Obesity is one of the most pressing problems in the modern world. In some countries it has reached epidemic proportions. In our country, about 47% of men and 52% of women live with excess weight. Being overweight is not just an appearance defect. It can cause many physiological or psychological disorders. To get rid of fat deposits, you need to change your eating habits first.
What are the dangers of obesity?
Obesity is caused by the fact that the amount of food that enters the body of modern people significantly exceeds what is needed for energy production. As a result, unspent waste turns into fat. The quality of the product used is also important. If the basis of the diet consists of easily digestible carbohydrates, it will definitely settle in the form of unsightly folds.
Excess body weight should not be considered only as a visual weakness. It is a risk factor for the development of many diseases. The more adipose tissue grows, the stronger its damaging effect on the body.
Note: overweight patients are three times more likely to develop diabetes mellitus, and twice more likely to develop pathologies of the liver and cardiovascular system, compared to people of normal weight.
Obesity is a systemic disease; it can affect the function of all internal organs.
Among the diseases caused by excess weight:
- hypertension;
- Alzheimer disease;
- hit;
- arthritis;
- male impotence;
- phlebeurysm;
- angina pectoris;
- pathology of the respiratory system;
- depression;
- apnea (sudden cessation of breathing during sleep);
- heart attack;
- gallbladder pathology;
- osteoarthritis;
- diseases of the digestive tract;
- atherosclerosis;
- menstrual disorders.
It has been scientifically proven that obesity increases the chances of getting cancer of the breast, thyroid gland, colon, gall bladder, and kidney. The most obvious link appears to be between overweight and malignant neoplasms of the esophagus, as well as the endometrium. On average, body fat reduces a person's life expectancy by 12-15 years.
This situation is aggravated by the fact that obese people have impaired metabolism - this slows down the process of losing weight. But the situation can be reversed. It is possible to "lose" even the heaviest weight. To do this, you need to change your diet first. The main mistake that many people make is that they try to give up food completely. As a result, the fasting period is replaced by damage. Weight returns in larger amounts, and health problems arise. A professional nutritionist should choose a diet for obese people.
Basic principles of nutrition for obesity
Nutrition to treat obesity needs to be balanced. The body cannot be left without essential substances, amino acids, and vitamins. A wrongly chosen diet can cause serious endocrine disorders, disorders in the functioning of the liver, heart and other organs.
The basic nutritional rules for normalizing body weight are as follows:
- daily calorie content ranges from 1700 to 2000 kcal. It is calculated individually, taking into account the gender, age, height, build, and physical activity of the patient;
- limit the consumption of foods containing fast carbohydrates and animal fats;
- filling the diet with fiber, which is low in calories, but fills the stomach for a long time, creating a feeling of satiety;
- The recommended daily protein intake for adults with average physical activity is 0. 75 g per 1 kg of weight;
- split meals make it easier to control hunger. It is advised to eat 5-6 times a day;
- the daily amount of salt should not exceed 5 g;
- exclusion of spices, herbs, smoked foods, pickles, spicy dishes that increase appetite;
- You need to drink one and a half liters of water every day. Before each meal, you need to slowly drink half a glass of liquid;
- Boil, bake or steam all dishes. Fried foods should be avoided;
- eat at the same time. Additional snacks are prohibited.
Attention: the norm is considered a monthly loss of 3 kg of weight due to fat. Faster weight loss is a lot of stress for the body!
A healthy diet for obesity must be combined with dosed physical activity. You need to start with 10 minutes of exercise, gradually increasing the duration and complexity of the exercise.
The listed rules must be followed especially strictly in the first month of treatment. Then the body adapts to the new diet and daily routine. The risk of damage and return to previous eating habits will be reduced.
Prohibited and permitted products
Obese patients are usually recommended diet table No. 8 is called. It is designed directly to reduce the amount of fat and normalize metabolic processes.
Attention: for patients with concomitant diseases of the cardiovascular system, liver, and digestive organs, an individual diet is selected!
Despite the strictness of this diet, it allows you to eat various and delicious. The list of acceptable products is very extensive. We present the main ones in table form.
| product group | allowed | prohibited |
| flour products | black or whole grain bread (up to 150 g per day) | white bread; baked goods; puff pastry |
| meat | lean beef; rabbit meat; chicken meat without skin and fat; Turkey; (any, up to 150 g per day) | pork; goose; duck; goat meat; smoked meat; sausage; boil; hello |
| fish | low-fat type (up to 150 g per day); seafood (up to 200 g per day) | all fat breeds; salted fish, smoked; canned food |
| vegetables | cabbage; cucumber; radish; zucchini; pumpkin; tomatoes; radish; greenery; seaweed | potatoes; carrots (sometimes allowed); Green bean |
| side dishes | buckwheat; pearl barley; barley grits; green bean | pasta; rice; semolina; beans |
| eggs | boiled | fried egg; fried omelette; |
| fruits and berries | sour fruits and berries; jelly; mousses | grapes; bananas; figs; date |
| drinks | coffee; tea; natural juices from sour fruits and berries; mineral water; rosehip broth | sweet compote; jelly; packaged juices; Soda |
| seasoning | sauce with herbs in a weak soup; tomato sauce; white sauce with vegetables | mayonnaise; mustard; horseradish; tomato sauce |
| dairy | kefir; condensed milk; cottage cheese (all low fat) | hard cheese; sour cream; full fat milk; cream |
It is good to write the menu in advance, buy all the products and divide them into meals. In this case, you should not "rush" to prepare food after work - this can lead to overeating.
