There are a lot of unusual diets in the world. However, there are a lot of plain ones as well. Doctors sound the alarm and warn that a reasonable approach, sequence of actions, and logic are guaranteed to lead to the desired result without side effects. As a kind of proof, we have made a list of life hacks from people who have got rid of their extra pounds but have never followed any of the rigorous weight loss techniques.
Don’t starve yourself
Eat as much as necessary. Eating less than 1000 calories per day is below the expected amount. If you challenge yourself like this, you simply switch the body into the “starvation mode”, which means spending muscle tissue for survival.
The figures on the scales will really get smaller. But in fact, you will have a higher percentage of fat mass, which obviously no one wants to have. By reducing the muscles, the body will become flabby and you will be less efficient at burning fat when exercising.
In response to an insufficient amount of glucose, the body will begin to vigorously produce insulin, which is responsible for the synthesis and accumulation of fat. And this means that body fat will inevitably increase in the future.
For example, In Japan, the compulsory annual physical examination includes measuring body weight and analyzing the ratio of all the data. If weight loss occurs because of the decrease in muscle mass, the doctor must inform the employer about this, and the employee is sent to a specialist “in healthy lifestyles” for consultations.
Use mobile apps
Health apps have the additional advantage of providing feedback and rewarding us for the achievement of each goal we set. This increases motivation. Programs like these are easy to use and help relieve the brain from memorizing small things.
Unsurprisingly, from year to year, many studies show that those who diet and exercise using smartphone apps, lose an average of 3.6 kilos more than those who never use them.
Drink only water after exercising
Have you worked so hard in the gym that you deserve a cupcake now? Unfortunately, people don’t realize that just two-thirds of this cupcake will negate the effect of a half-hour run.
This fact is supported by the official figures from the University of Ottawa: we overestimate our subjective opinion about energy consumption by four times, and therefore, as a rule, our “reward” contains two or three times more calories than we actually burned.
Besides, after doing sports, we often tend to mistake hunger for thirst. That’s why experts advise drinking water after finishing a workout at first and then listen carefully to yourself.
Eat protein for breakfast
Researchers from Tel Aviv University compared the people who already lost weight while making breakfast their main meal of the day, with those who ate the bulk of the calories for dinner. It turned out that the people who prefer big breakfasts lost an average of 8 kilos more, despite the fact that the total number of calories was the same.
This happens because our body needs energy in the morning, and if it does not get enough glucose from food, the adrenal glands make the liver to release sugar. In response, the body releases insulin, and this destroys the balance of blood sugar for the whole day.
However, if you eat the right foods that contain protein in the morning, this balance remains normal. Experts advise eating breakfast no later than an hour after waking up.
Stay focused at the weekend
Throughout the weekdays, you can be as endurant as a Buddhist monk can, but most of us wait for a Friday night to relax. This is one of the main reasons why we lose fewer pounds than we would like to.
Such a breakdown can ruin all the effort spent. According to the recently released figures from Cornwell University in New York, nearly 90% of people gain weight over the weekend and lose weight on weekdays.
To maintain stability in this matter, you need to act methodically, getting rid of one bad habit at a time. If you just don’t have a snack in the evenings or give up your lunch, you will already have the result. You need to retrain yourself gradually, making small changes in the way you eat every day.
The White Monkey Rule
Do not exclude a whole group of products from your diet at once. If you are asked not to think about a white monkey for five minutes, then all you can think about is a white monkey. The same thing happens when you are not allowed to eat something. It is this forbidden fruit that you will want most of all.
Stick to a healthy eating plan and don’t treat it like a diet, but as a lifestyle change, so the chances of success will be much higher. In addition, our body needs different food groups to function properly.