In any case, you want to quickly see the desired result, and weight loss is no exception. Losing weight by the right amount of kilograms in a few days and forever is just a dream. But this goal is not entirely real and definitely not useful. We talk about the pitfalls faced by losing weight.
How many kilos can you safely lose in a week
The best and safest way to lose weight is to do it gradually. Rapid weight loss does not mean loss of adipose tissue: excess water can go away, muscle volume and even bone mass can decrease. Nutritionists recommend limiting weight loss to 0.5-1 kilogram per week. The pace may seem slow, but it is more likely to help you keep the result.
If you want to lose weight faster than experts recommend, do not experiment with diets and physical activity. Contact a qualified specialist in the field of weight loss. Exhausting physical exercises and bizarre types of diets can help you lose weight quickly, but these changes will not last long. Moreover, extreme fasting and physical activity can be dangerous for health.
By setting ambitious goals for weight loss on your own, you put yourself at risk of nutritional deficiencies, heart problems and a slowing down of metabolism. Without enough calories, two things can happen:
- the body will switch to resource saving mode, which will provoke an increase in adipose tissue;
- the body will begin to use muscle tissue for energy (muscle volume will decrease).
How to lose weight correctly
Set realistic goals
Depending on the initial state of the body, weight loss of even 5% is a realistic initial goal.
If you weigh 80 kilograms, five percent is 4 kilos. Even such weight loss will help reduce the risk of chronic diseases. For example, heart disease and type II diabetes.
When you set the weight you want to reach, think about both the training goals (how you are going to reach the desired indicator) and the final goal. To walk ten thousand steps every day is an example of the purpose of training. Losing 10 kilograms is an example of the ultimate goal.
Focus only on yourself
The metabolic rate of a person is unstable. Depending on individual characteristics and previous attempts to lose weight, the rate of calorie burning can vary from week to week by 25%. The key to successful weight loss is to wait out the period when the weight does not move, adhering to a new style of nutrition and activity. Perhaps you just need more time to see the desired result. Focus on the goal and don't let the days of slow progress demotivate you.
The secret of polyphenols: ingredients that accelerate weight loss
What happens if you add even more nutrients to a super-nutritious Mediterranean diet? It turns out that in this case, weight loss will occur even faster.
Not always the result of a diet directly depends on reducing the amount of food consumed. Sometimes the diet is crucial, as, for example, with interval fasting, sometimes a set of products, as in the keto diet. But in this case we are talking about the fact that to the daily menu of followers of the Mediterranean diet you need to add an ingredient that will allow you to lose weight faster and more effectively.
Travis Stork, MD, a big fan of the Mediterranean diet, told Womans World about how to speed up weight loss.
What are the benefits of polyphenols
There is a secret ingredient that makes smoothies that Dr. Stork admires (more about them below) work so phenomenally. The most devoted supporters of the Mediterranean diet consume large amounts of antioxidant compounds. For example, the indigenous inhabitants of the Greek island of Ikaria - one of the five healthiest places on Earth - eat local plants with a lot of polyphenols. The amount of polyphenols in the products grown on this island is higher than in the same products from other places. Even local wine has more polyphenols. This is an important reason why Icarians are not afraid of heart disease, rarely suffer from diabetes and almost do not suffer from dementia. It also helps them to be slim effortlessly.
According to Dr. Stork, every plant on Earth contains at least some amount of polyphenols. Favorite Mediterranean foods such as spinach, onions, tomatoes, beans, walnuts and olive oil have proven to be extremely rich sources of these trace elements. Their main superpower is to stop and reverse age—related damage to our cells. If we accumulate enough polyphenols in our body over time, we think more clearly, move more freely and fight diseases more easily.
Polyphenols and weight loss
As for how polyphenols stimulate weight loss, there are many versions. The most important thing is that they encourage our body to burn sugar in the blood faster. There is also evidence that they block the enzymes that allow us to convert food into blood sugar in the first place. This is the effect that ultimately reduces both sugar and insulin, the fat storage hormone. And when the excess insulin decreases, we can burn more fat, especially in the middle part of the body, says the doctor.
Separate studies indicate that polyphenols can cause a surge in the growth of intestinal bacteria associated with weight control. Polyphenols can even cut blood vessels going to adipose tissue, causing some fat cells to literally starve and die. Thus, these nutrients allow us to achieve faster results than many strict diets, and they also improve overall well-being.
Dr. Stork's Super Smoothie
To see how well your body responds to polyphenols, try the super smoothie option, Dr. Stork recommends. The trick is to add spirulina to it - an edible algae that contains much more polyphenols than many other foods rich in polyphenols.
To balance the spicy taste of spirulina, combine it with tropical fruits and vegetable fats. Mango, pineapple, avocado, coconut oil, nuts and seeds add polyphenols to smoothies. You can also think about supplements or just focus on other polyphenol-rich smoothie ingredients, says Dr. Stork, who suggests cocoa, flax, spices, coffee and/or green tea.
Polyphenols from products such as spirulina, cocoa, herbs, berries, herbs and seeds improve well-being and fight lethargy, regardless of what form you use them. If you want quick results, prepare a spirulina cocktail once a day, and on other days eat a lot of non-starchy foods, as well as a portion of protein, starch and healthy fats. Polyphenol—rich beans, whole grains, nuts and olive oil are excellent choices. Also limit your intake of sugar and processed foods, Dr. Stork advises.
