How to lose weight once and for all? And why diets don’t help.
About the problem of excess weight.
The problem of excess weight and obesity is increasing every year. Excess weight is not just an aesthetic issue. Research shows that excess weight is correlated with health disorders such as diabetes and insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and musculoskeletal system disorders. In addition, due to dissatisfaction with one’s appearance, psychological problems can arise—from insecurity to apathy and depression. The link between life expectancy and body fat percentage has also been proven.
The good news is that almost anyone, except in cases of severe hormonal or behavioral disorders, can bring their body back to normal. Below we will explain in detail how to do this.
What leads to excess weight?
Before starting to fight excess weight, it is necessary to understand its causes.
There are 3 main factors that determine a healthy body constitution:
- Nutrition
- Physical activity
- Hormonal balance
Modern lifestyle negatively affects all these factors simultaneously. Sedentary behavior leads to both low energy expenditure and insufficient production of growth hormone (somatotropin) and endorphins, which are responsible for good mood and appetite regulation.
Processed foods contain a large number of calories, significantly exceeding the body’s needs under low physical activity conditions. Refined sugar causes sharp insulin spikes—the hormone responsible for converting blood glucose into fat deposits. Low levels of essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and fiber lead to weakness and apathy. Trans fats and chemical additives negatively impact health.
How to lose 10 kilograms in a week forever?
No way. If you are looking for another miracle diet, this is not the right place. Not because we don’t know the answer, but because such diets don’t exist. If temporary diets capable of producing stable results existed, obese people would be rare—but unfortunately, this is not the reality.
There is no “magic pill” that, taken once, will make you slim forever. But there is another path that leads to stable results: normalizing body weight, reducing body fat percentage, and improving overall health.
Why diets don’t work? And what really works.
Let’s understand why no diet provides lasting results. Because the state of the body always corresponds to the conditions in which it lives. If you are overweight, this is a consequence of poor nutrition, inadequate physical activity, and, as a result, hormonal imbalance. Any diet is a temporary change in the conditions in which the body exists—usually just a temporary change in nutrition. And yes, during the diet, the body begins to adapt to the new conditions. But as soon as the diet ends (or is abandoned halfway), the person returns to their usual lifestyle and diet—and the body quickly returns to its initial state.
The problem is that diets usually drastically reduce nutrient intake. The body interprets this as a period of adverse conditions (famine, war…) and, at the first sign of improvement (after the diet ends), activates the energy storage mechanism. This is an evolutionary mechanism meant to survive periods of scarcity but does not match current reality. As a result, the person not only regains the previous weight but also accumulates extra reserves “just in case of another famine.” Moreover, many diets are unbalanced in certain nutrients, which can harm health.
Therefore, temporary dietary restrictions will never bring permanent results. Instead of a temporary “diet,” it is necessary to permanently change nutrition and lifestyle. Only constant changes lead to stable results. This may seem frightening to some—as if it were necessary to give up all old eating habits forever. But in reality, you do not need to reach the ideal immediately or start running marathons. Small gradual changes in diet will be enough to see the first visible improvements in appearance, health, and energy level. Once these first results are visible, it will be much easier to move to the next step.
Action plan to lose weight
If you decided to take control and get rid of excess weight and the negative effects of obesity on health, you must follow some principles:
The correct actions to achieve stable results in weight loss and health improvement consist of 3 points:
Nutrition for weight loss
Proper nutrition is the fundamental basis of weight loss. The contribution of nutrition to achieving the goal can be estimated at 80%. Even if all you do is change your diet without altering your level of physical activity, you will certainly see results.
Nutrition for weight loss follows the principles of healthy eating + the principle of a calorie deficit. If your goal is to lose weight while improving your health, make sure your new dietary pattern follows the principles below:
Complete nutrition
Complete nutrition is the basic principle of any dietary pattern, including for weight loss. There is a “minimum necessary” of nutrients for normal body function. When reducing total calories to lose weight, it is essential to ensure the body receives all necessary nutrients:
Proteins
They are the building material for most body tissues. Human cells are constantly renewing. For repairing old cells and growing new ones, the body needs amino acids obtained from protein-rich foods. The minimum daily intake is 1 gram of protein per 1 kg of body weight (refers to pure protein, not food weight). Additionally, it is necessary to consider the amino acid profile. There are essential amino acids that the body cannot produce and must be obtained from food. To ensure a complete profile, consume a variety of foods: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products, cheese, nuts, legumes... Vegetarians and vegans need to pay extra attention to the amino acid profile.
