Losing weight: what are the dangers of giving up fats, proteins or carbohydrates?

When we lose weight, we necessarily give up something. This refusal threatens not only the loss of useful microelements, but also the opposite effect - we can gain weight. And this was not at all part of our plans. What is the threat of giving up fats, proteins, carbohydrates - at least one of these elements?

Why do we need proteins, carbohydrates and fats?

These are micronutrients that saturate our body with useful substances and provide energy for growth, life and work. Minerals and vitamins are the nutritional elements of our body, which we need relatively little.

From carbohydrates, a person gets glucose. It is a source of energy for a person. Glucose can also be obtained from fats, proteins, to use it as fuel for cells. The body burns glucose, and in return produces energy.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are able to quickly transform into glucose already at the time when a person chews. Carbohydrates can provide a fast transition of glucose into energy (simple carbohydrates) and a slow one (complex carbohydrates).

Simple carbohydrates are found in foods that contain starch. These are potatoes, bread, cereals, buns and all flour products, fruit juices, and alcohol.

Complex carbohydrates are found in vegetables, grains, and fruits, although not processed ones. Complex carbohydrates are good because they supply our body with fiber – soluble (pectins and fruits) and insoluble (celery).

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Fats and proteins

These substances participate in metabolic processes, promote glucose production, participate in energy metabolism and help restore energy. This energy bomb works for another 5-6 hours after a person has eaten.

People need glucose constantly, without it the brain will not be able to function properly. Therefore, glucose should come from food not in large and small doses, but evenly, throughout the day.

To do this, you need to balance your diet and eat at approximately equal intervals so that your body can process glucose and supply it to your body throughout the day. That is, it is advisable to eat 5-6 times a day, in small portions, at equal intervals.

If a person eats sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, glucose enters the body unevenly, and the brain works poorly during these periods of time. General weakness, drowsiness, and fatigue may be felt.

Carbohydrates and their properties for weight loss

For several years, starting in the 1960s, the press cultivated the idea that carbohydrates contribute to excess weight gain. For this reason, they were recommended to be excluded from the diet altogether. Then the opinion of doctors changed, and carbohydrates began to be recommended in the diet, but to be wary of excess weight. That is, the opinion that carbohydrates are useful, but the excess weight they lead to is harmful, was impractical.

There was no clear guidance on how to use carbohydrates or whether to use them at all.

Magazines specified that fat deposits on the human body were formed because the person ate fats. Later, doctors specified that extra kilos in a person are formed not because of eating fatty foods, but because of their excessive caloric content.

What opinion would be useful and practical for weight control? How and how much fats, proteins and carbohydrates can be used?

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Important tips for weight control

If your body size is close to ideal (i.e. the ratio of height and weight), you can try several diets and settle on the optimal diet, which includes fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. That is, apply in practice a proven nutrition course.

If a woman starts to gain weight after 30, then she needs to choose the form of carbohydrates that will allow her to control the process of weight normalization. That is, allow herself to choose a carbohydrate menu and not gain weight due to excess calorie food. Simple carbohydrates are a source of excess weight if you eat them in excess. These are flour products, potatoes, fruit juices with added sugar, candies, cakes, chocolates.

All these products promote increased production of insulin, which has the property of retaining fatty tissue in the body.

Carbohydrates and Diseases

If a person's thyroid gland is not working well, its functions are impaired, and there are few carbohydrates in the diet, the brain begins to receive SOS signals that the body is starving. And then the brain sends an impulse to the thyroid gland about this hunger.

The thyroid gland immediately reacts by increasing the production of hormones T3 and T4. But T3 in such a situation has the property of binding to protein substances in the blood and will no longer act as actively, will cease to perform its role of activating metabolic processes.

When the T3 hormone binds, the metabolism is disrupted and slows down. Thus, more fat tissue accumulates than you planned. The thyroid gland balance is disrupted, and the absence or small amount of carbohydrates further aggravates this process. Thyroid diseases can be not only obvious, but also hidden, so you need to be on the alert before cutting carbohydrates from the menu.

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Carbohydrate intake for women

Of course, these norms are individual, but the general recommendations are approximately the same. For women aged 30-40, the daily carbohydrate intake should be up to 40% of the total diet.

Carbohydrates have fewer calories (energy units) than fats – 4 calories per gram. But more of this energy is spent than after eating fats. If a woman eats enough vegetables, fruits and sprouted grains, she gets enough energy from eating complex carbohydrates.

This increases the glucose level, which means the energy level is higher than after including simple carbohydrates in the menu. But this means that a woman needs to move more and check the hormonal balance, without which any diet will be ineffective. A woman who consumes enough complex carbohydrates prevents an insulin surge (when the insulin level rises sharply).

A properly composed carbohydrate menu allows you to avoid an increase in blood sugar levels, but prevents a drop in its level. Carbohydrates in the menu help other substances to be absorbed better and faster, supply the body with enough fiber, carbohydrates give a feeling of satiety for a long time, so a woman will not replenish her reserves in the stomach, because she does not feel malnutrition. And therefore, she will not accumulate fat deposits.

Proteins and fats should also be balanced, this will help carbohydrates to be better absorbed.

Proteins and their properties

The properties of proteins are so diverse that they can form up to 30 types of amino acids. And amino acids are the building material for the production of our own proteins. They are needed for a person to grow, muscle and bone tissue to develop and recover from damage, and immunity to increase to fight diseases.

