Part 2: The Words of People Who Want to Lose Weight Are Deceitful

Chapter One: There's a lot you don't know about weight loss.

Weight loss is a long and arduous task. Based on my clinical experience, many times we fail to prepare properly, which leads to weight loss failure.

The words of people trying to lose weight are deceitful.

In this era that values ​​appearance, everyone wants to be thin and beautiful. Having a good figure is not only about health, but also about self-confidence. Throughout the year, we have several moments when we're itching to lose weight, such as right after a holiday, when spring arrives and we want to shed some layers, or when the scorching sun makes it impossible to hide our extra weight. Time and again, we're determined to put our weight loss plan into action, wishing we could start the moment we begin.

Instead of jumping straight into action, we'll take some time to delve into common weight loss misconceptions, learn how to set goals and maintain motivation, and prepare for your weight loss journey. You might be thinking: why not just start taking action? Well, let me ask you a question first: have you ever tried to lose weight? How did you do it, and what were the results?

I don't know your answer, but based on my experience, I can guess that you've tried to lose weight, probably many times, and even spent a lot of money, but the results have always been unsatisfactory. Think of it another way: we met in this book to explore more effective weight loss methods, right? How can you succeed this time if you don't understand where your past weight loss failures lay? I've seen all sorts of weight loss methods, but most people can't escape the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting-that is, their weight fluctuates up and down, constantly rebounding.

The yo-yo might be a collective memory for those born in the 80s. Imagine the trajectory of a yo-yo: it slides down suddenly, then whooshes up again. Many people's weight loss journeys are similar: Sunday is full of motivation, vowing to diet starting next week, perhaps going without food or meat for several days in a row. Then Thursday, suddenly, they can't stick to it anymore. After work, they meet up with a good friend, get dragged into a party and shopping, and while shopping, they succumb to temptation, telling themselves, "Just this once," and start indulging in a binge. Since they've already broken their vow, they might as well eat to their heart's content, resulting in several large meals, and their weight loss mission comes to an end. The yo-yo-style weight loss can also appear in exercise. On Monday, they buy a gym membership, vowing to exercise every day and check in daily. I posted on social media and kept at it for a while. Then, after meeting up with friends on Thursday, I felt too tired and thought a day off wouldn't make a difference. Then, on Friday, I had something to do, so I just let it go and never exercised again. The result of this weight loss method was that my weight swung back and forth like a yo-yo: initially, my weight did decrease, but it rebounded after a short time, and I might even have exceeded my pre-diet weight.

We all know that irregular eating and exercise can affect health, but we may not know that the end result of doing so is continuous weight gain. This has been confirmed by numerous studies. One neuropsychological study used mice to simulate the human yo-yo diet. In the first week, the mice were fed only hay, equivalent to fasting; in the second week, they were given unlimited sugar water, equivalent to binge eating, and this cycle continued. The results were interesting; some experiments found that mice that experienced the yo-yo diet gained weight the fastest, accumulated the most fat, and were most prone to binge eating. (Kreisler, Mattock & Zorrilla, 2018) Some experiments have found that even after these mice lost weight and returned to their original weight, they still preferred sugary drinks, were more prone to overeating, and accumulated fat more quickly. (Kreisler, Garcia, Spierling, Hui & Zorrilla, 2017) Furthermore, a research team from Imperial College London found that mice that experienced multiple weight rebounds accumulated more fat in their internal organs compared to mice that consumed a high-fat diet for a long period. In other words, more rebounds lead to greater weight gain. (Schofield, Parkinson, Henley, SahuriArisoylu, Sanchez-Canon & Bell, 2017)

Why does yo-yo dieting sometimes lead to weight gain? Actually, weight loss is a simple mathematical formula: one end is energy intake, and the other end is energy expenditure. Physiologically speaking, if we engage in extreme dieting, such as eating only one meal a day and eliminating carbohydrates like rice, our bodies don't know what's happening. The information they receive is that there isn't enough food, so they activate famine mode. From an evolutionary perspective, for millions of years, humans have experienced far more famines than harvests, so the body's self-protection mechanisms during famines are extremely powerful. In this pattern, our bodies rapidly slow down metabolism, leading to a series of changes, such as: decreased cognitive ability due to insufficient brain nutrition; coldness due to insufficient blood sugar; slower physical activity to conserve energy; and significantly enhanced digestive capacity as the body tries its best to extract energy from limited food. As a result, expenditure decreases significantly while intake increases, leading to a plateau in weight loss after a period of time. Therefore, successful weight loss must follow the body's natural rhythms and befriend your body.

From a psychological perspective, it's even more interesting. First, assuming everyone's willpower is limited, extreme dieting leads to stronger cravings for high-calorie foods, especially those high in sugar, fat, and carbohydrates. Simultaneously, because we've already used up a lot of willpower to control our appetite, our self-control gradually decreases. The result is that, on the one hand, self-control is weak, and on the other hand, appetite increases significantly. Once tempted by delicious food, it's easy to binge eat. After this self-destructive behavior, feelings of guilt and self-reproach arise, leading to even more extreme dieting, and then even more binge eating. Over time, our bodies think we are experiencing famine after famine, so the next time we binge eat, our digestive system absorbs nutrients more efficiently and stores them as fat. As a result, our weight keeps increasing, and our self-esteem keeps decreasing, making us regret that we can't control ourselves.

If you want to change your weight, the first thing to do is stop the yo-yo diet, find a middle point, maintain a fixed diet, eat smaller meals more frequently, and do appropriate physical exercise.

Weight loss is a mathematical equation: the change in weight equals the difference between energy intake and energy expenditure. Energy expenditure occurs through three pathways: metabolism, exercise, and digestion. Do you know which pathway accounts for the largest proportion? Is it exercise, metabolism, or digestion? The answer is metabolism. We often focus only on exercise, but we overlook the fact that metabolism actually accounts for about 65% of total energy expenditure. Therefore, there are smart ways to lose weight appropriately without dieting or exercising: accelerate metabolism.

Adjusting metabolism mainly involves changing lifestyle habits, which is much simpler than dieting or exercising! Here are ten easy-to-follow tips to avoid yo-yo dieting and to use your body's own functions to achieve your weight loss goals.

(1) Eat smaller meals more frequently. This can not only stimulate metabolism, but also prevent excessive hunger.

(2) Consume protein at each meal. Because digesting protein requires more calories.

(3) Eat a hearty breakfast. A hearty breakfast will help your body wake up faster.

(4) Stand if you can, don't sit. This will help your body functions more actively.

(5) Drink cold water and lower the indoor temperature. This will require the body to consume more calories to maintain our body temperature.

(6) Drink green tea.

(7) Drink coffee.

(Both of the above points require careful control of sugar and milk intake.)

(8) Eat spicy food.

(9) Take omega-3, such as deep-sea fish oil capsules. Caffeine, chili peppers, and omega-3 can all accelerate metabolism.

(10) Ensure sufficient sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to increased appetite and hunger.

Don't underestimate these tips; if you master them, they can help you control your weight effortlessly. No exercise or dieting is needed; simply use these ten life hacks to lose weight effortlessly.

Homework

1. Try the ten tips mentioned above to lose weight over the next week.

2. Please choose at least five of the above tips and incorporate them into your daily life.