How to calculate your BMI?
What is healthy weight? This is the weight naturally achieved when caloric intake equals energy expenditure, without feeling of deprivation or excess in the long term. It is possible to estimate your ideal weight by calculating your body mass index (BMI). It should be noted that this indicator is less accurate for athletes and people with significant muscle mass. Indeed, since muscle weighs more than fat, the BMI will be distorted.
BMI (kg/m2) = Weight (kg) / Height (m2)
According to the WHO, the ideal BMI is between 18.5 and 25 kg/m2. If your weight is within this range, you have reached your ideal weight and reduce the risk of diseases linked to being too low or too high. The ideal weight is calculated from an ideal BMI of 22 kg/m2. For example, the ideal weight for a person measuring 1m70 is between 62 and 65 kg. These values also depend on morphology and metabolism. The most important thing when trying to achieve your ideal weight is to know how to listen to yourself, not to restrict yourself and, contrary to what you may think, to know how to please yourself. Indeed, if you do not provide your body with all the nutrients it needs, it will feel deprived. As a result, it will store the little that you bring to it to have enough reserves if needed. The more you store, the more you risk gaining weight. In the long term, too much deprivation can paradoxically lead to weight gain.
Where to start ?
You can eat everything! Each food has its place in a healthy, varied and balanced diet in appropriate proportions. There are simple parameters to take into account to best manage the quality of your diet and naturally tend towards your ideal weight. Maintaining your healthy weight will not require any particular dietary restrictions. However, if you are overweight, adjustments to your energy intake will be necessary in order to move towards your ideal weight. In this situation, you will need to be in a calorie deficit to achieve your goal, that is to say, ensure that your calorie intake is lower than your energy expenditure. To obtain a negative energy balance conducive to weight loss, there are three simple levers you can rely on:
1. Your daily calorie needs.
It is important to know the caloric intake that your body needs to be able to adapt your consumption in order to achieve your weight goals.
2. Be active.
Daily energy expenditure represents the calories burned in a day. It is made up of several factors such as basic metabolism (energy consumed by the body to ensure vital functions), thermogenesis (energy consumed to ensure digestion) and energy expenditure linked to physical activity. The latter is the component on which it is easiest to have a positive influence by practicing regular physical activity. But no need to run 15 km a day! Start by taking the stairs rather than the elevator, getting off 1 or 2 metro stops before your destination and finishing the journey on foot, walk at least 30 minutes during the day, etc. Know that practicing regular physical activity will help you lose weight effectively by stimulating the consumption of fats for the benefit of muscle building. However, since muscle weighs more than fat, do not just rely on the numbers on the scale but also take into account measurements such as waist circumference, thigh circumference or hip circumference. It is completely normal to observe a slight weight gain while refining your figure.
3. Reduce your caloric intake.
There are two ways to reduce your food intake: -Improve the quality of the food ingested -Reduce the quantity of food consumed
4. Choose your foods wisely.
Even if you have to eat everything, it is essential to adopt a balanced diet and attach importance to the quality of the foods you eat. Concerning carbohydrates, be sure to limit foods rich in sugars (simple carbohydrates) which can accelerate the mechanisms of weight gain. Instead, favor foods rich in complex carbohydrates and fiber with a low glycemic index. Indeed, one of the basic principles of dietary rebalancing is to consume foods with a low glycemic index. In response to an intense increase in blood sugar (rapid increase in blood sugar level often triggered by an intake of simple sugars: glucose, sucrose, etc.), the body reacts by secreting a hormone via the pancreas: insulin. This hormone will protect the body and reduce blood sugar levels by promoting the passage of sugar from the blood to the organs. The sugars thus absorbed by the organs can be transformed into energy for their own functioning. However, to effectively reduce blood sugar levels, insulin will also activate the transformation of these excess sugars (glucose) into fatty acids which will be stored in the form of body fat (this hormone is called lipogenic). A rapid and intense rise in blood sugar will therefore promote the storage of carbohydrates in the form of fat and can thus contribute to weight gain.
Trick.
