Diets to lose fat NOT recommended

We are already in 2020, and the current presence that some fat loss diets continue to have in the world of fitness is, to say the least, worrying.

One would think that with time and access to the Internet, with the almost infinite content published by athletes, doctors and dietitians that we can find, these diets would not have passed the filter, but they have and in what way. They continue to receive thousands and thousands of daily visits on Google and the only thing that tells us that is that there are still many people who are uninformed .

The time has come to put these diets in place and understand why they exist, and why we should avoid them if we want to avoid endangering our health.

The role of diets in society and the simple reason for its current existence:

The first concept of diet exists since 500 BC, when from ignorance the warriors were recommended to consume lion's heart to acquire values ​​related to the animal , such as speed or strength, which were essential for survival in battles.

It was not until 1920 that the first diets that we know began to be consolidated, and they have been changing and varying until today, but with the same objective in mind. Diets exist because they are an incredible source of money for their creator if they can make them popular .

The weight loss industry in the US alone moves about 72 billion dollars per year , so there is a great interest in succeeding in this sector (when I refer to the weight loss industry, it is not just the sale of diets and books, sales of supplements, operations or beverages such as "Diet Coke", among other things, also enter). And we are talking only about the United States.

Photo by i yunmai on Unsplash

Knowing that about 1500 books are published each year, and 15% of Americans admit to having tried a diet of this type , it can be said with confidence that in a sector that gives so much money we are going to find profiteers who will try to get the most out of it party regardless of the health consequences your plans or products may cause.

Given the social circumstances in which we are, where appearance has a great weight in every aspect of our life (work, relationships, friendships) the consumption and practice of this type of content is booming.

Luckily, over time, I have learned to spot those fat loss diets that are best avoided. If you want to know what most of these diets tend to have in common, check if they meet something on this list:

• They promise physical changes very quickly, with the use of words like " fat burner ", " detox " or " Lose a kg per week ". They know well that these types of words attract a lot of attention.
• They give you nutrition instructions without explaining the scientific basis for those instructions, or they simply state that " our ancestors ate this way ."
• They tend to base their diet on a high restriction of some type of food or food categories.
• They have associated with a celebrity as a marketing maneuver and to comfort the undecided. " If this diet has been made by her, who is a Hollywood supermodel, I can too ."
• High possibility that the diet has associated supplements for its success, or paid seminars to complete the training.
• They have a doctor's name associated with the diet (Atkins Diet, Ducan Diet) to give their product a 'doctoral' value.

In general, these diets, instead of promoting a healthy lifestyle that can help you achieve your physical goal, propose programs with many dietary restrictions , with which yes, you will probably see results, but at the cost of your health and recovering. the lost once you get back to normal.

Next I am going to talk about a series of diets that, despite having been criticized by health professionals a lot of times, somehow maintain their prestige and are still relevant today. 

Diets you should avoid:

Atkins and Dukan diet

Base: Great restriction of carbohydrates in four phases in favor of the consumption of proteins and fats in order to lose weight in a short time (they are very similar, that's why I group them).

Celebrity associated with or who has publicly claimed to have followed the diet: Sarah Jessica Parker / Katherine Jenkins

Why they are not worth it: 

At no time is a calorie count required during the diet. It is sold that the key to the success of these diets is the elimination of carbohydrates in phases, but in reality, if you see results, it is because many foods with carbohydrates are usually high in calories , hence a drastic weight loss and why the consumption of Calories plummet the first few weeks. 

When you move on to the next phases and you reintroduce carbohydrates, you will recover the lost calories and at some point you will return to where you were at the beginning . In addition, these highly restrictive diets have very poor adherence, so they are very difficult to maintain and at some point you will eat as before.

Why it can be dangerous:

• Since the consumption of fats increases when eliminating carbohydrates, depending on your genetics, cholesterol levels could increase. The lipid levels should be controlled with constant analytics.
• You should be aware of the health level of your liver before trying this diet, since high protein consumption is healthy as long as you have a healthy liver .

Carnivorous diet

Base: Useful to lose weight since you can only eat meat, fish, eggs and some dairy, therefore, there are no carbohydrates.

Celebrity associated with or who has publicly said to have complied with the diet: Jordan Peterson.

Product associated with diet: None.

Why it is not worth it:

This diet is based on the fact that our ancestors only ate meat and fish, and that today's diets contain so many carbohydrates that they are to blame for current health problems. They say that the carnivorous diet helps general health and weight loss but without any scientific support behind it .

This diet is worse than the Atkins and Ducan since it limits the consumption of food to the extreme, prohibiting vegetables and fruits. If you try it and you are lucky enough to last more than two days, in a similar way to the previous ones, when you remove carbohydrate foods that have calories, you will immediately see a drastic drop in weight at first, but then you will stabilize, and how you will hardly endure it for long time, when you reintroduce food you will return to your initial weight.

