Some moments lead to good intentions. The reasons can be many: we do not like our body that much, we have spent a period of festivity, we realize that we do not have a healthy lifestyle, in these cases, we can get in line, but despite the goodwill, you can make mistakes that can affect the fatigue and not make us reach the intended goal.
Many of those who want to lose weight, improve their fitness, and gain health by avoiding aging prematurely, make at least 3 of the mistakes listed below. They do it unconsciously, so it is good to know which are the most common mistakes and because it is good to avoid them.
Skipping Meals
Saving calories by skipping main meals is not a good way to lose weight. No breakfast, a coffee and go, a salad for lunch, eat only for dinner: these behaviors reduce the calories ingested, you lose weight, but the slimming effect does not last long because the metabolism adapts to the “constraints” to which it has been subjected, and it reduces its activity so that even if you eat only 1,000 calories a day, you will lose little fat and you will be very hungry.
To lose weight well, i.e., lose fat mass, you need to eat little but often (5 times a day), follow your energy balance, and adopt a low calorie but balanced diet in macro and micronutrients. This means no dissociated diets of only protein or carbohydrates for lunch or dinner or vice versa—everyday fruit and vegetables in abundance and whole foods. There are no high-protein diets that exclude bread and pasta, no fasting day.
Don’t Drink Water
Many people don’t find it important to drink 8/10 glasses of water a day. Underestimating the importance of water can create many problems. We focus on food during a weight loss diet, trying to avoid what makes you fat, but hardly a specific amount of water is included in the diet, while dieticians always prescribe it for each type of diet. Each individual, male or female, should drink 1.5 to 2 liters of water a day to keep the body hydrated, allow the metabolism to dispose of food waste, maintain the right temperature and promote metabolism.
Dehydration causes constipation. To lose weight, it is important to have regular bowel movements. Moreover, a glass before meals helps to reduce the sense of hunger, and water reduces water retention, an important factor for women who want to fight cellulite; the absence of water also causes mineral imbalances that can cause tiredness, headaches, etc. Those who find it hard to drink 1.5 or 2 liters of water a day could try adding lemon juice, chinotto, tamarind, or other substances that make the water.
The important thing is not to add sugar, and, of course, sugary drinks are banned. It is a good idea to drink herbal teas as well. In this way, the benefits of herbs are combined with those of water. Remember that water has positive effects on the health and well-being of the organism and has implications from an aesthetic point of view: it makes the skin smoother. It gives shape and rigidity to the tissues.
Vegan Diet
Are all vegans skinny? No, not really. Many have believed that a vegetable-only, vegan diet leads to weight loss and associates foods of animal origin with weight gain for some years now. There are no foods that make you lose weight or gain weight, and even among vegans, there are overweight subjects. The vegan diet can make you fat or not. It depends on the calories that are introduced, 1 g of butter brings nine calories as 1 g of extra virgin olive oil, if you eat too much, you get fat, as well as if you eat too much honey, pasta or rice; even if they are whole, carbohydrates still provide 4 Kcal per gram.
The metabolism works more if the ratio between fat and lean mass favors the latter. Good muscle mass helps metabolism. Proteins of animal origin with high biological value are composed of essential amino acids, essential for the formation and maintenance of good muscles. Some rare plants indeed provide low quantities of these amino acids, such as quinoa, buckwheat, spirulina, hemp, etc. Still, eating enough quantities to make up for animal proteins without gaining weight isn’t easy.
It is equally difficult to abandon one’s traditions. Food. A strictly vegan diet can lead to a deficiency, even worrying for health, of essential amino acids and vitamin B12, essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system. A good weight loss diet must include a certain amount of animal protein every day, which can be taken even without animals being killed. Just think of milk and eggs.
Among the dairy products, there are cheeses such as Grana Padano PDO, which is a concentrate, it takes 15 liters to make a kilo and contains essential amino acids as well as provides many minerals such as calcium and vitamins such as A and B12, this cheese it is less fat than whole milk because it is reduced during processing.
No Sugars And Fats
Does eliminating fats and sugars make you lose weight? Not really. The fats of animal and vegetable origin consumed in the right quantity are also indispensable in a slimming diet because they are a fundamental part of the cell membranes of all tissues. They affect the well-being of the cardiovascular system and the immune system. A varied diet already provides food with a sufficient amount of fat for the body; almost always, the excess fats derive from the high consumption of cooked and raw condiments (for seasoning or cooking), which greatly affect the overall caloric intake.
A low-fat diet leads the metabolism to use proteins as energy by depleting lean mass, such as muscles, so instead of losing weight, you get fat. To lose weight or stay slim, you need to eat the right amount of saturated and unsaturated fats. Among the latter, the fats of fish, olive oil, and dried fruit should be privileged because they are rich in essential Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids which are beneficial for the body.
The sugars or carbohydrates must also be taken in the right quantity and preferably with cereals and fruit. Yes, to the complex sugars of pasta, bread, and cereals in general, yes to fruit sugars, to avoid or take in moderation the added sugar (white, cane, honey, fructose, etc.) in both drinks and preparations. A low-sugar diet decreases energy intake, especially that used by the brain, resulting in difficulty concentrating and headaches, fatigue, mood swings, constipation, and nausea.
Get Little Sleep
Does staying awake at night burn more calories? No, not as often as it is believed. Unfortunately, insomnia is an increasingly widespread phenomenon. Sleeping less than 8 hours a night healthy does not seem to be considered a health problem by most. Whether you have insomnia (a real disease) or deliberately get little sleep for whatever reason, lack of sleep causes many health problems. Metabolism is also affected: several studies associated weight gain with lack of sleep.
However, many believe that not sleeping at night consumes more energy and makes you lose weight. Still, the benefits are reduced or canceled out with the reduced functioning of the metabolism, which, physiologically, is reduced during the night. Those who sleep 8 hours have a lower reduction in metabolism than those who sleep five because the body drastically reduces energy consumption in the 3 hours of nocturnal wakefulness.
Lack of sleep lowers the production of leptin, which reduces appetite and raises ghrelin, which stimulates it, so in the waking hours, you will be hungrier, and you will tend to eat more. Therefore it will be more difficult to follow a low-calorie diet. It is, therefore, necessary to take care of one’s sleep without which stress, depression, anxiety, and obesity increase.
Strenuous Exercises
Does sweating like crazy “burn” so much fat? It depends. Physical activity is essential for regularly losing weight and gaining health. But always keep in mind that what you must try to reduce / “consume” is excess fat. We see many obese people running with great effort, often covered in overalls that do not transpire or even wrapped in plastic, and who, at the end of the exercise, say they have lost even 2 kilos.
In reality, they have undoubtedly strained their hearts and lost only water which they will recover in a few hours. In gyms, weights are lifted with great effort, convinced that the “real fatigue” makes you lose weight; but the loss of fat mass does not reward fatigue and effort. Physical activity that makes you lose weight is mainly made up of low intensity and long duration workouts ( aerobic exercise ), associated with some medium intensity and short duration muscle strengthening exercises ( anaerobic exercise ).
Too much exercise hurts, increases free radical production, and induces premature aging. Notice the wrinkles on the face of the 20-year-old professional athletes. So yes to continuous and frequent activities, such as 30/60 minutes of walking or cycling a day, no to weekly efforts such as football, tennis on Sundays, and weight lifting once or twice a week. 4/5 weekly aerobic workouts and two exercises to strengthen the muscles are enough to stay in shape. The duration and intensity must be proportionate to the level of training and physical state.
