Many people ask themselves every day the question - how to lose weight effectively and try to find the answer. This is not surprising when we consider the data presented by the World Health Organization (WHO), which emphatically shows that the prevalence of obesity in the world has almost tripled in the last forty years. The vast majority of overweight and obese people don't feel good about their bodies and therefore look for all sorts of ways to lose weight quickly and effectively.

• How to lose weight fast?
• How to lose weight from the abdomen?
• How to lose weight without exercise?
• How to lose weight after pregnancy?

How to lose weight fast?

The most important factor to lose weight quickly is to limit calories in the diet, and only in the second place to properly modify the macronutrient ratio. It is worth emphasizing at this point that there is no single best weight loss diet for all people, while there are at least several effective and researched ways to lose weight fast and enjoy good health for a long time. Choosing the right calorie diet is the main factor that will allow you to lose weight effectively and healthily when the diet is followed for at least a few weeks. Depending on individual taste preferences, you can choose a low-fat diet (in any case, not less than 20% of total energy) or a low-carbohydrate diet to lose weight effectively. Current research shows that low-carbohydrate diets can lead to slightly greater weight loss in the first few months of following the diet, while there is usually no significant difference thereafter between a low-carbohydrate diet and a low-fat diet when the caloric content of the diet is properly adjusted. A diet whose main goal is to lose weight should be based on fresh and low-processed foods (among other things: different-colored vegetables and fruits), and at the same time should limit highly processed foods (such as salty snacks, sweets, fast-food products, sugary drinks). Keep in mind that regular exercise, attention to proper hydration, sleep and rest, and constructive stress management, as well as shying away from stimulants will undoubtedly help you lose weight quickly and effectively.

How to lose weight from the abdomen?

A large group of overweight people, especially men, have abdominal-type obesity (so-called central obesity), which is particularly dangerous to health. Having abdominal obesity means that the waist circumference is at least 80 cm in women and a minimum of 94 cm in men. Almost all people with abdominal-type obesity have tried more than once in their lives to successfully and quickly lose weight from the abdomen, while many of these attempts unfortunately ended in failure. There is no other effective prescription for losing weight from the abdomen than changing existing eating habits and gradually increasing weekly physical activity. In a situation where fat tissue is accumulated to the greatest extent in the abdominal area, the effects of a weight-loss diet and regular exercise should be most visible precisely in the waist circumference. To effectively and quickly lose weight from the abdomen, it is essential to follow a well-chosen diet in terms of both calories and macronutrients. Keep in mind that reducing daily caloric intake (reduction diet) and increasing caloric expenditure at the same time (exercise, walking the dog, gardening, playing with children) are the two most important factors for healthy abdominal weight loss.

How to lose weight without exercise?

There is quite a large group of people who don't like physical activity or find that they don't have time for it, and therefore are looking for an effective way to lose weight without exercise. Of course, it is possible to lose weight without exercise, although it requires a lot of patience and a strong commitment to following the rules of the chosen reduction diet. For this purpose, all healthy diets will be helpful to generate the appropriate caloric deficit necessary to successfully lose weight without exercise. The most important thing is that the diet should be well enough tailored to the needs of the person who wants to lose weight without exercise, so that it is possible to follow it without major sacrifices and dietary restrictions for a long time. It is worth noting that the fewer high-calorie and at the same time low-nutritional products in the diet (among others: sweets, salty snacks, fast food, drinks sweetened with sugar and/or glucose-fructose syrup), the easier it is to generate the necessary energy deficit to successfully lose weight without exercise.

How to lose weight after pregnancy?

There is no doubt that the birth of a child is a life-changing event for women. Many young mothers want to lose weight quickly after pregnancy and return to their former shape and figure from before pregnancy. However, the postpartum period is also a difficult time to make intensive dietary and lifestyle changes due to the major physiological, psychological and social changes taking place in the lives of young mothers. To successfully lose weight after pregnancy, it is therefore necessary to make gradual dietary changes, which may consist first of all of reducing the intake of caloric foods with a high degree of processing, including: sweets, salty snacks, fast food, instant meals, sweetened yogurts and sugary drinks. Another important lifestyle element for losing weight effectively and healthily after pregnancy is to gradually increase the amount of physical activity on a weekly basis, such as walking, playing with the baby, cleaning, cooking, climbing and descending stairs, going to the store to store on foot, and exercising using your own body weight at home or at an outdoor gym. When losing weight after pregnancy, it is important to remember not to sharply reduce the caloric content of the diet and not to introduce excessive dietary restrictions and elimination diets, and even more so when a woman is breastfeeding. The best way to successfully lose weight after pregnancy is to form pro-healthy eating habits and lifestyles that will remain for years to come, and will also help you maintain a healthy weight later on.

Sources:

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• Ge L, Sadeghirad B, Ball GDC, et al: Comparison of dietary macronutrient patterns of 14 popular named dietary programs for weight and cardiovascular risk factor reduction in adults: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised trials. BMJ. 2020 Apr 1;369:m696.
• Koliaki C, Spinos T, Spinou Μ, et al: Defining the Optimal Dietary Approach for Safe, Effective and Sustainable Weight Loss in Overweight and Obese Adults. Healthcare (Basel). 2018 Jun 28;6(3):73.
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