How to lose weight without trying? Why even those who eat less still cannot lose weight? How can it be? Well, there’s an answer to all this. You just have to learn it.
It may seem incredible but it is true. Sometimes, eating little can make us gain weight. Why does this happen? What should we consider? In this article we will seek to solve these questions.
We all know people who eat a lot and are thin, just like we know people who gain weight even if they eat little. The latter often have difficulties when losing weight and often experience feelings of failure and guilt for not losing weight.
The weight loss formula is practically universal. It is based on the first law of thermodynamics and is quite simple. We lose weight if we spend more than we eat. It has a proven scientific base and many people lose weight thanks to it.
However, reducing everything to this mathematical equation has its problems, since body weight has many dimensions of genetic, environmental, food, psychological, and so on. Therefore, when trying to learn how to lose weight without trying, you must take into account all these aspects.
How to lose weight without trying?
Energy balance
The energy balance is based on two key concepts. The first is the calories we eat through food and which are our daily fuel; the second is the calories we spend or metabolic rate. In this case, more factors come into play:
The basal metabolism. Minimum energy necessary for the body to perform its most basic functions. It is estimated to represent between 70% and 80% of total daily caloric expenditure.
Exercise and physical activity. They are the calories we spend doing daily activities or more intense physical exercise.
Thermal effect of food. It is the energy we spend on the food intake and digestion itself.
If more calories come in than they come out, we gain weight. On the contrary, if more calories come out than they enter, we lose weight. So, based on this statement, one of the most widespread ways to lose weight is to make a caloric restriction, or what is the same, eat less.
So where is the mistake of people who gain weight even if they eat little? What can they be doing wrong? To solve these questions, continue reading.
Metabolism
A very simple weight loss formula is to spend more calories than we eat. However, we cannot ignore other factors that affect this process.
Our body is a lover of balance. In every sense. It has its mechanisms to balance body pH, temperature, blood pressure and, of course, body weight.
When it detects an important caloric restriction and the consequent weight loss, it is put on alert. The priority of our body is not to lose weight, even if this is our will. Automatically, a series of hormonal reactions are activated to save energy.
One of the first things that happen is that it decreases the basal metabolism and the feeling of satiety. In turn, the hormones associated with hunger increase.
As we have already seen, basal metabolism is of great importance in the total calories we consume throughout the day. So, even if we eat less, we also spend less and the weight just stagnates. Even, in some cases, it ends up increasing.
Read more: 6 Methods To Increase Metabolism And Start Losing Weight Naturally And Fast!
Spend more calories
Eating less is a way to lose weight because we enter fewer calories. But, as we have seen, if the metabolism becomes slower, we cannot decrease the ingested calories uncontrollably.
Apart from being negative at the metabolic level, poor diets involve lack of nutrients and lack of energy. Then, they can lead us to a state of apathy, decay and even bad mood.
Therefore, it is important to spend more and not only reduce the calories ingested. Physical exercise and daily activity are essential to maintain a healthy metabolism, modulate the regulation of hormones in a positive way, increase muscle mass and decrease fat mass.
Physical exercise and any form of physical activity is essential to maintain a healthy and active metabolism.
The importance of muscle mass
Our muscles are one of the body systems that consume the most energy, even when we are at rest. A person with a higher percentage of muscle mass will have a higher basal metabolism than a person with a lower muscle percentage.
Our muscle mass is usually affected the moment we start dieting. When the body lacks the glucose provided by food, look for other sources from where to get it.
One of the main reserves we have is body fat and muscle mass. And it is precisely the latter that we use primarily when there is caloric restriction. The result is a loss of muscle mass that further decreases energy expenditure.
At this point, it would be necessary to reduce more and more the amount of food we eat, with the negative consequences that we have seen that this entails. That is why some people gain weight even if they eat little, because their spending has become so low that it is difficult to eat below these amounts.
Paradoxically, sometimes eating less or eating little is not synonymous with losing weight. So the most successful thing is to put ourselves in the hands of a professional and adopt healthy lifestyle habits that allow us to lose weight on a regular and lasting basis.
Don’t forget to SHARE how to lose weight without trying with your friends and family on your social networks!
