Part Fourteen: The Ultimate Secret to Weight Loss Without Rebound: From Energy Balance to the Principles of Fat Metabolism
The ultimate secret to weight loss without rebound:
Healthy diet + moderate exercise
This is how people get fat.
A person gains or loses weight, that is, their body fat changes, because the energy they obtain from food is not equal to the energy they actually expend.
After a while, we feel hungry and want to eat. There is a substance in our blood called free fatty acids. When we are fasting, its amount increases, which can stimulate the feeding center in the brain. The brain then sends a command: "We are short of energy, eat quickly."
When you eat a certain amount, the glucose produced from the breakdown of food enters the bloodstream. The increased glucose in the blood stimulates the satiety center in the brain, so you stop eating more.
The energy replenished by the body is used to maintain unseen activities such as heart function, food digestion and absorption, and cell metabolism, as well as practical activities such as walking, working, and bathing. When energy is consumed by these activities, the feeding center becomes active, and appetite is generated again.
If the energy consumed equals the energy obtained from food, the amount of fat remains unchanged. If energy intake exceeds energy expenditure, the excess energy is converted into fat and stored in fat cells as a precaution. If energy intake is very high, the amount of fat stored in fat cells will increase accordingly. This is how you gain weight.
Conversely, if you consume less energy and expend more energy, your body will break down fat to replenish the energy it needs, thus reducing fat levels.
"The difference between energy intake and energy expenditure determines the amount of fat," this is a fundamental rule that applies to everyone.
Food is chewed in the mouth, mixed with saliva, and then passes through the esophagus into the stomach.
Food is digested into a paste by gastric juices in the stomach.
Once inside the duodenum, it triggers the secretion of bile and pancreatic juice, further digesting the food.
In the small intestine, most of the nutrients and water are absorbed.
The absorbed nutrients are transported throughout the body via the bloodstream and oxidized in various cells to produce energy.
Food passes through the small intestine into the large intestine, where it is further absorbed for water and minerals.
When it enters the rectum, it turns into solid stool and is expelled from the body.
Find out why you keep failing at losing weight.
■ Too weak-willed
You often worry about being overweight, and seeing handsome men and beautiful women on the bustling streets makes you feel a pang of envy, so you resolve to lose weight. However, your enthusiasm only lasts for three minutes before being shattered by delicious food, and then the cycle repeats itself.
The best way to solve these seemingly minor but actually quite distressing problems is to first understand your body type and the factors contributing to your obesity. Then, develop the habit of keeping a schedule, creating a table to track your daily food intake and weight loss progress for comparison. Have family and friends help monitor your progress. This way, your weight loss plan is less likely to repeat the same mistakes.
■ Lack of scientific guidance
I also genuinely desire a well-proportioned and fit physique, but things don't always go as planned. I'm determined to change, but I feel lost and unsure of where to start. Because I'm too busy with work and studies, I only go through the motions, doing things intermittently, and ultimately, they all fizzle out.
Buying a bunch of weight loss books without seriously analyzing them or making a scientific plan; or being too busy to pay attention to three meals a day and just grabbing something quick at a restaurant. This leads to weight loss failure.
Besides carefully analyzing and developing a practical plan, the most important thing is to create more opportunities for yourself to cook for yourself and eat as many low-calorie, high-protein foods as possible. Don't doubt the feasibility of this method, because diet has the biggest impact on weight loss results, so you must be very careful in managing it.
Of course, if you have a passion for food, then exercise can help you achieve the beauty of balance, harmony, and health.
■ Either blindly follow the crowd, or try too hard.
Journals and television programs frequently promote "dieting methods" for weight loss, attracting many people who eagerly follow them without carefully considering their pros and cons. For example, some advocate "eating only boiled eggs to lose 5 kilograms in a month," while others claim "eating only vegetables and fruits will immediately reduce weight." Although many determined individuals have indeed achieved significant weight loss, this often results in nutritional imbalances and exhaustion, making it undeniably a very dangerous method of weight loss.
Therefore, when we prepare to lose weight, we must understand the key to weight loss: to consume a balanced diet.
Some people have extremely strong willpower; they will never give up halfway because of any minor setbacks, and no matter how painful the dietary control is, it cannot change their determination to lose weight. Then the problem arises: in this situation, if the body has already been damaged and they still insist on continuing, not only is recovery extremely difficult, but they are also very likely to develop anorexia.
In fact, losing weight should be a relaxed and natural process. Forcing it or obsessing over it will only backfire. Therefore, please approach weight loss with a relaxed and happy mindset; that will yield better results.