Eat more? Eat less? Eat healthy and don't get fat

Q: Being hungry means you are burning fat, so you shouldn’t feel full after every meal?

A: Artist Xiao S once said that she has never had a full meal! Therefore, many people think that eating less or even not eating is the fastest way to lose weight. Of course you will lose weight if you don't consume calories, but it is unhealthy. It is recommended to follow the "reduction of total calories" to lose weight. The proportion of carbohydrates in staple foods in a day should still account for more than half of the total calories, protein should account for 20% to 30%, and fat should account for about 10% to 20%. During the weight control stage, you can increase your protein intake and reduce your fat intake (not stop eating) in order to properly lose fat and retain muscle.

Q: Staying up late at night and not sleeping can help burn excess fat and successfully control weight?

A: Wrong, wrong, wrong. This is a completely wrong idea! The human body can certainly consume more calories during activities, but if many people do not go to bed too late, they will want to eat, which is counterproductive. According to the research, there are two groups that are most likely to gain weight. One is the group that sleeps too much, which leads to a decrease in basal metabolism, and the other is the group that sleeps too little, which leads to extra nighttime intake.

Q: Since weight control requires eating more fruits and vegetables, and I don’t like eating vegetables, should I eat more fruits?

A: Fruits also contain nutrients and calories. To be precise, the calories absorbed from eating fruits are indeed lower than those from starch and fat. Lin Wenyuan said that fruits with relatively low calories include lemon, tomato, grapefruit, and guava, while fruits with high calories include mango, longan, lychee, banana, etc. You can eat any of them and feel full without worrying about gaining weight.

Q: You should eat a full breakfast, so you can eat more starchy foods such as cakes and bread, and just eat vegetables and fruits for lunch and dinner?

A: People say, "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a commoner, and dinner like a pauper." Lin Wenyuan said that this is actually talking about the concept of total calorie control. It is not about how much you eat or when you eat, but about "eating right." For obese people, the principle of calorie control per day is around 1500 calories for boys and around 1200 calories for women. Some high-calorie red-light zone foods must be reduced, and the proportion of low-calorie foods in the green-light zone should be increased to gain a sense of fullness. In this way, even if you are implementing a weight control plan, you can eat enough, eat well, and eat with peace of mind.

Prescriptions for weight control

"There are objective aesthetic standards for being fat or thin, and we shouldn't just blindly pursue the numbers on the scale," said Chen Jianhong, a doctor at Tainan Dedong Clinic (formerly the attending physician of the Department of Family Medicine at Tainan Municipal Hospital).

Nowadays, many people who pursue beauty are blindly pursuing thinness, which is not only quite unhealthy, but may also cause diseases due to nutrient deficiency. If you want to maintain a healthy and perfect body, you should first establish a healthy lifestyle concept and carefully observe your friends with slimmer figures to see if their lifestyles are more active. Obesity is caused by genetic factors accounting for 30% and environmental factors accounting for 70%. To change your lifestyle, you should eat less and exercise more. Even if you don't go to the gym, spend time swimming, or run every day, you can still maintain a healthy weight. Taking himself as an example, Chen Jianhong proposed two tips:

1. Increase your physical activity:

Chen Jianhong said that he usually likes to achieve his exercise goals by cycling and swimming, but these require specific times or places. If time does not permit, I will go to a convenience store far away from home to buy things, or deliberately get off the bus or subway early before the destination to allow myself to walk more. I will also get off the elevator early when going upstairs so that I can climb 2 or 3 flights of stairs every day. I try not to let others do photocopying, faxing, and pouring tea, and never miss any opportunity to move around. Little by little, calories will accumulate and be consumed invisibly.

2. Eat only until you are 70% full:

It is recommended to eat until you are 70% full. Eating too much will cause discomfort to the stomach and intestines. His example of healthy eating is to eat more in the morning, have a light meal at noon, and have a salad for dinner. If possible, you can coordinate a lunch with friends when you occasionally get together. The meals should mainly consist of vegetables and soups, and less meat. Try not to increase the burden on the stomach and intestines!

[For more exciting content, please see Changchun Monthly Issue 357]