How fast should we lose weight?
Weight loss should not be a quick process. Safe for health and lasting results can be obtained only when fat tissue is lost, but muscle is retained. Therefore, weight loss should be gradual; it must pass several months or years. The best option is 8 pounds per month. If weight loss is faster, then there is a significant risk of muscle loss; as well as other risks associated with protein loss by the body. Smooth muscles of blood vessels and internal organs may suffer too. There is a risk of drooping kidneys, pelvic organs, varicose veins, deterioration of the skin until it sags in problem areas, and hair loss.
In order for the excess fat to disappear, it is necessary to create a calorie deficit. That is, to ensure that the body expends more energy than it received. The normal amount of weight loss per week will be 0.5–1% of your current weight. Therefore, at a reasonable pace in a month you will lose from 3 to 5 pounds.
Abrupt weight loss leads to sagging skin and a slowdown in metabolism, and may also indicate that the diet is not selected correctly. It is important to get a balanced set of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.
How not to lose muscle mass while losing weight?
When losing weight, you must follow a balanced diet, do not forget about protein – it protects muscle mass. During starvation, following strict diets and one portion of the food per day, even with a small number of proteins, the body begins to make reserves in the form of fat and expand muscle mass.
Hormones
Balanced diet guarantees leveled hormonal background of the body. If the trainer or nutritionist chooses the nutrition program correctly, then no imbalance will happen. Often, disorders affect the functioning of insulin. An unbalanced diet often leads to metabolic disorders associated with this particular hormone. The most common is a condition where the pancreas ceases to cope, and the concentration of glucose in the blood rises – this can lead to diabetes mellitus.
If you follow a very strict diet, you may experience problems with hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, YY peptide, which regulate feelings of appetite, hunger, and satiety.
How is the fat burning?
Training and a balanced diet influence metabolism, which allows you to start an effective fat burning process in the body. Our cells require energy from fats. Under the influence of such hormones as cortisol and adrenaline, fat cells give their resource in the form of free fatty acids, or proteins and glycerol, which, in turn, enter the general bloodstream. The cells that need energy consume it from the blood and release water, carbon dioxide, and acid in response.
The total amount of fat in the human body averages 15–20% of body weight, and in the case of pathological obesity, it can even reach 50%. Fats perform many functions in the body, but one of the main tasks is ‘energy reserve’. Accordingly, for fat burning, we need to create a calorie deficit. The process of formation, deposition, and mobilization from fat is regulated by the nervous and endocrine systems, as well as by tissue mechanisms and is closely related to carbohydrate metabolism. So, an increase in the concentration of glucose in the blood activates the synthesis of fats, and a decrease – on the contrary, enhances their breakdown. With an excess of carbohydrates and the absence of fats in food, the synthesis of fat in the body can occur from carbohydrates; in the complete absence of carbohydrates, they will be formed in the body from the decay products of fats and proteins.
Irritability during weight loss
Apathy and irritability are an abnormal state during weight loss. This means that the diet was chosen incorrectly. Nervousness is possible due to a lack of carbohydrates. Glycogen reserves are consumed in a few days, and our brain begins to demand its “favorite” food – glucose. You can get glucose only with carbohydrates.
What indicators should be controlled during weight loss?
The most important thing in losing weight is to drink enough water, observe the balance of the diet, get enough Omega-3 to improve mood, and strengthen immunity. It is important to follow the rules of a balanced diet for fat burning: a small deficit of calories in the diet (about 20-30%), the optimal amount of protein, an adequate content of vegetables and fruits in the diet, adherence to the diet (eating at least 4 times a day).
