What are the dietary tips for weight management?

To be honest, my experience of adjusting my weight over the past three years and helping seven or eight friends around me successfully lose weight without regaining weight tells me that the core dietary technique of weight management is not to diet and eat boiled vegetables at all, but to create a mild calorie difference of 300-500 calories without starving or affecting normal life. The kind of fast weight loss method that makes your eyes dizzy from hunger, and the rebound speed is so fast that you doubt your life.

There is a lot of quarrel online now about whether or not to give up carbs. One side says that you can lose 5 pounds in one week, and the other side says that quitting carbs will cause menopause and hair loss and harm your body. My own experience is that there is really no need to go to extremes. When I was helping my best friend adjust her diet, she had a tantrum with me. She said she had lost 4 pounds in a week after believing the carbon-cutting method on the Internet. I didn't let her continue cutting off because I didn't want her to lose weight. As a result, on the tenth day, she got up so hungry in the middle of the night that she ate two packets of potato chips. The next day, she had gained back 3 pounds. For two weeks, her aunt was so painful that she broke out in cold sweats. Later, I helped her replace half of the white rice with mixed beans such as quinoa and chickpeas, and she didn't eat much less carbohydrates. She steadily lost 3 pounds every month. Now, half a year has passed and she hasn't regained her weight. On the contrary, her aunt is more regular than before.

In addition to changing the staple food, there is another very small detail that many people don't notice, which is the order of eating. Don't just grab the rice. Eat two bites of green leafy vegetables first, then eat proteins such as fish, shrimp, and chicken, and finally eat the staple food. In the past, when I was sitting in the office, I would always search for biscuits in the drawer at three o'clock in the afternoon. After changing the order of eating, I would not feel hungry until after get off work with the same amount of food, so naturally I would not eat those messy snacks. The principle is simple to say. Dietary fiber and protein raise blood sugar slowly, which can make you feel full for a long time. You don't have to go hungry, which reduces the intake of excess calories.

There is another controversial point: should we count calories? Some people say that counting calories is too anxious and they can't stick to it at all. Some people say that counting calories means they can't control eating too much. I think it all depends on personal habits. If you are sensitive to numbers and like to be more precise when cooking, it is of course a good idea to buy a food scale and weigh it. If you find it troublesome, just use your fist as a ruler: a meal of staple food the size of a fist, two fists of vegetables, and protein as thick as the palm of a hand. Put down your chopsticks when you are seventy percent full. The last time my mother ate like this with me, she never counted the calories. She lost 8 pounds in three months, and even her previously high blood lipids dropped a bit.

Many people feel that all their previous efforts have been wasted as soon as they meet up with friends for dinner. In fact, this is not the case. Drink half a cup of warm soy milk or eat a small apple to cushion your stomach half an hour in advance. When it comes to the meal, don’t focus on dishes such as sweet and sour pork ribs and fried crispy pork. Eat more steamed fish and boiled vegetables. Try to choose whole grains such as corn and yams as staple food. Even if you really want to drink a drink, it’s okay to choose sugar-free ones. You don’t have to feel guilty. Last month, I went out to make skewers with my friends. I ate a small orange in advance. I didn't drink any sweet drinks during the whole meal. I ate ten skewers of grilled lean meat and two skewers of grilled eggplant. I weighed myself the next day and didn't gain any weight at all.

In fact, the diet for weight management is like charging a mobile phone. You don’t have to charge it to 100% every time. It is better for the battery to charge it to 70%-80% when the remaining 20% ​​is used. The same is true for our stomach and intestines. Eating every meal not only increases the burden, but all the excess calories are turned into fat and stored in the body. A seven-point full state is just enough for the body’s daily consumption without depleting nutrients. Occasionally, it’s okay to have a craving for a piece of cake or drink a cup of milk tea with 30% sugar. As long as you maintain a regular eating rhythm most of the time, your weight will naturally stabilize within the range you want.