[New post] Dieting- The worst strategy for weight loss
Sunil Gautam Panda posted: " Whenever the topic of weight loss comes up, most of the people tend to start with dieting instead of focusing on exercise. Diet looks easy as you only need to avoid eating but it is actually dangerous. I think there is a huge misconception that dieti"
Whenever the topic of weight loss comes up, most of the people tend to start with dieting instead of focusing on exercise. Diet looks easy as you only need to avoid eating but it is actually dangerous.
I think there is a huge misconception that dieting will lead to weight loss. This should be removed from our minds. Instead our weight loss journey should start with focusing on doing exercises like jogging, running, cycling or playing sports like football,basketball etc. As most of us spend time in sedentary lifestyles it becomes far more important to focus on exercising rather than on diet.
Below I am illustrating some of the negative effects of dieting and why it should be avoided.
Why we should not do dieting:-
Weakens the body- The body requires food to provide energy to carry out the daily everyday activities. Depending upon a person's height and activity, this ranges between 2000-3000 calories per day. By dieting and eating below threshold, the body does not perform at its optimum level. This would lead to feeling fatigued through out the day, lack of energy, not able to concentrate, mood swings etc.
Weak immune system- As the body is not getting the adequate calories, the immune system will take a hit. It will weaken drastically and would make the person susceptible to infections and diseases
Temporary effects- Dieting is not sustainable as it cannot be continued for a long time. The weight loss that is visible is temporary as once a person starts eating properly again, it would again lead to weight gain. Also due to reduced metabolism, it would have the adverse effect and would result in weight gain.
Metabolism reduced-The human body is very adaptive and can change very rapidly based on a person's habits. When somebody does dieting, the body will slow down it's own metabolism to make sure that the body functions with less calories. With slow metabolism, it would become a never ending game as the body keeps on reducing the metabolism in effect of less calories consumed. An example of this is seen in sloths who have reduced their metabolism to avoid predators and as a result they use minimum energy in their activities and are extremely slow. With slow metabolism it becomes extremely difficult to reduce weight.
Muscle loss- When calorie consumption is reduced, the body will start attacking muscles to get energy for the calorie deficit. Carrying out dieting for prolonged period would lead to muscle loss which would adversely affect even doing the daily activities like climbing stairs, walking, running etc. Also muscles require higher calories to maintain which would lead to faster metabolism. When muscle loss happens the metabolism is reduced which would further reduce the effect of dieting
Concentration loss- When you are always hungry, there will be only one thing which will come to mind that is food. Also since thinking and concentration requires energy expenditure, the mind will avoid thinking or solving problems. This would indirectly lead to lack of concentration
Cravings- As the body is always hungry, there will be cravings for sweets, chips etc. These will have negative impact on the overall weight loss journey. Also cravings are mostly unhealthy and are heavy in fat and calories which would lead to extra weight gain. It can also lead to binge eating to satiate the hunger
What is the right thing to do:-
Focus on exercising/activity- Focus on getting 45 mins of activity everyday. This can be walking,cycling, dancing, running, exercising etc.
Be patient- Weight loss is a slow process and it takes time to see results. The ideal weight loss should be 1 Kg per month. If there is more weight reduction then it is muscle loss which should be avoided.
Eat 3-4 meals a day- Eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening snacks every day. Stick to homemade delicacies and eat slowly enjoying the taste.
Don't follow transformation stories- There are many stories on social media where people become jacked in 30 days. These are mostly hyped stories with hardly any truth. Better to focus on your journey and avoid such distractions. Also following celebrity diets should be avoided as the food plan they follow are very difficult to emulate in real life. Also these people have personal dietician and cooks who customize their diets as per the results required and the results are mostly temporary. Better to stick to basics
Avoid junk food- The only diet that should be followed is avoiding junk food. Junk food includes pizza, noodles, fast food, chips and outside food. Stick to homemade foods and avoid junk food. It might feel tasty but are doing more harm than good.
So I would request everyone to start focusing on exercise rather than diet for weight loss. Bring fitness to your lifestyle by being active and the weight loss will happen automatically.
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