There is no universal recipe for proper weight loss!
But there are various ways to change your diet in order to lose weight. These include, for example, abstaining from finished products, reducing carbohydrates, intermittent fasting and above all the skill of outwitting yourself and your habits.
Yo-yo effect
Anyone who has ever been on a diet has usually already felt the Yo-yo effect. The Yo-yo effect usually occurs after so-called crash diets. These diets involve a greatly reduced calorie intake over days or even weeks. They help us to lose a few kilograms in the short term. However, if the diet is complete and you continue to eat “normally” as before, the yoyo effect is not far away and weight gain is quickly returning. To avoid this, a general rethinking is necessary.
Ashwagandha can also help to lose weight
Interval Fasting
According to recent studies, interval fasting is one of the most effective and healthy ways to lose weight properly. In the western world, we hardly know the feeling of real hunger anymore. A rich breakfast followed by a hearty lunch, in the afternoon coffee and cake and in the evening another substantial dinner – that’s how almost every day looks like for us. But according to nutritionist Hans Hauner, our body is not at all oriented to this oversupply of food. Hauner refers here to the prehistoric man, the hunter-gatherer, who was constantly looking for food and was starving in between. If he once made a big catch, his belly was filled up and then it was time to starve again until the next prey was caught. According to evolutionary biology, our body is therefore geared towards regular eating breaks.
Interval fasting is not about abstaining from a certain food, it is simply about the “right” timing. There are several methods for this type of fasting. One is the 16:8 method, where food is abstained for 16 hours within 24 hours and in the following eight hours it is possible to eat. Usually it is breakfast or dinner that is dispensed here. Another method is the 5:2 method, where you can eat normally five days a week and abstain from food two days a week. Furthermore, there is the so-called “Alternate-day-fasting” (ADF), in which it is possible to eat alternately on one day without restriction and the next day without food at all.
Based on research on primates and mice, it was found out that many smaller meals, which were fed over the day, are not as healthy as it was assumed. The animals that were fed a high-calorie diet spread over the day were significantly fatter and also developed fatty livers. In contrast, the animals that were fed a high-energy diet once a day remained slim and healthy.
According to studies, the 5:2 method is just as successful as a permanent diet with few calories. However, for the two days on which food should be avoided, a healthy vegetable soup can be used.
Vitamin D stabilizes the blood sugar which leads to an increased fat burning
Abstention of certain foods
But not only interval fasting can be good. On the basis of a study by Stanford University, it was found out how to reduce weight and what can also help. In the study the eating behaviour of 609 probands at an age between 18 and 50 years, was tested over one year. The participants in the study were divided into two groups. One group ate a high-fat but low-carbohydrate diet and the other a low-fat but high-carbohydrate diet. The two groups were allowed to eat as much as they wanted, but had to reduce their intake of white bread and sugar to a minimum and increase their vegetable intake. On average, the subjects of both groups lost 5.9 kilograms within one year. From this it can be concluded that neither a low-carbohydrate nor a low-fat diet is crucial for weight loss. According to the Stanford study, the key factor is to avoid white bread and sugar and to eat a sufficient amount of vegetables.
It is obvious that this is not so easy, because with the current range of offers it is difficult to do without certain products. Accordingly, losing weight is associated with a lot of discipline and actively fighting against bad eating habits. You have to avoid ready-made products such as pasta, pizza made from refined flour, alcohol and refined sugar. On the other hand, a lot of vegetables, unsaturated fatty acids and complex carbohydrates should be on the menu.
Physical activity
But not only interval fasting or a reduced diet can help to lose weight healthily. Physical activity is also an important factor. If the energy consumption is greater than the energy intake, this theoretically leads to weight reduction. However, it is not quite that simple! The combination of endurance sports and strength training is a good way to achieve this, but only in connection with a healthy diet.
If you have a micronutrient deficiency, this means that the energy metabolism, and thus the fat burning process, is not functioning properly
Micronutrients
According to new studies, taking micronutrients can also help to lose weight healthily. Certain minerals and vitamins help the cells to convert fat storage into a fat melt. If one has a micronutrient deficiency, this means that the energy metabolism, and thus the fat burning, does not function properly. The body stores the fat, the metabolism slows down and the attempt to lose weight brings bad or no results. Vitamin D stabilizes blood sugar, which leads to increased fat burning. Calcium works together with vitamin D. Calcium is stored in the fat cells. Researchers assume that the more calcium is stored in a fat cell, the more fat can be released by the cell. A supply of vitamin C can also be of great advantage when trying to lose weight. A study from Arizona State with probands who trained on a treadmill for 60 minutes found out that participants with a low concentration of vitamin C burned 25 percent less fat than participants who were supplied with sufficient vitamin C. Ashwagandha can also facilitate weight loss. On the one hand, Ashwagandha can reduce persistent stress that leads to an excessive feeling of hunger. Moreover, Ashwagandha can stabilize fluctuations in blood sugar levels. The fluctuations in blood sugar levels can otherwise lead to attacks of food cravings.
