Article 24: Calorie deficit is the key to weight loss; there is no method that prevents rebound.

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You don't need to consider calorie deficit when losing weight.

A calorie deficit is necessary for weight loss.

I don't know when it started, but some people have begun to promote the idea that you don't need to consider calorie deficit when losing weight, as long as you eat the right foods with a low glycemic index (GI).

Why would someone make such a claim? I'm not quite sure; maybe they're just getting a bit frustrated with calculating calories.

However, when it comes to weight loss, the calorie deficit must be considered.

The law of conservation of energy is universal.

Energy doesn't appear out of thin air, nor does it disappear out of thin air. Just like the fat in your body, it doesn't appear or disappear for no reason.

As for those claims that drinking cold water can cause weight gain, they are completely unfounded.

A calorie deficit is necessary for weight loss; this is a universally acknowledged principle.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with eating low-GI foods.

However, if we absolutely have to compare them, the calorie difference takes precedence over the food's glycemic index (GI).

Let me first explain what GI is.

GI is the rate at which blood sugar rises after a certain food is ingested.

In simple terms, it's related to the speed at which food is digested. The faster the food is digested, the higher the GI; the slower the food is digested, the lower the GI.

Glucose is usually used as a reference, with a glycemic index of 100. Other glucose values ​​are determined proportionally.

(The table image has been removed; the original text contained a table.)

What are the benefits of low-GI foods?

It digests slowly, provides a strong feeling of fullness, has small fluctuations in blood sugar, is less likely to cause hypoglycemia, does not rapidly raise insulin levels, and helps with fat loss.

But why do I say that the calorie deficit takes priority over the GI? To give a simple example, glucose has a GI of 100 and a calorie value of 4 kcal per gram.

If I drink 200 grams of glucose diluted with water every day, it's equivalent to consuming 800 kilocalories.

So even though the food I eat has a high GI, I will still lose weight because of the calorie deficit.

Of course, if you can maintain an appropriate calorie deficit while also consuming low-GI foods, it will be even more beneficial for weight loss.

But always remember that a calorie deficit is the most important prerequisite for weight loss.

In addition, since we're on the topic of GI, let me introduce another concept: GL.

Glycemic Load (GL) is a related concept to GI. GI refers to the rate at which blood sugar rises after eating a certain food, while GL refers to the magnitude of the rise in blood sugar after eating a certain food.

Comparatively, GL is better able to explain the effect of food on blood sugar because it truly reflects the proportion of carbohydrates in food.

(The table image has been removed; the original text contained a table.)

For a simple example, can people who are trying to lose weight or people with diabetes eat watermelon?

Many people think it's impossible, but that answer is actually inaccurate.

Watermelon is a typical high-GI but low-GL food. This means that after eating watermelon, the sugar in the watermelon will be quickly absorbed by the body, but because watermelon has a very high water content, the amount of carbohydrates in a slice of watermelon is actually not much, so the rise in blood sugar is very limited.

As long as you don't eat watermelon by the piece, then whether you're on a diet or have diabetes, eating one or two slices of watermelon occasionally is fine.

Therefore, when losing weight or controlling blood sugar, people should pay more attention to the GL of food rather than the GI.

While maintaining a calorie deficit, choosing low-GI and low-GL foods and ensuring adequate intake of high-quality protein will make weight loss more efficient.

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Weight loss without rebound

No weight loss method is immune to rebound.

"Losing weight without rebound" is the dream of so many people! Because so many people work hard to lose weight, and finally lose weight, but they gain it all back in less than half a year or even two months.

So when we see weight loss ads that say "no injections, no pills, no rebound," we think: injections and pills aside, no rebound is just too tempting!

If you're tempted, you should take action! So I rushed in, spent money, lost weight, but the weight still came back.

I feel like I've gone through the same cycle of weight gain and rebound again. It's so unfair!

To prevent everyone from being "fooled" again, I'll tell you the truth: no weight loss method is immune to rebound, including the basal metabolic rate weight loss method that I myself am promoting.

According to a humorous saying online, "Only cremation will prevent the rebound."

Why do I say this? You can refer to the law of conservation of energy.

Energy doesn't disappear or appear without a reason-just like the fat on your body.

When energy intake is less than energy expenditure, you will lose weight; when energy intake is greater than energy expenditure, you will gain weight; when energy intake equals energy expenditure, your weight will remain unchanged.

So what is the essence of weight rebound? It's weight gain, which means that energy intake exceeds energy expenditure.

From this perspective, is it possible to lose weight without rebounding? No.

As long as your energy intake exceeds your energy expenditure, you will definitely experience a rebound.

To maintain a stable weight and prevent it from rebounding, it is necessary to ensure that energy intake equals energy expenditure.

In summary, it is possible to lose weight without rebounding, but it is not absolute, and there is no such thing as a method that guarantees weight loss without rebound.

Next, taking the basal metabolic rate weight loss method as an example, we'll talk about how to minimize or prevent weight rebound.

Let's assume a woman who is 160 cm tall and weighs 60 kg has a basal metabolic rate of 1200 kcal per day.

So after she started dieting, she only consumed 1200 kcal per day.

As time went by, after 3 months, she had lost weight and weighed 52.5 kilograms.

She felt that was enough, and it was time to stop dieting. She didn't want to lose any more weight, so she entered a weight maintenance period.

What should she do in this situation?

First, maintain a stable diet. Drastic changes in diet can accelerate weight regain.

Secondly, increase the total amount of food consumed. This can be increased at the three main meals or in addition to the main meals.

The added calories are 400-500 kcal.

For example, you can eat more rice and meat, or eat a little more oily food, or keep your three meals the same and have an extra 400 kcal afternoon tea.

This way, her weight will stabilize at around 52.5 kg, without decreasing or rebounding.

So by now you should understand that for ordinary people, there are two important ways to prevent weight regain after weight loss:

1. Increase calorie intake appropriately, adding 400-500 kcal per day.

2. Try to keep your three meals a day consistent to avoid large fluctuations in weight, which could affect your mindset.

Once your weight has stabilized for about six months, you can be a little more indulgent.

In any case, losing weight is a process of fighting against human nature, and it takes a lot of effort to lose weight successfully and not rebound.

Let's look at this from a different angle: If a rebound is inevitable, what should we do? Should we just give up on losing weight? No.

I definitely need to lose weight, after all, a good figure is "not about staying together forever, but about having it once."

What we need to do is choose the healthiest methods possible.

Because if you use unhealthy weight loss methods, your health will deteriorate during the weight loss process.

Every time you lose weight, you experience a rebound, your health deteriorates, and your metabolism is disrupted.

If you lose weight too many times, your body will become very bad, and your metabolism will be completely disordered. At that time, not only will you not be able to maintain your weight, but you may be even fatter than before you started losing weight.

If you use healthy weight loss methods, your body will become healthier during the weight loss process.

Although there is a possibility of rebound in the end, your body is still healthy and your metabolism is still normal, so you still have the capital to lose weight again or even many more times.

As the saying goes, "Where there's life, there's hope."

Why ruin your health for a weight loss program that will inevitably rebound?