Weight Loss and Basal Metabolism: Reasons for Weight Gain and Methods to Develop a Lean Physique

How did you gain weight?

(Daily intake 3000 kcal) - (Basal metabolic rate 1500 kcal) - (Daily activity metabolism 800 kcal)

=700 kcal (stored in the body), accumulated over time, is the root cause of weight gain.

How did you lose fat?

(Daily intake 1800 kcal) - (Basal metabolic rate 1500 kcal) - (Daily activity metabolism 800 kcal)

= -500 kcal (This is the 500 kcal of energy stored in the body that needs to be consumed)

Increase basal metabolism and develop a lean physique

Of the total calories the body needs each day, 70% is used for basal metabolism, which is the energy required to maintain life; 20% is used for daily activities, including the calories burned during daily life and exercise; and 10% is used for the body's thermogenic processes, including digestion and resistance to cold. Therefore, to lose weight, you must increase your basal metabolic rate and develop a lean physique.

Control your carbohydrate intake scientifically. Don't simply reduce your sugar intake; a long-term low-sugar diet will put your body into a dormant state. The correct approach is to ensure that carbohydrates account for 35% to 40% of your total energy intake, and try to consume the same amount of carbohydrates at every meal. This will give your body the illusion that there is always sugar available, thus increasing your metabolic rate. Simply put, eat enough low-GI (glycemic index) staple foods.

Engage in regular aerobic exercise. Exercise is the most effective way to boost metabolism. Perform aerobic exercise 3-5 times per week, such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, rope skipping, badminton, or cycling, for at least 30-40 minutes each time.

Do anaerobic exercise regularly. Do anaerobic strength training 3-5 times a week, targeting 1-2 muscle groups each time to increase muscle mass.

Fish, chili peppers, black coffee, and citrus fruits can have a slight effect on boosting metabolism.

Eat less sugary and oily foods.

Focus on overall fat loss and targeted muscle gain.

Don't believe the lie of spot reduction, because there's no such thing as losing fat in only one area.

First, 90% of obese people suffer from simple obesity, the most prominent characteristic of which is a relatively even distribution of body fat. The location of fat cells is related to hormone secretion; some areas have more fat, while others have less. Therefore, during weight loss, fat burning is systemic, and it's impossible to control which areas burn more or less fat.

Secondly, from the perspective of fat breakdown, when the human body consumes fat for energy, fat needs to be oxidized and broken down into small molecule fatty acids that enter the bloodstream, combine with specific proteins to form lipoproteins, and then be transported throughout the body via blood vessels. The oxidation and breakdown of fat is necessarily systemic and will not preferentially break down fat in a specific area.

Therefore, aiming only to lose weight in a specific area is unscientific, unless through liposuction. While spot reduction is impossible, targeted muscle building is achievable. Those seeking targeted weight loss can try specific strength training. When localized muscles are adequately stimulated and exercised, they become firmer, thus reducing circumference to some extent and resulting in a more perfect physique.

TOP

To lose weight, you only need to do three things.

Choosing the right foods – what makes good weight loss foods?

To control your weight, you must choose good weight-loss foods. Good weight-loss foods are those that are low in energy, and the calories required to chew and digest them are more than the calories the food itself actually produces.

Simply put, it refers to foods that are low in calories, low in glycemic index (GI), highly satiating, and slowly digestible.

Good weight loss foods have several characteristics:

Staple foods include: Grains: corn, millet, red rice, black rice, purple rice, sorghum, barley, oats, buckwheat, quinoa, etc.; Legumes: lentils, broad beans, kidney beans, mung beans, red beans, etc.; Root vegetables: yam, potato, taro, lotus root, sweet potato, purple sweet potato, etc.

Meat and Eggs: Meat: fish, shrimp and shellfish, chicken breast, duck breast, beef tenderloin, pork tenderloin, rabbit, etc.; Eggs: chicken eggs, quail eggs, duck eggs, etc.

Vegetables: Chinese cabbage, celery, water spinach, bok choy, kale, spinach, cabbage, purple cabbage, lettuce, shepherd's purse, amaranth, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, white radishes, green beans, snow peas, cowpeas, broad beans, onions, mushrooms, wood ear fungus, kelp, seaweed, etc.

This doesn't mean you can eat these foods without restraint; you need to pay attention to the amount you consume. Eating too much will still lead to weight gain.

Control your diet – What to do if you can't control your eating habits while trying to lose weight?

Many people who want to lose weight experience this:

If you can't control your eating, you're prone to overeating after trying to control your diet for a while.

When I'm bored, I crave potato chips; when I'm unhappy, I crave ice cream; and on special occasions, I have to have a big meal to celebrate. Afterward, I feel guilty and defeated, realizing I'm going further and further down the path of dieting, and eventually, I give up.

Often, we eat not because we're truly hungry, but because of emotional interference-emotional eating. Every emotion has a solution, but eating is definitely not the only way. Food solves nothing; the problem remains after eating and drinking. At best, it helps to distract us. Relying on food to cope with emotions can also lead to new problems, such as obesity.

Therefore, to lose weight scientifically, diet and exercise management are prerequisites, but the most important thing is adjusting one's mindset and self-control. Since emotions dominate the brain and lead to overeating, we should learn to manage our emotions.

Four questions to help you break free from emotional eating. When you feel like eating, try asking yourself:

Are you physically hungry? Is your stomach growling?

If not, keep asking yourself:

What are you feeling right now?

If so, then respect your body's needs and eat foods that are filling; vegetables, meat, and eggs are good choices.

Is it a happy, angry, impulsive, or calm state? If it's not calm, then you should pay attention.

Ask yourself what you need right now.

Often, we eat to distract ourselves, to release pent-up emotions, or to alleviate the loneliness of our mouths. But what do you truly need to satisfy?

Satisfy your own needs

Once we identify the real need, we fulfill it.

It's important to acknowledge that you have the right to fulfill your needs, such as expressing emotions, being listened to, being comforted, needing companionship, or simply passing the time. These needs cannot be met solely by food. We can call a friend to share our feelings, go shopping, read a book, listen to music, exercise, watch a TV show, write in a journal, tidy our room, take a nap, or even have a good cry-these are all effective ways to relieve emotions and shift our focus. The key is to learn to soothe our emotions through other means, find outlets for them, and discover tools to distract ourselves.

It's normal and reasonable to experience these emotions during a weight loss period. We should first accept them, but at the same time, learn to live with them, analyze the reasons for these emotions, and use this to help ourselves get rid of emotional eating and gradually develop self-disciplined and moderate scientific eating habits.