Metabolic processes are constantly taking place in the body, and proteins contribute to this. They are processed into glucose as a result of metabolism, and a person receives energy for life. Amino acids help a person form mediators for the construction of endorphin hormones and enkephalin substances that improve mood and general well-being.

1 gram of protein is 4 kilocalories. That is exactly how much energy a person receives from 1 gram of protein. Proteins are converted into glucose much more weakly and slowly than carbohydrates. For comparison: glucose is processed from carbohydrates within 1-2 hours after their intake, and from proteins - within almost 4 hours after the intake of protein food.

Proteins, after converting glucose, help maintain a constant level of sugar in the blood and energy levels at the same time.

So, we need both proteins and carbohydrates to maintain vital energy and the level of metabolism. Therefore, a person should eat food in equal portions to ensure these exchanges throughout the day.

Amino acids and their properties

Amino acids come in two categories: natural ones, which the body produces itself, called non-essential, and those that enter the body from food from the outside - they are called essential. The former are produced more - up to 80%, the latter - those that enter the body with food - essential - are produced less - up to 20%.

There are nine essential amino acids: lysine, leucine, methionine, isoleucine, histidine, tryptophan, valine, phenylalanine, threonine. Essential amino acids are very important for the body because they help cope with pain symptoms and saturate the body's cells with oxygen.

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Amino acids are found in proteins

Food of animal origin, which contains all amino acids, is meat, fish, eggs, cheese, poultry. These are complete proteins, which saturate a person very quickly. This menu contains not only proteins and amino acids, but also fats. However, there are no fats in lean meats and fish, as well as low-fat dairy products.

If a person does not eat meat, he needs to combine his diet so as to get proteins and fats from other products, at least from plants. But plants need to be combined so that proteins and fats are fully represented in them. For example, rice and beans will provide both proteins and amino acids. But those who suffer from excess weight should also monitor the caloric content of products and their saturation with starch. This combination contains a lot of starch, it may not be suitable for overweight people. In addition, starch can provoke an insulin release in the body.

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Fats and their properties

Biologically, fats look like rings that are connected into chains in the form of links. When food is processed in the body, fatty acids enter the blood. They are converted into glucose, but very slowly. Therefore, the glucose level in the body increases quite slowly through the processing of fats.

But the glucose level also falls slowly. Fats provide a person with a feeling of satiety for a long time - for several hours. This makes it easier to control weight, since a person does not want to eat for a long time after taking fats.

What types of fats are there?

Animal - that is saturated, vegetable - that is polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated. These are types of fats. If there are enough fats in the body, fat-soluble vitamins are perfectly absorbed into the blood and give a very good effect, ensuring the vital activity of the body.

Fatty acids that enter the body with fats enable a person to produce hormones, including the main ones, such as testosterone, estrogen, progesterone. These hormones are the merit of the reproductive system, which produces them.

Consequences of giving up fats

If a person refuses fats, then hormones will suddenly stop being produced, and in women this leads to negative health consequences. Premature cessation of hormone production by the ovaries leads to early menopause and the negative condition associated with it. That is, hot flashes and ebbs, fever, headaches, and so on.

Research shows that such women also risk bleeding, blockage of blood vessels, and stroke. Women who refuse fats from their diet may experience a sharp increase in blood pressure or its jumps, not to mention uncontrolled excess weight.

There is evidence that a diet that is too low in fat not only leads to increased blood pressure, but also to the destruction of blood vessels in the brain, as well as the risk of their rupture.

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Fats and calories

A person can get much more calories from one gram of fat than from proteins and carbohydrates – as many as 9 calories. Therefore, a lot of fat in the diet is an excess of energy that we do not use and which is converted into fatty tissue.

But, in addition to controlling the amount of fat in the diet, you also need to pay attention to the form in which they are contained. For example, olive oil contains unsaturated fats, and animal fats (lard, for example) contain saturated fats. But both products have the same number of calories.

So, it is healthier to include olive oil in your diet than lard. You need to supply your body with more unsaturated fatty acids than saturated ones.

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Fats and the stomach

Fats are high in calories, and yet we can eat more of them than we should, because they do not take up much space in the stomach. It is fiber that takes up a lot of space in the digestive tract, and also swells, so we cannot eat a lot of it. We need to control the amount of fat in the diet, we do not want to gain weight due to their excess.

If the diet of fats and proteins is chosen incorrectly, then you may be bothered by abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and excess weight. These symptoms can especially appear in the second half of the menstrual cycle, when the body is more vulnerable due to increased hormone production.

To correctly calculate your menu, you need to put in it no more than 30% fats, and most of them should be unsaturated. Then a person will receive the rest of the nutrients together with proteins - a protein menu.

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Hidden fats

Fats can oversaturate the body, provided that you do not know about the hidden fats coming there. Even if you strictly follow the norm of the fat menu, you may not know about trans fats that oversaturate products. For example, trans fats in margarines, chocolate, candies, cakes, cookies. In order not to fall into the trap of hidden fats, you need to read the composition of products - all that you buy.

Even if the label says "0% fat" or "fat-free," it doesn't mean there are no trans fats, which is a sign of low quality. Cheap products contain fats that have no nutritional value but are high in calories. These products can ruin your weight loss efforts.

Therefore, take care of yourself and consume only high-quality products without trans fats.