The faster you lose weight, the faster you gain weight again! Once the weight rebounds, it will be more difficult to lose weight in the future. Be careful not to develop a "physique that is easy to gain weight and difficult to lose weight"

Weight is not only about appearance, beauty or ugliness, but is also very important to physical health. Therefore, try to keep your weight within the normal range; but don’t be too thin, otherwise it will affect the body’s immunity and easily lead to disease.

Hong Ruopu, a nutritionist specializing in the Department of Family Medicine at the Zhongxiao branch of Taipei Municipal United Hospital, said that a person's weight includes the weight of the body's fat tissue and the weight of non-fat tissue such as bones and muscles. Currently, the internationally accepted body mass index (BMI) is used to measure whether a person has a healthy weight. It is used to weigh the effect of height on weight. BMI is calculated by dividing weight (kg) by height (m) squared.

According to data from the National Health Administration, the BMI range for healthy adults in Taiwan is 18.5 to 23.9 kg/m². Those with a BMI less than 18.5 kg/m² are considered too thin, those with a BMI of 24 to 27.9 kg/m² are considered overweight, and those with a BMI greater than or equal to 28 kg/m² are considered obese. For most people, an increase in BMI can be considered an increase in body fat weight.

Lose weight quickly, beware of the yo-yo effect

Food intake and exercise are the two main factors in maintaining a healthy weight. Food provides energy to the human body, while exercise consumes energy. Hong Ruopu explained that if one eats a lot but does not exercise enough, the excess energy will be stored in the body as fat, causing weight gain, or even overweight or obesity; conversely, if one does not eat enough, the body may lack energy, causing conditions such as being underweight or emaciated.

Maintaining a healthy weight can enhance the body's immune function and prevent disease. According to research, people who maintain their weight within a healthy range have a lower risk of developing various diseases than those who are too thin or overweight or obese.

Hong Ruopu pointed out that according to clinical observations, many people who have successfully lost weight quickly, for example, losing 5 kg in 3 days, 10 kg in 10 days, etc., are very likely to face the yo-yo effect as long as they lose 5 to 10 kg in a short period of time. In other words, the weight that you have worked so hard to lose will not be maintained for long, and will quickly start to gain back up, and may even be heavier than the original weight.

This situation where weight fluctuates and then returns to an ideal weight, and after regaining weight, it is even more difficult to lose weight again is called the "yo-yo effect," which usually occurs in habitual, multiple-time dieters.

Hong Ruopu said that because the daily calorie intake is lower than the basal metabolic rate required to maintain physiology, the body will naturally begin to dehydrate, and then consume muscle and fat, and the weight will decrease rapidly; however, in order to maintain the normal functioning of various organs, the body will change and lower the basal metabolic rate, and enter a stagnant period of weight loss.

For those who lose weight improperly and quickly, once they resume a normal diet, the body's absorption rate will become very high, and fat will accumulate faster and faster. The reason is that the basal metabolic rate has decreased, and of course it is inevitable that weight will return. What's more frightening is that if the weight starts to rebound, each subsequent weight loss will become more difficult, which is the so-called "physique that is easy to gain weight and difficult to lose weight."

Extreme weight loss can lead to serious side effects

Hong Ruopu believes that people who experience the yo-yo effect usually adopt too extreme weight loss methods, such as excessive dieting or strenuous exercise to burn calories. Although this weight loss method will cause your weight to slide down like a slide at the beginning; however, as the weight loss time increases, your body may begin to show symptoms of discomfort, which means your weight has entered a stagnation period. Your emotions are prone to anxiety, depression, and frustration. Some people even use more extreme weight loss methods, but these will result in serious sequelae.

5 major side effects of rapid weight loss

The speed of healthy weight loss should be about 0.5-1% of body weight per week, which is a sustainable way. Hong Ruopu emphasized that if the weight loss speed exceeds the recommended range, it will have adverse effects on the body. Not only will it be easy to gain weight again, but it will also cause many serious sequelae.

◎Decrease in basal metabolic rate

People who want to lose weight quickly usually adopt improper dieting, which leads to insufficient calorie intake, or even less than 1,000 calories per day. Although too low calorie intake can achieve the goal of weight loss in a short period of time, it will cause a decrease in the basal metabolic rate that provides physiological operations and maintains life.

Once you seek to lose weight quickly and your calorie intake is lower than the body's basic needs, the body will adjust its basal metabolic rate and reduce basic calorie consumption in order to maintain normal physiological functions. At this time, if you resume your normal diet, when the calorie intake returns to normal, the metabolic rate will drop, resulting in excessive calorie intake, which is the main reason for weight gain again.