Why it can be dangerous:

• If you have high blood pressure, a diet high in sodium could be problematic for you .
• Ease of not meeting micronutrients such as vitamin C by eliminating vegetables and fruits.
• High possibility of constant constipation due to the absence of fiber in the diet.
• Since the consumption of fats increases when eliminating carbohydrates, depending on your genetics, cholesterol levels could increase. The lipid levels should be controlled with constant analytics.
• You should be aware of the health level of your liver before trying this diet, since high protein consumption is healthy as long as you have a healthy liver.

Cabbage diet:

Base: Seven-day diet to lose weight based on the exclusive intake of cabbage soup, with the possibility of taking one or two pieces of vegetables or fruit a day.

Celebrity associated with or who has publicly said to have complied with the diet: Sarah Michelle Gelar

Product associated with the diet: None

Why it is not worth it:

Cabbage soup is very low in calories, so you can imagine where the drastic weight loss comes from. It is not effective either, since what you are going to lose is not fat but water. It is not healthy or sustainable, and the rebound effect is particularly strong on this diet. As it is designed to last 7 days, to which you return to your normal diet, you will recover what you lost. A total waste of time .

Why it can be dangerous:

• The consumption of proteins is not allowed, and proteins are essential for a thousand functions, among which is to preserve muscle mass, which is usually key when it comes to losing weight, since we are interested in burning fat but not muscle.
• With so few calories, you can get dizzy and feel weak while doing it.

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Until here today's post. Over time I will update it since new diets always come out. If you have any suggestions let me know and I'll add them. Until next time!

Skyr: The Ultimate Fitness Yogurt?

Skyr may sound like a rapper's ad-lib , but in reality it is a kind of yogurt that as an athlete you are deserves your attention. And I say a kind of yogurt because skyr, although presented as yogurt, is rather a type of fresh cheese.

I would like to clarify that I am not recommending skyr for fashion. After taking it for four months, I think it deserves some appreciation for its nutritional properties and flavor, since it has become one of the recurring products that I always have in the fridge, and now you will understand why I ask the question of whether it is yogurt. ultimate fitness.

What makes skyr a special food for athletes is its combination of low calories, practically zero fat, high amount of protein and its low sugar content. And all this with a flavor that is even good.

Nutritional information for Skyr (Lidl)

100g of skyr from Milbona (Lidl) :

• Energy: 62kcal
• Fat: 0.2g
• Carbohydrates: 4g
• of which sugars: 4g
• Proteins: 11g

Please note that the nutritional information is different from the flavor skyr that can also be found on the Lidl.

The direct rival of the skyr are the 0% fat products, but these usually compensate for the elimination of fats by increasing the amount of sugars or sweeteners , and that makes them very attractive from a nutritional point of view. They also tend to have a fairly artificial flavor. The skyr, due to its nutritional values, has everything that a proclaimed 0% fat yogurt should have.

Another product with which we can compare it is with Greek yogurt, although this meets different needs since it has a higher caloric and fat intake, and makes it a more interesting yogurt for bulking stages, for example.

Where to buy Skyr?

The most popular option and the one that I have personally been taking during these months is the Lidl skyr , specifically the one from the Milbona brand. There are different flavors (blueberries, vanilla, raspberry, strawberry ...) and after trying all of them there have been none that I disliked.

If you don't have a Lidl nearby, other supermarkets with skyr for sale are Aldi and Alcampo, although I haven't tried those.

There is a variant of Danone's Light and Free yogurts that is basically skyr (it indicates this on the packaging) so it may be easier for you to find it in other supermarkets. But check that you are actually buying the variation with Skyr.

When to take Skyr?

In my case I usually take a skyr at the end of each weight session, since the protein intake it has is almost the same as that of a protein shake (150g is equivalent to 16.5g vs the usual 20g of the protein shake) but you can take skyr whenever you want and at any time of the day. Of course, I would like to highlight its usefulness especially in a definition stage.

As in definition, a high protein intake is recommended to retain as much muscle as possible, but without exceeding calories, the skyr is a great option, since the caloric intake is very low, the protein content is very high and the fats they are practically non-existent because skimmed milk is used for its composition. 

The skyr can be taken alone or accompanied with fruits. There is also the option to buy flavor skyr if you do not want to mix it with anything or you are not convinced by the taste of the original.

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I would like to know your opinion about this yogurt, so if you have tried it or if you have any questions, do not hesitate to leave a comment. Until the next post.

Flexitarian Diet: How to Help the Planet the Easy Way

Being a flexitarian or following a flexitarian diet is becoming the solution that many people were looking for to be able to contribute their grain of sand to the environment without the need to make radical changes in their diet and promoting a simple lifestyle to maintain.

What is the flexitarian diet?

The flexitarian diet, as its name has indicated, combines eating a vegetarian diet but with the addition that it allows some meat and fish per week.

On a daily basis, practically everything a flexitarian is going to eat is traced to what a vegetarian eats : vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals, cheese and eggs, but it is up to the flexitarian to decide that reduced amount of meat and fish keep in their diet. There is no exact amount stipulated by its creator, Dawn Jackson Blatner.

Why does the flexitarian diet exist?

The flexitarian diet is presented as a solution to the dietary change involved in becoming a vegetarian, especially if you have eaten meat and fish throughout your life. This change is a barrier for many, and the flexitarian diet allows breaking this barrier with a first contact with the restriction of meat and fish in a simple way.

