Many of you have made a New Year's resolution to "eat healthier" or "lose 10-15 kg". If you want to lose weight, then on the one hand it is important to know why you want to lose weight. On the other hand, I think it's also important to know why nutrition has such a big impact on our entire being!
Because if you're not aware of how important nutrition is, you could quickly lose the motivation to eat healthier. And if nutrition has a direct impact on our entire being, then it's not just an issue for overweight people, but for everyone, regardless of their stature.
I was just talking about this today with a customer who works in a doctor's surgery. Even she, who works in healthcare, didn't realize how directly and quickly nutrition affects health until she changed her diet.
What role does nutrition play in losing weight?
In connection with the desire to lose weight, I regularly hear the phrase: the main thing is to eat fewer calories than you consume. Or: if the calorie balance is right, you will automatically lose weight. Or: you just have to be disciplined and eat less, then it will work. That's simply not true!I'll explain why in a moment.
Whether I consume 100kcal from broccoli or 100kcal from Smarties - it doesn't have the same effect on the body!Everything we eat ends up in our digestive system. And during this digestion, the food is absorbed into our bloodstream. And our blood creates our cells, our tissues, our organs and even our thoughts! We think differently whether we eat pizza and burgers or broccoli and tomatoes. We feel differently whether we drink cola or water.
We are made up of what we eat. Where else would our body get the substances to repair our cells, to grow hair and nails, to produce hormones and enzymes, if not from food?
Pro-inflammatory vs. anti-inflammatory
If I eat pro-inflammatory and insulin-boosting foods, such as sweets or ready-made pizza, this also promotes stress and fat build-up in our body. Then I can even eat a sub-caloric diet and still not lose weight!
Fatty acids
If my body wants to repair the wall of a cell, it needs fatty acids to do so. If it gets high-quality, healthy fats from us through food, then it will use these to carry out its repair work.
However, if it only has low-quality hydrogenated fats available, then it will use these too! This then leads to the cell wall becoming harder or more rigid. And you can imagine the problems we get if our cells are not supple and elastic.
Nutrient deficiency leads to overeating
If we eat poor quality food with too few nutrients, our body will sooner or later fall into a Nutrient deficiency. And it has now been proven: Nutrient deficiencies lead to chronic overeating because our body keeps making us hungry until it feels that we are getting the nutrients we need.
That's why it's not just the calorie balance that matters, but also that I eat high-quality, "real, living" food. The quality of our food has a direct influence on the quality of our lives. And I'm not saying that from theory, but from practical experience, time and time again.
Sugar
In my opinion, sugar, or the effect of food on our sugar levels and our insulin secretion, plays a central role in whether I choose the right foods for me.
Sugar increases insulin levels. And insulin promotes fat formation and inhibits fat loss. This means that whenever my insulin level is high, my body cannot break down fat - even if I am exercising! Incidentally, even slim people can have increased fat! In the form of blood fat, for example, or in organs such as the liver.
We are genetically programmed to be able to process 30g of sugar per day. On average, however, we consume around 100g of sugar every day! It is not so easy to give up sugar. On the one hand, this is because a lot of sugar is simply added to today's products. On the other hand, it's because sugar is addictive and we simply love sweets too much.
Lose weight with the right diet: here's how
1. Don't focus on doing without, but on moderation!
Slim people are not slim because they never eat unhealthy foods. It's because they eat more healthy food than unhealthy food and make sure they eat the right amount of unhealthy food. So don't forbid yourself anything when losing weight, because this can lead to ravenous appetite.
2 Good is what's good for you.
What does your body actually think of unhealthy foods? Do you feel good after eating or the next day? Many people notice that their stomach hurts after fast food, they sleep worse after drinking alcohol or are unbalanced due to sugar consumption.
Payattention to how you feel. If you are aware of what food is good for you, you are already taking a big step towards losing weight.
How many meals a day are optimal for your body? How often do you need a hot meal?
3. cook for yourself!
...and that is colorful, varied and with natural foods! Then you can control the additives yourself. Make sure you choose lots of vegetables and proteins.
You can also decide how much sugar goes into your desserts. Take a look at the following healthy desserts for inspiration:
4. sufficient Drink water
Drinking ensures that we feel less hungry and are fit. If our fluid intake is too low, we feel tired and unable to concentrate. I really mean drinking water here and not tea, coffee, juice or alcoholic drinks, which are full of calories and have the opposite effect.
5. eat when you are hungry.
Not only when it comes to food, but also when you want to eat. Various diets advise you to skip dinner or only eat at certain times. However, if you want to lose weight, you have to learn to listen to your body.
If you're hungry, eat.
But be careful: If you're not sure, have a drink first to see if you weren't just thirsty. Or is there something else? Emotional eaters feel appetite more often than hunger. It is therefore important to identify and separate these signals. If it's just appetite, maybe you need something else: Are you feeling lonely? Are you sad? Is food a proxy for something missing in your life? A walk or a chat with friends might be more appropriate now.
6. eat mindfully!
Anything you eat quickly between meals, such as a sandwich on the way to work, will certainly not help you lose weight. When you eat, make sure that you enjoy every bite! If you are no longer enjoying yourself, it may mean that you are simply full - then stop eating.
7. don't weigh yourself!
Weighing yourself can be addictive and cause unnecessary stress. Weight fluctuates constantly by around 2 kilos, even in slim people, and is therefore not necessarily the best indicator of weight loss.
If you really want to document your weight loss, take before and after photos.
Additional tips
:- Focus on long-chain carbohydrates such as wholegrain products, oatmeal, buckwheat, quinoa or amaranth.
- High-volume and low-calorie foods such as broccoli and spinach fill your stomach faster so that you feel full.
- Unsaturated fatty acids (e.g. walnuts, tuna or avocado) are healthy and help you lose weight.
- Avoid sugary drinks, pastries and sweets.
- If you want to eat chocolate, use dark chocolate with a cocoa content of over 80 percent instead. Or make your own chocolate so you know exactly what's in it.
Why diet and not just do more sport?
It should be clear from the previous text why diet cannot be compensated for by doing more sport. But because I hear this over and over again, I just wanted to emphasize it again: You can't cheat your way out of an unhealthy diet by simply doing a lot of exercise. Yes, you might be able to keep your weight under control with exercise. But the fact that an unfavorable diet promotes inflammation, weakens the immune system, destroys the intestinal flora and much more also applies to people who do a lot of sport!
I hope that this article has clarified why nutrition is important in the first place. And that this knowledge has boosted your motivation to eat healthily to such an extent that you will give it a try for a while.
How is it for you? Is healthy eating important to you? Why? Or why not?
