoglycaemic drugs or insulin injection in diabetes. .
Good diet: characteristics of men
In addition to health status, gender differences also play a role in weight gain and loss. In men and women, the body stores and metabolizes (breaks down) body fat in different ways, which is linked to evolutionary mechanisms. Therefore, an ideal diet for men may not work at all and will not reduce a woman’s weight. But why?
Men, as in ancient times, have to hunt to feed their families. Therefore, they need strength, endurance, and muscle mass to run, drag mammoths, and escape predators. Although times have changed today, the metabolic characteristics of the male body have remained unchanged. Therefore, they lose weight faster and easier by reducing the caloric content of food and exercise. The male body burns fat faster than the female and builds muscle mass. Testosterone helps with this. As testosterone levels decrease with age, men also gain weight faster and lose weight worse.
Men need more calories, more protein and fat, they consume them faster. But they can eat less sugar, provide fast energy, but not enough, and in the long run will not be enough for active muscle work, it is better to prefer complex carbohydrates from cereals.
"Women's" diet
The main goal of a woman in terms of biology and evolution is successful childbirth and childbirth. It takes a lot of energy and nutrients for the fetus to develop actively. Therefore, the female body initially stores fat in the hips, partly in the waist and chest, back and arms. In addition to the costs during pregnancy, the energy costs during breastfeeding are equally important. Therefore, all women gain extra fat during pregnancy. This is an emergency care during lactation if food is not enough.
Thanks to these properties, women need less protein - they have less muscle mass, but the beautiful half of humanity has an "evolutionary" desire for sweet foods. You can easily and quickly get a lot of energy from carbohydrates, which can be stored in the form of fat under the skin. The total caloric content of a woman’s diet is lower. Evolutionarily, women were engaged in collecting and housework, and their bodies did not need as much muscle as men. Women’s diets should include saturated fats, some protein, and complex carbohydrates. When light carbs prevail, the frugal body immediately transfers excess energy to reserve form - fats in problem areas.
Trendy diets: good or bad?
Every diet, no matter how good, has its pros and cons as well as contraindications. For example, the popular keto diet today, according to Austrian researchers, can cause psoriasis rashes. Scientists have noted that keto diets containing medium-chain triglycerides and omega-3 fatty acids from nuts, seeds and fish oil may predict an outbreak of psoriasis. The study "The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on Psoriasis-Like Dermatitis" was published in August 2019 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. Thus, people with a hereditary predisposition to this disease should avoid losing weight with this fashionable diet today.