PT Health Life – Although eating less can help you lose weight, many people are following strict diets, even cutting calories almost completely. Does this affect your health?
1. The downside of eating too little to lose weight
Maintaining a reasonable weight is one of the important measures to protect health and limit the risk of disease. For people who are overweight or obese, the goal of losing a reasonable weight is especially necessary.
When it comes to losing weight, there’s no denying that calories are important. Eating less will help you lose weight. However, the flip side of cutting calories to lose weight requires balance.
According to medical experts, to lose weight safely and sustainably we need to adjust our lifestyle, exercise regimen and diet scientifically. A very low-fat diet for weight loss is not a safe solution.
Our bodies need enough calories to function properly and consuming too few calories can hinder metabolism , which not only negatively affects our health but also defeats our goals of healthy weight loss and lasting.
2. Why does a lack of calories have a negative effect on health?
We all know that eating fewer calories helps lose weight and eating more has the opposite effect. The simple reason is that energy plays an important role in the body’s activities, including metabolic rate.
A low-calorie diet is a simple, research-backed way to lose weight, but it needs to be done scientifically. Meticulously tracking quantity and portion sizes can be unhealthy and create disordered eating behaviors that are difficult to sustain.
Not eating enough calories can lead to health conditions such as: malnutrition , fatigue, irritability, lack of concentration, dizziness, anxiety, depression or mood changes…
3. How to follow a safe low-calorie diet
Nutrition experts recommend that if you want to lose weight by cutting calories, you need to do it slowly and gradually so that your body can adapt but still need to ensure the quality of the meal is adequate.
You should eat a variety of foods rich in protein and fiber to help you feel full longer, reduce hunger and cravings, thereby helping you lose weight effectively. In addition, you should pay attention to choosing low-calorie foods such as vegetables and fruits such as cucumbers, squash, broccoli, tomatoes, celery… Cut out foods and drinks with added sugar. Cut down on processed foods , fast foods, refined grain products…
According to Dr. BS. Nguyen Trong Hung, National Institute of Nutrition, to lose weight, the general principle of diet for everyone is to ensure the level of energy intake is lower than the energy consumed but still ensure enough health to work and study.
We should eat a normal menu but with reasonable adjustments, eat enough nutrients, eat many small meals with little food, reduce high-energy foods, increase high-fiber foods.
You should eat more in the morning and less in the afternoon and evening. Have the last meal of the day at least 3 hours before going to bed. Do not starve. At the same time, you need to do regular physical activity appropriate to your health condition.