Regular consumption of fibers, such as those present in oats, peas, acacia or guar gum, slows down the transit and absorption of carbohydrates, which will help reduce this increase in blood sugar and therefore limit weight gain.
For lipids, it is advisable to avoid foods rich in saturated fatty acids. In excess, these increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases and can cause an increase in cholesterol. Quality unsaturated lipids, omega 3 or omega 6 are preferred via oilseeds, nuts or fatty fish.
How can you best manage the reduction in your calorie intake?
The main issue when you want to reduce your food intake with the aim of losing weight is knowing how to fight hunger. Today, in an environment of food overabundance, it is difficult to fully and naturally control one's appetite and therefore fight against the feeling of hunger. This is why, to accelerate and prolong the feeling of satiety (period after a meal during which you do not feel hungry), it is important to include satiating foods in your diet. One of the main satiating but also low-energy food components to favor is fiber. They are present in large quantities in whole grains, legumes, and raw fruits and vegetables. Soluble fibers, in particular, are known for their satiating properties. They are found, for example, in large quantities in konjac root. The “appetite suppressant” effect of konjac is linked to its high glucomannan content. These are dietary fibers which have a great power of water absorption thanks to their gelling properties. One gram of these fibers can absorb up to 200 mL, hence this greater feeling of satiety. In the Feed range. LIGHT, we use 4 superfoods: konjac, green tea, cayenne pepper and guarana, which help to achieve your healthy weight through their different properties.
A balanced meal combining soluble and insoluble fibers (oat fibers, pea fibers, konjac, guar gum, etc.) will have everything to provide a feeling of satiety (reduction in the feeling of hunger), limit hyperinsulinemia ( prevent fat storage) and will therefore help you get back to your ideal weight.
Trick.
To better control your food consumption volume, there are several easy-to-implement tips:
Eat from a small plate. This makes you feel like you've eaten larger quantities.
Eat slowly. The feeling of hunger arrives on average 20 minutes after the first bite.
Listen to your body and your feeling of hunger. If you are no longer hungry, don't force yourself to finish your plate. Hunger will result in physiological signals such as a drop in energy and gurgling sounds, while a craving will result in urges.
Spice up your plates.
Consuming chili pepper regularly would increase your basic metabolism. Indeed, chili peppers contain an active ingredient called capsaicin. The richer the pepper, the hotter it will be. This chemical compound causes an increase in body heat and triggers higher calorie expenditure by increasing basal metabolism. Capsaicin stimulates the production of two hormones: adrenaline and norepinephrine, which will send a message to the brain to reduce the burning sensation when ingesting a pepper. The heart rate will increase in response to this message, which will trigger an acceleration in the basic metabolism. The body will therefore spend more calories at rest and you will lose weight.
Hydration.
Water is the only drink essential for your body. It is recommended to drink between 1.5 and 2 L of water per day, the equivalent of 6 to 8 glasses daily. We often hear that we should not drink during meals, what is really the case? When you drink 1 or 2 glasses of water before a meal, it will have an appetite suppressant effect because the water will fill your stomach. If you drink during a meal, it will increase the volume of the stomach and accelerate the feeling of satiety by swelling the fibers which will better fill the stomach. The important thing is to hydrate regularly throughout the day and not wait until you are thirsty!
Sleep well.
To resist overnight fasting, the body will produce leptin, the satiety hormone. During the day, conversely, the metabolism will secrete the hormone which promotes hunger, ghrelin. Reducing sleep time can disrupt these mechanisms and therefore increase your appetite. Additionally, fatigue and stress caused by a lack of sleep are psychological factors that will make you less willing to fight hunger and less likely to give in to temptation. It is recommended to sleep at least around 7 hours per night or to take a nap during the day if you have not had all your hours of sleep.
In summary.
No need to restrict yourself to reach your ideal weight, learn to listen to your body and your sensations.
To lose weight sustainably, there is no need to follow an overly restrictive diet. Wanting to lose weight too quickly risks leading to a rapid regain of the weight lost shortly afterwards. On the contrary, take your time.
