Here’s a popular myth that – rumors have it – even Victoria Secret models adhere to: starving loses you weight. It’s common practice nowadays to suggest people ways of losing fat and losing weight fast. But – newsflash – if you want a real life change, that doesn’t happen overnight, it certainly doesn’t happen in a week, and it most definitely doesn’t involve starving yourself.
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Here are some of the things that (can) happen when you reduce your calories intake to the point when you feel hungry all day.
- You’re hungry. Obviously.
- You’re irritable.
- You snap at people.
- You’re low on energy.
- You don’t rest well.
Imagine experiencing that on a daily basis. If you already do, it’s time for a change.
Those effects are caused by metabolic changes in the body. Because the body is such a clever machine, when it senses fat loss and lower energy output, it reacts. So this is what it does to ensure survival:
- It lowers thyroid levels, which are responsible for fat in the body among other things to balance energy levels, all this in an effort to stop weight loss. Yes, your body can work against you.
- It lowers testosterone levels, one of the most important hormones in the body for men and women alike. This eventually leads to muscle loss and difficulty to put on any muscle mass thereon.
- It raises cortisol levels, again a sabotage technique that losses the body muscle mass.
When you want to lose weight, what you don’t want to do because if you do it, that’s going to bring about negative consequences on your body, is eat as least as possible and work out until burnout.
It’s fine when deciding to go on a diet to cut your calories intake, especially if you know you’re eating too much. It’s fine to add in some extra exercising, but here’s the thing: it’s important to find the right balance.
Instead of starving yourself to burnout, you can try some of the techniques below that have been assessed by professional trainers and recommended to people who are serious about losing weight the right way.
Eat your way to losing weight
When you first set out to lose weight, aim to eat as much as possible (and as healthy as possible) and progressively cut your calorie intake. The goal is to lose weight while eating at the same time. There’s no saying as to how many calories you should eat. People have different metabolisms, so just experiment with meal plans, and eventually, you’ll know your diet.
Eat your breakfast
Remember it’s not just about losing weight; it’s also about maintaining the results. If there’s one eating habit that people who’ve succeeded at losing weight the right way did, it’s going big for breakfast. Protein-packed breakfasts should become your new best friends.
Work it out
Do wall squats, swim, go jogging, join the gym, do whatever exercise makes you happy, just do it.
Expect to play the long game
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Everybody wants to lose weight now, but that’s just not possible sometimes. Stay on track, don’t get discouraged if you fall off the bandwagon and results will follow. It might even take from six months up to a year, for example, to see big results for people who are really overweight.