Fast Diet or Healthy Diet?

If you're looking to lose weight, half to one pound per week is the recommended healthy weight to lose.

Sudden changes in diet to lose weight quickly risk making you experience health problems. This unhealthy endeavor also does not allow for sustainable lifestyle changes that aim to maintain a stable ideal body weight in the long term.

Half to one kilogram per week is the recommended amount of weight loss. Half a kilogram of fat contains about 3,500 calories. So to lose half a pound per week, you need to burn at least 3,500 calories per week or 500 calories per day.

Fast Diet Risks

Rapid weight loss tends not to last long. In addition, people who lose weight quickly are at risk of developing health problems:

The body is weak and easily tired

Generally, people who want to lose weight quickly will eat smaller portions or even force themselves not to eat. This condition makes the body lack of calories so that it is easy to feel weak and tired. The productivity of the person will also decrease.

Lack of nutrition

The body needs carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins in ideal amounts in order to function properly. But when you want to lose weight immediately, you will tend to reduce or even eliminate some nutrients such as carbohydrates and fats. Though your body needs all the elements so that the body remains healthy and not susceptible to disease.

Fast weight gain

Fast diets do not provide an opportunity to train the body to burn large amounts of calories. In fact, to achieve long-lasting results, gradual and comprehensive lifestyle changes are needed, from exercise to diet regulation. Fast diets prevent the food you eat from burning to its full potential so that your body weight goes back up.

Damage to muscle tissue

Diets that are carried out with extreme and fast do not burn fat, but burn the body's muscles so that muscle tissue becomes damaged.

Other body disorders

Some diseases that can attack because of the side effects of a fast diet include headaches, constipation, hair loss, and irregular menstruation.

Serious illness that may occur

A fast diet that is done continuously can be at risk of bringing serious diseases, including:

Gallstones: occur in 1-2 out of 10 people who lose large amounts of weight within a few months.
Electrolyte imbalance in the body.
Dehydration.

Common Mistakes Made When Dieting

The following are some common habits in fast diets that can actually be detrimental to your health:

Skipping the main meal

Research has shown that people who regularly eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner are more likely to maintain their ideal body weight. A breakfast that contains enough fiber and protein can keep you feeling full until lunch time. But skipping main meals makes you tend to eat lots of snacks in between main meals.

Underestimating the content of snacks

Have you ever noticed approximately how many calories are contained in two slices of fried food, a bag of potato chips, and a piece of cake? The total amount can exceed the calories you should be consuming. Checking the nutrition labels on food packaging can help you estimate the number of calories you are consuming.

Don't eat snacks at all

Eating high-calorie snacks is indeed a risk of making the diet fail. However, it turns out that if the snack is a healthy and low-calorie type, it actually keeps people from feeling hungry and better able to maintain their ideal body weight. Snacks rich in protein such as almonds can keep the body's metabolism working optimally.

Drinking too many calories

People who do fast diets tend to avoid consuming high-calorie foods. Instead, they consume more sugary drinks. Whereas the number of calories in certain drinks such as coffee with cream and soda is actually not less than food. In addition, these drinks will actually make the stomach feel hungry so that in the end you need to eat more.

Less consumption of mineral water

Some people think that drinking mineral water makes the body fat. Though mineral water is the most important element in burning calories. Consumption of at least eight glasses per day will actually increase the metabolic rate.

Weigh the body every day

If you lose weight in a matter of days, then most likely what is going down is the water content in the body. But not fat. Instead of measuring your weight every day, try to focus more on long-term goals such as a goal of losing half a pound in 1-2 weeks.

Setting unrealistic targets

In addition to being frustrating because you don't get what you want, aiming to lose up to 5 pounds a week can make you want to do anything, including unhealthy ways to achieve it. Stress because the target is not achieved can actually trigger you to eat more.

How to Diet Healthy

Basically, a healthy diet is about managing your diet, including choosing the types of foods you should eat. A healthy diet is when all the nutrients the body needs can be met.

A few simple steps that can serve as a guide:

Set healthy goals each week.

Small and simple goals are important as a step towards sustainable lifestyle changes. Also, setting realistic goals on a regular basis and successfully meeting them will make you feel positive. For example, if you like to eat fried foods every day, aim not to eat them for a week. Instead, eat healthy snacks like dried fruit.

Actively moving.

As a first step, you don't need to exercise regularly to keep feeling fit. Do something you like so that you can do it over and over again, such as playing futsal with colleagues or cycling with your family. Scheduling exercise in the morning before starting to move is the best way for those of you who find it difficult to make time too. Aim to exercise at least 2-3 hours per week.

Cut down on packaged foods.

Limit consumption of packaged foods, ready-to-eat foods, and fried foods. This type of food group contains a lot of calories, preservatives, and salt.

Choose foods that are processed in a certain way.

It is better to eat foods that are processed by steaming or boiling than those fried in hot oil. Foods that are steamed or boiled in a not too long time have a more complete nutritional content than fried foods. Meanwhile, fried foods are high in calories and saturated fat.

Rearrange the contents of your plate.

Fill a third of the food on the plate with lean meat, fish, or poultry. Try to increase the portion of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Choose healthy carbohydrate sources such as brown rice or potatoes. Eat fruit that is not too sweet like apples, tomatoes and avocados.

Memstart and continue good habits.

The following simple habits can bring great benefits if done consistently and in the long term: