Not everyone needs to lose weight. Sometimes weight loss can be harmful to health. Fat is not the enemy. It is necessary for the proper functioning of the endocrine system and many other processes in the body. The established rate of fat: 2-4% for men and 10-12% for women.
Excessive fat should be mentioned when the indicators exceed the norm, and a person begins to feel worse. If the amount of fat continues to rise, it can begin obesity, and it is considered a chronic disease and is associated with the development of diabetes, heart disease, and joints.
It is not worth making diagnoses by looking in the mirror, because it is often difficult for us to perceive ourselves objectively. To determine if you are overweight, you need to calculate your body mass index, take volume measurements, or measure your body composition on an analyzer balance. Such scales are used in fitness studios and show the amount of fat, muscle, bone, and water in the body.
Sometimes the causes of excess weight are hidden at home
If you really are overweight, but you can not lose it, the reasons should often be sought not in the gym, but at home. In your daily habits, in the level of stress, in relation to yourself, and in your relationship with food.
Overweight problems are most often eating problems, so the causes of obesity may lie at the intersection of psychology and social traditions. When we are in adulthood suffer from our habits, but that were formed in childhood. For example, the habit of always leaving a plate clean or never eating without bread.
Sometimes you need to go to a psychotherapist to lose weight
One of the main enemies of weight loss is excessive stress. At first, there is nothing wrong with stress. We need it for development. This occurs normally in response to an unusual situation, and the response to stress is aimed at helping us cope with new circumstances.
Problems begin when we feel too much stress and too often. When bad news pours in every day, there are difficulties at work and you can’t sleep. At some point, the negative stimuli become so many that a person feels helpless.
Another psychological reason is problems with self-control. Moreover, this is a bilateral problem. It is often implied that a person does not have the willpower to exercise regularly.
And vice versa. A person is so driven by constant restrictions that it creates chronic stress. Eventually, you can sit on a strict diet and exercise every day, and a body frightened by stress will accumulate excess fat.
You can cope with stress and difficulties of self-control on your own and with the support of a competent coach. But when it comes to compulsive overeating and other eating disorders, you can not do without the help of a psychotherapist.
Psychology of weight loss: the main components
Effective weight loss consists of three components:
- nutrition,
- regular sport,
- recovery.
It would seem that each of these components affects only our physiological state. In fact, everyone has a psychological background as well.
Nutrition
Nutrition is a topic related to our emotions, self-control, stress, and disorders. If there are no serious psychological problems, it is equally important to remember the rule 80 to 20: 80% of the diet should be healthy food, and 20% can afford deliciously. This will save you from unnecessary stress.
To lose weight you do not need starvation and a rigid framework, it is more important to pay attention to the quality of food. Eat 3 times a day not with snacks, but fully to get enough protein and complex carbohydrates, useful fats, and fiber.
Regular sport
Sport is often mistaken for torture. This is also the wrong way. You can get the real result only after regular training, which means it should be fun. After all, it is impossible to do for a long time what you perceive as hard labor. 3-4 exercises a week for 45 minutes is enough to charge, not to torture yourself.
Recovery
Another important component of weight loss is recovery. It is necessary that the body better adapts to the load, and you do not drive yourself into excessive stress. In the training program, be sure to include recovery classes, and do not forget to rest and sleep enough.
If you have not slept, choose sleep instead of training, and only then continue to train with a new charge of energy. Respect for your body and self-care helps to lose weight much more effectively than a grueling regimen.
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