◎Decrease in immunity

Rapid weight loss through dieting and low-calorie diets can easily lead to an unbalanced diet or insufficient nutrition. At this time, the human body will accelerate the breakdown of muscle and fat to maintain normal physiological functions, which will cause low immunity and insufficient resistance.

◎ Liver, kidney and gastrointestinal dysfunction

If you diet excessively, or even take the improper weight loss approach of eating only one meal a day, the calorie and nutrition intake will be seriously insufficient, and the body will break down muscle protein and fat in large quantities, which may cause temporary liver and kidney dysfunction. If you lose weight repeatedly and improperly for a long time, it will also affect gastrointestinal function and make you more likely to suffer from indigestion or gastrointestinal diseases.

◎Hair loss and acne

Inappropriate weight loss methods that seek quick results can easily lead to a lack of nutrients, causing metabolic imbalance or hormonal disorder in the body. In severe cases, problems such as hair loss, rough skin, and acne may occur.

◎Amenorrhea and irregular menstruation

Rapid weight loss in a short period of time especially affects women because it changes hormone metabolism and causes disruptions to the menstrual cycle. In severe cases, it may even cause amenorrhea or irregular menstruation.

Rapid weight loss is water loss, weight loss is not about losing fat

Cheng Hanyu, a home care nutritionist and private family nutritionist from the Taipei Nutritionist Association, said that dieting methods that allow for rapid weight loss in a short period of time are usually effective in the first few days. Not only will the weight be reduced quickly, but the waist circumference will also be reduced. The more intense the diet, the faster you will lose weight.

However, people often reach a weight loss bottleneck after the 7th to 10th day of dieting because of the decrease in basal metabolic rate and the loss of muscle mass. No matter how little they eat, their weight will not decrease. At this time, due to the physical discomfort and psychological frustration, most people will slowly return to their original eating habits, and of course return to their original weight, or even be heavier than before.

In fact, short-term weight changes are almost always caused by water loss, for example, losing weight or gaining weight overnight. Hong Ruopu explained that the weight loss in the early stages of rapid weight loss is usually the loss of body water, followed by a reduction in muscle and fat tissue, and of course the weight will follow; but when weight regains, it all returns to the body in the form of fat, causing a vicious cycle and leading to increasing body fat.

Cheng Hanyu further explained that in the initial stage of rapid weight loss, what is lost is water, not fat. In the first few days of weight loss, in order to cope with the lack of calories, the human body will burn the stored glycogen as an energy source, and glycogen will carry a lot of water. Generally speaking, 4 grams of glycogen can hold 4 grams of water. Therefore, when the body's glycogen reserves decrease, a large amount of water will also be lost, resulting in weight loss.

5 tips for maintaining a healthy weight

How to maintain a healthy weight? Hong Ruopu believes that it is most important to strictly limit fat intake based on a balanced and nutritious diet. In daily diet, one should avoid eating too much greasy food and change habits such as overeating, snacking and late-night snacks. In addition, it is recommended to do proper exercise and measure your weight regularly so that you will be alert to changes in your body shape and try to keep your weight within a normal range. Only by having a healthy weight can you make your body healthier.

Cheng Hanyu also provides everyone with 5 weight loss concepts, which are the correct way to lose weight without gaining weight again

1. Perseverance: Gentle and gradual weight changes are the only way to lose weight sustainably.

2. Pay attention to the quality of food: avoid eating too much processed and refined food, which will squeeze out the opportunity and space to eat natural food.

3. Scientific records: including recording changes in weight, body fat, and waist circumference. It is recommended to look in the mirror every day to understand the changes in food and exercise that affect weight loss.

4. Scientific exercise: Eat the right food before and after exercise to lose weight more effectively.

5. A weight loss method that suits you: This is the only way to maintain your ideal weight for a long time.

Being overweight or underweight is not healthy

Hong Ruopu reminded that being overweight or underweight is unhealthy and can easily lead to various chronic diseases and even shorten one's lifespan. It is recommended to maintain a balance between food intake and exercise, and to take in a variety of foods to provide enough energy to meet the body's needs, so as not to cause excess calories in the body and to maintain weight within an appropriate range.

This article is excerpted from Changchun Monthly Issue 444

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Further reading: Only focus on the upper body when exercising? Be careful that your chest muscles are not developed yet but your blood vessels are damaged first

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