Eat less and exercise more but still gain weight and feel more tired? This turned out to be the culprit...

Why do you still get fat even if you eat less and exercise more? Is it because of lack of willpower? Or does the principle of "eat less, exercise more" ignore some more important element? In fact, obesity is not predestined, nor is it impossible to lose weight. It turns out that it is related to the culprit that causes chronic inflammation in the body. More and more studies have confirmed that leaky gut is closely related to the body's inflammatory response, and chronic inflammation of the body is the main cause of many chronic diseases such as allergies, obesity, fatty liver, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue, arthritis, chronic migraine, etc.

Disease starts in the intestines! Repairing leaky gut and reducing inflammation

Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, said more than two thousand years ago: "Diseases begin in the intestines"! If the leaky gut can be repaired, the chance of inflammation in the body will be greatly reduced. Not only can it effectively prevent the occurrence of chronic diseases, but it can even keep you away from chronic diseases, including the problem of obesity. The intestine is an important barrier in the body. The soundness of its function also affects the state of health.

Dr. Wu Jiahong, an attending physician at the Department of Family Medicine at National Taiwan University Hospital and an obesity specialist at the Taiwan Obesity Medical Association, shared an outpatient case in his new book "Leaky Gut, the Key to Inflammation". An obese patient came to see him and said that he usually ate very little and exercised, but he just couldn't lose weight. So the patient was asked: "Then what do you eat?" The patient replied: "I eat bread, sandwiches, and occasionally drink milk tea. The drinks are all half sugar, and I try to boil the vegetables. I rarely eat meat, and I go to the gym to run twice a week, but I still can't lose weight, and I feel more and more tired..."

Don’t focus on “eating less”, but first “eating right”

What is the problem that people try to lose weight by “eating less and exercising more” but fail to achieve their goal? The truth is: Don’t focus on “eating less”, but you must first “eat right”. In particular, don't mistakenly think that eating less means consuming less calories and that you can lose weight. What we should think about is how to change our lives by adjusting our diet and eating the right nutrition, rather than relying on the addition and subtraction of calorie numbers; if the physiological functions are correct, the body will naturally respond with a normal weight and the expected health.

To give a simple example, if you drink a 700ml cup of full-sugar pearl milk tea, which has about 600 calories, and a plate of lettuce, nut and whole grain salad, which also has 600 calories, the physiological reactions in the body after eating these two foods are actually different. Because, although both contain 600 calories, milk tea and salad have completely different ingredients and nutrients, and will cause completely different physiological reactions in the body. The cells in your body care about what "nutrients" you eat, and don't calculate how many "calories" you eat. The nutrition in food is like a key, an important switch to start the physiological chain reaction. The many physiological reactions that follow determine the health of the human body, including, of course, the body's weight.

Dr. Wu Jiahong said, therefore, don’t be obsessed with “eating less”, but you must first “eat right”. Even if you want to eat less and exercise more, it must be based on "eating right". First, consume a balanced and sufficient amount of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and phytonutrients. Eat the right foods and the right nutrients. Your physiological reactions will be naturally healthy and normal. You will also easily feel full and will not eat indiscriminately because you are hungry. This will allow your physiological functions to naturally get on a healthy track.

Eating vegetables first, then meat can help lose weight

In addition to eating the right nutrition, the order in which you eat is also closely related to your health. Even if it is the same food, the same calories, and the same composition, eating in different orders will have different effects on your health. A research report published in Diabetes Care, an authoritative diabetes journal, pointed out that eating vegetables first, then meat, and finally carbohydrates (bread and juice) will result in significantly lower blood sugar and insulin concentrations after meals than eating carbohydrates first. This way of eating helps improve insulin resistance and blood sugar control, and is also helpful for weight loss. Simply put, it means changing the traditional habit of "eating side dishes with meals" to "eating vegetables with rice" and making vegetables the staple food.