Sample menu for the day
Breakfast
- boiled meat (100 g)
- baked beets
- coffee without sugar
Lunch
- vegetable stew
- grilled fish (100 g)
- fruit jelly
dinner
- borscht without meat (150 g)
- low-fat cottage cheese
- dried fruit compote
Afternoon snack
- fresh apples
dinner
- carrot salad with garlic
- buckwheat
Before going to bed, you need to drink a glass of low-fat kefir.
Alternative diet
There are many options for low-carb diets. A diet that is not too strict includes the exclusion of so-called fast carbohydrates. The principle of creating a diet is similar to the "table No. 8" described above. Such restrictions are very useful. They allow the body to receive all the necessary substances and burn stored fat reserves.
Another type of low-carb diet is strict. They exclude almost all products containing this ingredient. For example, the basis of a protein diet is protein. They contribute up to 80% of the daily diet. Such food quickly satiates, takes a long time to digest, relieves a hungry person. In addition, the processing of plant and animal proteins requires a lot of energy - this takes up to half of the calories used.
Such a diet is effective, but must be combined with serious physical activity. Otherwise, protein that is not used for muscle mass forms nitrogenous compounds, which are excreted through the kidneys. The load on the organs increases, creating a prerequisite for the development of urolithiasis.
Lack of carbohydrates negatively affects the condition of bones, skin, and hair. From this chemical compound, the body produces glucose, the main nutrient for the brain. Experiencing a lack of energy, the body begins to use not only subcutaneous fat, but also muscle tissue for its production.
The popular keto diet, which involves complete abstinence from carbohydrates, is not recommended for beginners. It is allowed to take only fats, proteins from plants and animals. The purpose of such a diet is to introduce a person into a state of ketosis. This is a type of metabolism in which the body uses ketone bodies (a derivative of subcutaneous fat) instead of glucose. The diet is also dangerous because, along with carbohydrates, a person stops consuming fiber, vitamins, and microelements contained in excluded products.
It is possible to lose weight with such a diet, but doing this through complex physiological changes is undesirable. The diet was originally developed for epilepsy patients, as a link was established between ketosis and a decrease in seizure frequency. The keto diet is not recommended for weight loss, but purely for therapeutic purposes.
In any case, before going on this diet, it is better to consult your doctor. Not everyone can impose restrictions on their diet.
For whom is the diet contraindicated?
For many diseases, as well as in certain periods of human development, a strict diet is contraindicated.
First of all, you should not adhere to a low-calorie and strict diet in childhood. The foundation of metabolism is laid during intensive growth. Lack of nutrients can lead to underdevelopment of the skeleton and internal organs, and cause chronic diseases.
In adolescents, the lack of fat and carbohydrates leads to an incorrect synthesis of sex hormones. In adulthood, this can cause irregular menstrual cycles and reproductive dysfunction.
During menopause, most women gain weight. This is due to hormonal imbalance affecting all processes in the body, including fat metabolism. A strict diet during menopause is not only dangerous, but also useless. You can stop weight fluctuations simply by taking an estrogen medication recommended by your gynecologist.
Restricted nutrition for pregnant and lactating women is strictly prohibited. Lack of nutrients during pregnancy can negatively affect the course of pregnancy. Also, malnutrition often leads to the birth of weak children with neurological, immune, and developmental delays.
For nursing mothers, body weight usually returns to normal by itself within a year, because the accumulated reserves are "used" by the body to produce milk with a reasonable and balanced diet. Dietary restrictions can trigger hormonal imbalances and greater weight gain.
There are certain diets for patients with certain chronic diseases. Among the pathologies:
- gastric;
- heart disease;
- ulcers;
- bowel disease;
- kidney disorders;
- pathology of the liver and gallbladder;
- pancreatitis.
People with diabetes and thyroid dysfunction cannot freely experiment with nutrition. In this case, weight correction takes place under the strict supervision of the attending physician, who selects the appropriate therapeutic diet for the patient.
How to lose weight without dieting
In most cases, to lose weight, it is not necessary to force the body with strict restrictions. It is enough to minimize the consumption of fast food, processed food, cream cakes and other unhealthy foods.
Following a few simple rules will help you achieve your ideal figure:
- drink plenty of clean water. This will not only provide cells with the necessary amount of moisture, but will also help reduce appetite;
- Exercise will help speed up your metabolism. It is enough to spend 10-15 minutes a day on training;
- eat often, in small portions. Do not eat while reading or watching TV. This way you can get distracted and eat more than you need;
- spend more time in the fresh air, breathe more deeply. In this way the tissues are saturated with oxygen, metabolic processes run faster;
- get a good night's sleep;
- do not finish eating "by force. "It is good to take a break while eating; if you feel full, then you have enough food.
Between lunch and dinner, you can smoke a few pieces of dark chocolate with a high cocoa butter content (at least 70%). You can replace it with some dried fruit; they must be chewed slowly. Thanks to this, the brain receives a signal that there is a sufficient supply of glucose, and appetite decreases.
Obesity is not just a harmless cosmetic defect. This is a dangerous pathology that can cause disability and premature death of the patient. It is necessary to normalize body weight, but a thoughtless desire for an ideal figure can cause no less harm to a person's health than fat deposits. You need to lose weight properly, under the supervision of a certified nutritionist.