Fats
Fats are also an essential building material. Cell membranes are made of fats. Nerve cells, including brain cells, are 60% fat. Without fats, the body cannot produce hormones. However, fats contain more than twice the calories compared to proteins and carbohydrates, so it is necessary to control the amount. The ideal intake is 60–80 g per day for women and 70–100 g for men. It is also essential to maintain a balance between saturated and unsaturated fats. This helps reduce “bad” cholesterol, lower the risk of heart disease, and prevent insulin resistance. Prefer vegetable oils, nuts, avocado, fatty fish, fish oil, and omega-3 supplements. But do not completely eliminate saturated fats—they are also necessary for the body.
The ideal balance between saturated and unsaturated fats is 50/50. Unfortunately, many people consume approximately 80/20—in favor of saturated fats.
Vitamins, minerals, fiber
Essential for complete nutrition. Vitamins and minerals participate in countless cellular processes. Fiber is necessary for proper digestion. The main sources are fruits and vegetables. Dairy products are also rich in minerals.
Water
It is essential to drink enough potable water. Water participates in virtually all body processes. During weight loss, it is especially important to avoid dehydration. Water removes toxins and metabolic waste. Moreover, thirst is often confused with hunger, leading to overeating.
Carbohydrates
Although general recommendations say that 50% of calories should come from carbohydrates, they are primarily fuel for the body. If necessary, the body can generate energy from proteins and fats. Northern peoples, for example, lived for centuries on very low-carb diets without harming health. Carbohydrates make it easier to adjust total calorie intake. It is also crucial to consider the quality of carbohydrates—specifically their absorption rate, expressed by the glycemic index.
Glycemic index of foods
Different foods raise blood glucose levels with varying intensity. Sugar, white flour, and polished rice, for example, are absorbed quickly and cause sharp glucose spikes. These foods have a high glycemic index.
On the other hand, foods with a low glycemic index—such as vegetables (except starchy ones), low-sugar fruits, berries, barley, and non-instant oats—are absorbed slowly and provide gradual glucose release without sharp spikes.
The GI (glycemic index) is expressed in values from 0 to 100, where 100 is the glycemic index of pure glucose.
Consuming high-GI foods leads to a sharp increase in blood glucose. The body responds with high insulin release. Insulin ensures glucose transport to cells that need it (mainly muscles and liver cells) or to fat cells for storage. The problem is that muscles and liver can store only a limited amount of glucose, while adipose tissue has almost no limit. If you exercised before eating, muscles used part of stored energy and are ready to absorb glucose to replenish their stores. But if muscle and liver stores are full, all excess glucose is sent to fat storage. Additionally, during a glucose spike, insulin is overproduced. Therefore, shortly after, blood glucose drops, causing fatigue and hunger. This creates a closed cycle:
When consuming low-GI foods, glucose is gradually released into the blood without sharp spikes and for a prolonged period. This results in much less intense insulin release. Satiety lasts longer and the obtained energy is mainly used for current body needs rather than replenishing fat reserves.
Therefore, to lose weight, it is recommended to primarily consume foods with a glycemic index below 65. Does this mean high-GI foods must be completely avoided? No. Just gradually reduce their amount.
You can find the glycemic index of a food by consulting GI tables. These tables are easy to find online, but their values may be quite generalized. They do not consider specific varieties and ripeness of fruits and vegetables, processing level, cooking time, or additives in products.
For example, natural yogurt has a low glycemic index, between 20 and 35, depending on fat content (the higher the fat, the lower the GI). Industrial yogurt with added fruit filling contains sugar comparable to popular sodas. The GI of industrial yogurt can reach 85, classifying it as a high-GI food.
We do not provide specific tables here, as they may be inaccurate. Instead, we describe which carbohydrate-rich foods deserve attention.
