There are limited days remaining to summer and everyone is wondering how to lose weight to ensure their ideal body shape. Sedentary lifestyle, nightly snacks, faster hunger due to the increase in energy spent to maintain body temperature, wearing thicker clothes to hide excess weight, and unhappiness due to short and darker days in the winter causes imbalance between calories taken and spent.
Mostly women are anxiously searching for various methods on the internet, such as high-protein diets, detox diets, and shock diets, in order to lose “winter weights”. These diets are also preferred because they have a quick effect and result in the short term. However, the fast-losing kilograms also become the fast-gaining kilograms. It can also cause excessive loss of fluid in the body, loss of vitamins and minerals due to fluid loss from the body, hair loss, fatigue, irregularities in period, cardiac dysrhythmia, even sudden cardiac death. Therefore, it’s very important to consult a health specialist -especially dietitians- as soon as the weight loss decision is made to maintain good health.
All researches and studies states that 2-4 kg weight loss per month is the ideal amount. It is also very important to maintain this weight loss by ensuring a balanced and regular diet. It is necessary to provide balance and nutrient diversity in all main courses and snacks. At main courses, the meal should be formed by carbohydrate, protein and oil balance without predominance of a single food group. Also snacks can be chosen among oily seeds such as walnut-hazelnut-almond, fresh fruits, and milk and milk products.
Eating less and often without skipping any meals, paying attention to the portions at meals and reducing if it’s excessive, ensuring adequate fluid intake, and having mild-or-moderate 150-to-300 minutes physical activity per week in the light of the recommendations of WHO, and finally adopting these changes as a lifestyle is the key for healthy and permanent weight loss and wellness.
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