Having trouble losing weight? The key to success: Get rid of the concept of "1 calorie is 1 calorie"!

I carefully calculated the calories of my food every day, but why did I lose weight quickly at first but couldn't lose weight after one month? Nutritionists say that this is a typical "weight loss plateau". If you want to overcome this stage, you should first break the myth that "1 calorie is 1 calorie"!

Nutritionists point out the three most NG weight loss methods that are most likely to plateau

When you use the same weight loss method for a period of time and your weight and body fat do not decrease, it is called a "plateau period." In fact, the "weight loss stagnation period" is a physiological self-protection mechanism of the human body. It will adapt after a period of weight loss, while lowering the basal metabolic rate and reducing energy consumption, allowing the body's heat to reach a new balance state. Therefore, the weight will be maintained and no longer decrease.

Among the various weight loss methods, Zheng Xinyi, a nutritionist at the Taiwan Cancer Foundation, believes that the following three weight loss methods are particularly prone to weight loss plateaus, which causes the basal metabolic rate to become lower and lower, making it more difficult to achieve the expected weight loss goals.

1. Diet weight loss method: Use extremely low calorie weight loss method, or starvation diet method to lose weight. The weight will decrease at the beginning, but what is lost is water and muscle mass. After a long time, the basal metabolic rate will easily decrease and stagnate. Once a normal diet is resumed, the weight will quickly return.

2. Meal replacement shake weight loss method: Replacing regular meals with meal replacement shakes can reduce calorie intake, but it can also easily cause nutritional imbalance and cannot be implemented for a long time. It is recommended to focus on normal food.

3. Not eating breakfast: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, as it is the best start to the day. If you skip breakfast, you will feel physically exhausted and your metabolism will slow down throughout the day. If you are too hungry at lunch time, you will consume more calories, which will ruin the zero-calorie weight loss method of breakfast!

When you use extremely low-calorie diets or starvation diets to lose weight, your weight will drop at first, but you will soon face the problem of a weight loss plateau.

1 calorie of calories ≠ 1 calorie! Don't just focus on calories when losing weight!

Nutritionist Joyce Cheng stressed: "1 calorie is not equal to 1 calorie". Although the human body needs to consume 7,700 calories to lose 1 kilogram of fat, if you only look at the calories in the nutrition label when losing weight, you may sometimes fall into the trap of calorie-based weight loss . For example, a cup of pearl milk tea and a bento with meat, vegetables and eggs have about 700 calories, but the nutritional density is much higher .

When it comes to maintaining human health, each nutrient in food has its own unique job to do. If you only consider "low calories" as the only criterion for eating, without considering the nutritional density, it will lead to malnutrition in the long run, as if you are never full. Not only is it easy to have a weight loss plateau, but the person who is trying to lose weight may also have their health affected before they lose weight, and they may become sick frequently!

Break through the weight loss plateau and start 3 winning positive energy

Nutritionist Joyce Cheng said that if you don't want to be trapped in a weight loss plateau, you should develop the right concept of weight loss. When choosing food, you must focus on quality rather than quantity, choose low GI (glycemic index), high-fiber foods, and mainly high-quality protein. This way, you can get enough nutrients and cooperate with exercise to achieve the effect of gaining muscle and reducing fat.

[3 ways to quickly overcome the weight loss plateau]

1. Balanced low GI diet: Excessive intake of high GI foods will not only cause high blood sugar levels and make people drowsy, but will also promote insulin secretion and promote the formation of body fat. Therefore, a balanced low GI diet is recommended for daily diet.

If you don’t want to be trapped in a weight loss plateau, you should cultivate the correct concept of weight loss and choose food based on quality rather than quantity.

2. Adequate nutrients: Taking in sufficient nutrients can reduce the duration of the stagnation period, such as sufficient vitamins, proteins, dietary fiber and other nutrients. Dietary fiber can increase satiety and aid bowel movements, and high-fiber foods are generally lower in calories. Protein is the main component of human muscle tissue, and high-quality protein can help the growth and repair of protein and muscle tissue consumed during exercise. Diverse and sufficient vitamins help regulate the body's metabolism and prevent the body's physiological functions from "freezing" or "stuck" due to "hidden hunger."

3. Exercise: The body is composed of three major parts: "water, muscle and fat". More muscle mass can increase the basal metabolic rate and help break through the stagnation period of weight loss. Therefore, it is recommended to exercise moderately to increase muscle mass, promote metabolism and reduce body fat. The ideal body fat percentage for men is about 17% to 23%, and for women it is 20% to 27%.