The amount of sweet products should be very limited, as almost all have a high GI. If you want to enjoy a dessert, the best choice is dark chocolate with at least 72% cocoa, which surprisingly has a low GI—25. But it should also be consumed in moderation, as it contains a lot of fat and therefore many calories.
Sugar is also added to many industrial products: ketchup, mustard, yogurt, bread, breakfast cereals, preserves, sushi, and many others. Pay attention to the ingredients and prefer homemade products, whose contents you fully know.
Interestingly, some people find that one method or the other actually helps them lose weight.
Studies have shown that fat loss does not depend on the eating regimen but only on the calorie deficit. However, for some people, a specific regimen helps maintain the calorie deficit principle.
Conclusion: you can choose the eating regimen that best fits your lifestyle and makes it easier to maintain a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit is necessary but not sufficient for a healthy weight loss plan. The deficit should be 15–20% of daily caloric expenditure. It can be adjusted experimentally, following the “slow and steady” principle. The safe rate of weight loss is about 1% of body weight per week. As you approach your ideal weight, the calorie deficit should gradually decrease to zero. Additionally, physical activity influences caloric expenditure and, consequently, the number of calories needed in the diet.
In any case, nutrition should follow the principles of nutritional completeness, limit high-GI foods, and avoid harmful substances.
How to control hunger?
Reducing calories to maintain a calorie deficit does not have to cause intense hunger. If you feel very hungry, check if you:
Craving sweets?
Sweet foods activate the brain’s pleasure center similarly to drugs. Frequent and excessive consumption can create dependency. This dependency disappears quickly when sweets are stopped. Try to distract yourself with interesting activities. Do not buy or leave sweets in easily accessible places.
Physical activity
The body expends energy for two main purposes:
• maintaining vital functions (basal metabolism: body temperature, breathing, heartbeat, mental processes, cell regeneration...)
• physical activity
Following immutable laws of physics and mathematics, we have:
input: food
output: basal metabolism + physical activity
If output exceeds input, weight loss occurs.
Does this mean it is impossible to lose weight without physical activity?
No. It is possible to lose weight without physical activity if consumed calories are less than basal metabolic expenditure. Nutrition plays the primary role, accounting for about 80% of success. It is very difficult to compensate for poor diet with exercise alone. Eating poorly makes physical activity almost useless: you move, but do not progress toward a lean and healthy body.
Does this mean physical activity is useless? NO.
It brings enormous benefits:
- strengthens the cardiovascular system
- reduces the risk of cardiac events (heart attacks, strokes)
- reduces cancer risk
- improves hormonal balance
- improves mood
- increases muscle mass
- burns calories
Moderate and regular exercise strengthens the heart and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. In this regard, duration and regularity are more important than intensity. For heart and vessel strengthening, light activities of about 1 hour, 1–2 times a day, are ideal.
Physical activity also reduces cancer risk, both through weight loss and by neutralizing free radicals. There is a correlation between exercise intensity and risk reduction, so if health allows, do not ignore intense workouts.
Additionally, adequately intense exercises improve hormonal balance, promote hormones beneficial for weight loss, reduce stress, and enhance well-being and mood.
Strength training increases muscle mass. Maintaining muscles is crucial for both men and women, especially older people, as muscle mass tends to decrease with age. Muscles regulate hormones, reduce cardiovascular risks, consume calories at rest and during movement, and protect bones and joints.
Finally, any physical activity burns calories. This point is less critical, as the body compensates caloric expenditure by increasing appetite. Without proper nutrition, physical activity does not guarantee weight loss.
In summary, physical activity is not the key factor for weight loss but significantly improves health, mood, and appearance. Choose exercises compatible with your abilities. Everyone can start by increasing daily activity, like walking 1–2 hours per day, then gradually adding strength training (gym or home) and aerobic exercises (running, swimming, cycling, skiing).
Find the right VIVO product for you
- Tender homemade cottage cheese
- Confidence in composition and freshness
- Excellent source of Protein and Calcium
Buy
?>
Learn more about VIVO products
CHOICE OF STARTER CULTURES
with delivery across Canada and the USA Сlick here
ABOUT STARTER CULTURES
of living with VIVO starter cultures Сlick here
