Tips to lose weight the healthy and right way

What should the calorie deficit be?

If you are very overweight, you can choose a high deficit (up to 1000 kcal daily). However, those who are only slightly overweight set the deficit at 300 to 500 kcal. Basically, the less body fat, the smaller the deficit. In order to lose weight in a healthy way, a weight loss of 0.5 to 1 kg per week is realistic.

Why is the weight stagnant? / Why am i not losing weight?

If the weight stagnates or the scale shows more than the starting weight: don’t panic and don’t get discouraged! Weight fluctuations of one to four kilos per day are perfectly normal. These are the reasons:

• Water retention : Anyone who does a lot of sport, eats high carbohydrate or salty foods, stores more water in the muscles. This is completely natural and will go away on its own.
• Intestinal content : If you eat a kilo of vegetables, you gain that kilo on the scales, but not in the form of fat. The weight of the intestinal contents can fluctuate daily, which means that the scale can also show a different result.
• Cortisol : Losing weight is pure stress for the body, so in a long-term calorie deficit, cortisol levels in the body increase. It often helps to pause the diet for a few days and increase the calories to the maintenance rate.
• Flush effect: This effect often occurs at the beginning of a diet when the weight just won’t go down. The adipocytes (fat cells) begin to empty after a few days of being in deficit. However, water is now stored there. After a while it happens that the water-filled fat cells empty overnight, so that the next morning the weight shows 500g to even 2 kilos less.
• Muscle building : You can tone and shape your body with strength training. It is even possible for beginners to build muscle in a deficit. Since 1kg of muscle mass has a smaller volume than 1kg of fat, you will lose size but only a little weight.
• No deficit: If none of these reasons apply, it is of course also possible that you are not eating in a deficit at all. Since calorie calculators only determine an approximate value, the actual consumption can also vary greatly. Tip: Write down all food over 4 weeks, weigh it daily and note the weight. At the end of each week, calculate your calorie average and weight lost or gained. Now the calories can be adjusted.

On the second page you can read whether sport is important for losing weight and what is important when it comes to nutrition!

Do I have to exercise to lose weight?

No! Sport is not absolutely necessary in a diet, but it helps to achieve and also increase the deficit. In addition, sport in combination with enough proteins prevents muscle breakdown and promotes muscle growth. If you increase the muscle percentage in your body, you also use up more energy when you are resting. At the same time, strong muscles strengthen the joints and bones.
If you decide to start exercising, find one that you really enjoy. Sport shouldn’t be compulsory.

Which foods are suitable for losing weight?

In a diet you don’t have to do without anything. A balanced and nutrient-rich diet with protein , carbohydrates and fats is best suited for this. Fruit and vegetables should be on the daily menu.

Counting calories gives you an overview of which foods are high and low calorie dense. At the same time you can see what and how much you eat every day and how many calories these foods have.