How can I know my follow diet is going to correct?
The search for the perfect diet to lose weight is always the order of the day, but not everything goes to get the desired figure. And is that eating well is not just one useful method to achieve a good body, but a vital need that allows us to enjoy good health.
In this sense, we must pay close attention when opting for a diet or another. Certain initiatives can be harmful to us both because of their side effects and because of their uselessness in the face of the proposed objective. The ideal is to opt for those supported by science and discard those that do not bring us benefits in the medium and long term. But, how to know which one is the best for us?
What do we mean by 'diet'?
Before entering fully to analyze the type of diet that suits us, it is convenient to clarify the exact concept of what a diet is, or should be. The word comes from the ancient Greek word ∂íaita, which comes to say "daily routine", that is, the set of customs that accompany us every day and that are not limited to what we eat. That is to say that originally the diet referred more to what we understand today as "healthy life" and not only to the diet.
Tell me how you live and I'll tell you what you should eat.
Under this perspective, a diet low in carbohydrates is not the same in people with a marked sedentary lifestyle than in others with a high sport activity. In the former, it is advisable to reduce the calories provided by sugars and refined flours (hydrates), so that, even if they barely burn calories with exercise, their basal metabolism will be fairly compensated without excesses. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and few dairy products will be necessary.
In people of the second group, a higher caloric intake may be necessary to compensate for the effort, so that white rice or pasta can enter their diet as reinforcement dishes. However, a low-carbohydrate diet is not compensated if we go for a run than if we do cross fit, triathlon or bodybuilding.
What happens if I do not succeed with my diet?
Failing to find the right diet with our life or work habits can have consequences. The most serious can lead to anemia more or less serious due to lack of iron, vitamin deficiencies and mood disorders, with a tendency to irascibility and depression. But in the least mild case we can fall into the so-called yo-yo effect, for which, although at first we lose weight, in the long run we will end up fatter than we were.
All these consequences can be summarized in symptoms such as excessive fatigue at all hours, difficulty falling asleep, hair loss, brittle nails, eczema on the skin, bleeding gums, bad breath, strong smelling urine, dizziness, hypothermias and even an excessive loss of weight and a decrease in muscle mass. It is also a symptom to check that our waist does not shrink or even grow. All these symptoms indicate that either we lack some food in our diet or we have someone else in excess.
Dr. Vazquez's self-test
A good way to detect if we are missing with the diet is to apply the self-test of Dr. Clotilde Vazquez, specialist in endocrinology and nutrition of the Jimenez Diaz Foundation. Dr. Vazquez has developed a series of questions that we must ask ourselves to determine if we are at risk of anemia, vitamin deficiency or excessive loss of muscle mass, which is what ultimately will lead to the yo-yo effect.
The self-test has two differentiated blocks. If when adding the results of both groups (each affirmative answer scores +1) the score is four or more, it is advisable to rethink the diet and consult people with training and experience.
If you do not reach that score, you're in luck. The diet you follow is correct. In any case, choose the diet we choose, we must always bear in mind that the important thing is not to lose a few kilos to show off a good figure, but to maintain that weight loss so that our health can thank them.
The search for the perfect diet to lose weight is always the order of the day, but not everything goes to get the desired figure. And is that eating well is not just one useful method to achieve a good body, but a vital need that allows us to enjoy good health.
In this sense, we must pay close attention when opting for a diet or another. Certain initiatives can be harmful to us both because of their side effects and because of their uselessness in the face of the proposed objective. The ideal is to opt for those supported by science and discard those that do not bring us benefits in the medium and long term. But, how to know which one is the best for us?
What do we mean by 'diet'?
Before entering fully to analyze the type of diet that suits us, it is convenient to clarify the exact concept of what a diet is, or should be. The word comes from the ancient Greek word ∂íaita, which comes to say "daily routine", that is, the set of customs that accompany us every day and that are not limited to what we eat. That is to say that originally the diet referred more to what we understand today as "healthy life" and not only to the diet.
Starting from this premise we understand that our type of adequate modern diet will be very conditioned by the type of life we do: whether or not we exercise a lot, if we lead a sedentary life, if we eat out or at home many days, if we smoke or drink alcohol , if we have access to some or other ultra processed products, pastries, etc.
How can I know my follow diet is going to correct?
Tell me how you live and I'll tell you what you should eat.
Under this perspective, a diet low in carbohydrates is not the same in people with a marked sedentary lifestyle than in others with a high sport activity. In the former, it is advisable to reduce the calories provided by sugars and refined flours (hydrates), so that, even if they barely burn calories with exercise, their basal metabolism will be fairly compensated without excesses. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and few dairy products will be necessary.
In people of the second group, a higher caloric intake may be necessary to compensate for the effort, so that white rice or pasta can enter their diet as reinforcement dishes. However, a low-carbohydrate diet is not compensated if we go for a run than if we do cross fit, triathlon or bodybuilding.
What happens if I do not succeed with my diet?
Failing to find the right diet with our life or work habits can have consequences. The most serious can lead to anemia more or less serious due to lack of iron, vitamin deficiencies and mood disorders, with a tendency to irascibility and depression. But in the least mild case we can fall into the so-called yo-yo effect, for which, although at first we lose weight, in the long run we will end up fatter than we were.
All these consequences can be summarized in symptoms such as excessive fatigue at all hours, difficulty falling asleep, hair loss, brittle nails, eczema on the skin, bleeding gums, bad breath, strong smelling urine, dizziness, hypothermias and even an excessive loss of weight and a decrease in muscle mass. It is also a symptom to check that our waist does not shrink or even grow. All these symptoms indicate that either we lack some food in our diet or we have someone else in excess.
Dr. Vazquez's self-test
A good way to detect if we are missing with the diet is to apply the self-test of Dr. Clotilde Vazquez, specialist in endocrinology and nutrition of the Jimenez Diaz Foundation. Dr. Vazquez has developed a series of questions that we must ask ourselves to determine if we are at risk of anemia, vitamin deficiency or excessive loss of muscle mass, which is what ultimately will lead to the yo-yo effect.
The self-test has two differentiated blocks. If when adding the results of both groups (each affirmative answer scores +1) the score is four or more, it is advisable to rethink the diet and consult people with training and experience.
If you do not reach that score, you're in luck. The diet you follow is correct. In any case, choose the diet we choose, we must always bear in mind that the important thing is not to lose a few kilos to show off a good figure, but to maintain that weight loss so that our health can thank them.
