Australian professor shares remarkable weight loss secret: Seven essential steps to shed pounds without ever dieting again
As we enter a new year armed with resolutions to improve our lives, chances are we’re also carrying something less useful: extra pounds. At least half a kilo, to be precise.
“Weight creep” doesn’t have to be inevitable. Here’s what’s behind this sneaky annual occurrence and some practical steps to prevent it.
Adults tend to gain weight gradually as they age, typically gaining an average of 0.5 to 1 kg per year.
Although this doesn’t seem like much each year, it amounts to 5 kg over a ten-year period. The slow but steady nature of weight gain is the reason many of us won’t notice the extra weight until we’re in our 50s.
Why are we arriving?
Subtle, gradual lifestyle changes as we progress through life and age-related biological changes cause us to gain weight. Us:
– Activity level decreases. Longer work hours and family commitments can make us more sedentary and have less time for exercise, meaning we burn fewer calories
– Diets deteriorate. With hectic work and family schedules, we sometimes turn to pre-packaged and fast food items. These processed and discretionary foods are packed with hidden sugars, salts and unhealthy fats. A better financial position later in life can also result in more eating out, which is associated with a higher total energy intake
Dr. Nick Fuller said adults can slowly put on pounds without realizing it, calling the phenomenon ‘weight creep’.
Dr. Fuller said adults should maintain some healthy habits, including an active lifestyle into adulthood
– Sleep decreases. A busy life and screen use can prevent us from getting enough sleep. This disrupts our body’s energy balance, increasing our hunger, creating cravings and decreasing our energy.
– Stress increases. Financial, relationship and work-related stress increase the production of cortisol in our body, which triggers food cravings and promotes fat storage
– Metabolism slows down. Around the age of 40, our muscle mass naturally decreases and our body fat begins to increase. Muscle mass helps determine our metabolism, so when our muscle mass decreases, our body begins to burn fewer calories at rest.
We also tend to put on some weight during festive periods – times full of high-calorie foods and drinks, when exercise and sleep are often overlooked. A study of Australian adults found that participants gained an average of 0.5 kilograms over the Christmas and New Year period and an average of 0.25 kilograms around Easter.
Why we should prevent weight gain
It is important to prevent weight gain for two main reasons:
1. Weight gain resets our body’s set point
Set point theory suggests that we all have a predetermined weight or set point. Our bodies try to keep our weight around this set point and adjust our biological systems to regulate how much we eat, how we store fat and use energy.
When we arrive, our set point resets to the new, higher weight. Our bodies adapt to protect this new weight, making it challenging to lose the weight you have gained.
But it is also possible to lower your set point if you lose weight gradually and with an interval weight loss approach. Specifically, it’s about losing weight in small manageable chunks that you can maintain: periods of weight loss, followed by periods of weight maintenance, and so on, until you reach your goal weight.
Dr. Fuller said the timing of large meals played an important role in encouraging healthy energy maintenance, adding that Australians should eat more natural foods such as fruit and nuts.
2. Weight gain can lead to obesity and health problems
Unnoticed and unmanaged weight gain can result in obesity, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and several types of cancer (including breast, colorectal, esophageal, kidney, gallbladder, uterine, pancreatic, and liver cancer). can increase.
A large study examined the link between weight gain from early to mid-adulthood and health outcomes later in life, following people for about 15 years. It was found that those who gained 2.5 to 10 kg during this period had an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, obesity-related cancer and death compared to participants who had maintained a stable weight.
Fortunately, there are steps we can take to build lasting habits that will make weight gain a thing of the past.
Seven practical steps to prevent weight gain
1. Eat from largest to smallest
Try to consume most of your food earlier in the day and reduce your meal sizes to ensure that dinner is the smallest meal you eat.
A low-calorie or small breakfast leads to an increased feeling of hunger during the day, especially the craving for sweets.
We burn the calories from a meal 2.5 times more efficiently in the morning than in the evening. So emphasizing breakfast during dinner is also good for weight control.
2. Use chopsticks, a teaspoon or an oyster fork
Sit at the table during dinner and use different utensils to encourage slower eating.
This gives your brain time to recognize and adapt to your stomach’s signals telling you that you are full.
3. Eat the entire rainbow
Start by filling your plate with fruits and vegetables in different colors to support eating a fiber-rich, nutritious diet that will keep you feeling full and satisfied.
Meals should also be balanced and include a source of protein, wholegrain carbohydrates and healthy fat to meet our nutritional needs – for example eggs on wholegrain toast with avocado.
4. Reach for nature first
Train your brain to rely on nature’s delicacies: fresh vegetables, fruits, honey, nuts and seeds. In their natural state, these foods trigger the same pleasure response in the brain as ultra-processed and fast foods, helping you avoid unnecessary calories, sugar, salt and unhealthy fats.
5. Choose to move
Find ways to incorporate occasional activities into your daily routine – such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator – and boost your exercise by challenging yourself to try a new activity.
Make sure you provide variety, as doing the same activities every day often leads to boredom and avoidance.
6. Prioritize sleep
Set a goal of getting at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep every night, and help yourself achieve this by avoiding screens for an hour or two before bed.
7. Weigh yourself regularly
Getting into the habit of weighing yourself weekly is a guaranteed way to keep the pounds from piling on. Try to weigh yourself on the same day, same time and in the same environment every week and use the best quality scale you can afford.
This article was originally published on The conversation.