Many people consider that the flexitarian diet facilitates the transition to becoming vegetarian, thus being a very interesting option to consider if you are not currently able to follow a vegetarian diet but at some point you would like to be.

How does becoming a Flexitarian help the planet?

It is important to be clear that there is nothing wrong with meat. It is tasty, healthy and has a lot of nutritional properties that are very convenient for those of us who want to get in shape.

The problem is in your production system. The meat industry is one of the most polluting for the environment, since it causes up to 18% of total greenhouse gases .

This happens due to deforestation caused by the cattle industry to obtain land where it can be grazed. These lands are treated with harmful fertilizers, worsening the situation. Beef is the type of meat that requires the most resources and damages the most. In contrast, the production of vegetables or potatoes causes 5 times less greenhouse gases.

If you decide to become a flexitarian, you do your bit by positioning yourself against this production system that is so harmful to the environment. If many people were flexitarians, global consumption would be impacted and producers would be forced to look for less polluting alternatives .

Benefits of the flexitarian diet?

• Increase the range of options available to eat out. While most restaurants are adopting vegetarian options on their menus, not all have been updated yet.
• It allows you to go out to eat with people who do not follow this diet without any inconvenience for you or them. For this reason, for many it is more of a lifestyle than a diet.
• You can eat meat without the guilt a vegan or vegetarian would suffer if they did the same.
• It serves as a stepping stone for those who one day want to be vegetarian.
• Leaving aside its moral benefits and for the environment, it is a very healthy option since the consumption of vegetables, fruits and cereals is very high, and it also encourages people to stop consuming processed foods.

What you need to keep in mind if you decide to become a Flexitarian:

• Although the consumption of meat is positive and it is allowed, you must take the same nutritional precautions as a vegetarian. We must control the consumption of Vitamin B12, zinc, iron, calcium and Omega 3 acids, since it is easy for us to have a deficiency in some of them due to the prolonged reduction of meat .
• If you decide to be a flexitarian, you are not going to save the planet all at once, but you have to consider it as a positive habit on your part that may end up changing the current state of the planet in the long term.

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Are you flexitarian or are you following the flexitarian diet? Tell in the comments how you carry it, so you will help the undecided to make a decision.

8 protein foods that cannot be missing from your diet

Whether your goal is to gain or lose weight, your diet should include protein foods . Your body will use protein to increase the size of your muscles if you are in a bulking phase or to minimize muscle loss if you are in a definition phase.

All the protein foods that you will see below are very versatile. By this I mean that they can accompany many other foods, and can be cooked or eaten in different ways . In addition, the vast majority are very easy to find in all supermarkets.

Chicken

27g of protein for every 100 grams of chicken.

The expression 'rice with chicken' to describe the diet of someone who goes to the gym makes all the sense in the world: The protein content of this food is high and is present in a lot of diets. Although if you only combine it with rice you will get bored quickly .

Chicken can accompany practically any dish: a salad, a pasta dish, rice or even a sandwich. You can prepare it on the grill, in the oven or you can dress it up to give it a crunchy touch.

Skyr

11g of protein per 100 grams of skyr.

Skyr is one of the best fitness yogurts out there, if not the best. Its high protein content, low fat content and a more than acceptable taste make it very convenient for those who want to lose weight and keep their daily fat intake at bay.

If you like yogurts and you try the skyr, you may be surprised how not very sweet its flavor is, so try to accompany it with fruit since the combination works very well and is very healthy.

Salmon

20g of protein for every 100 grams of salmon.

Salmon is a slightly more expensive option than the others mentioned here, but I assure you that it is worth every euro it costs. It is one of the most delicious protein foods that exist . A herbed salmon fillet with a hint of lemon is hard to beat.

You can prepare it on the grill and accompany it with a lot of other foods: Pasta, vegetables, rice… Also, if you like sushi, salmon is one of the best there is.

Lentils

9g of protein for every 100 grams of lentils.

Lentils are one of the legumes that deserves greater consideration for their flavor and also for their protein content. 1kg of lentils, in most supermarkets, comes out very well in price, so they are a great option if we have a tight budget to build a diet .

They can be used to make a delicious stew, or they can be served with quinoa, rice, or in a salad.

Eggs

11g of protein per 100 grams of eggs.

Another food highly associated with the world of fitness, and deservedly so. Its flavor and nutritional properties are ideal to consume at any time of the day, either in the form of fried eggs or in an omelette.

A trick to increase the protein and reduce the fat in an omelette is to prepare it with several whites but only one yolk . In this way, the taste remains very good and fat consumption can be better controlled.

Tofu

8g of protein per 100 grams of tofu.

Tofu requires a certain skill when cooking it because it is very easy to be bland, but when you perfect its preparation it will be one of those foods with which you will always accompany your dishes . On many occasions, it is cooked by vegans with the intention of giving it a taste and texture similar to that of chicken.

To give it a crunchy touch it is very important to filter as much as possible the water content that usually comes in tofu.

Milk

3.4g of protein per 100ml of milk.

What to say about cow's milk at this point. High in protein, very economical and you can take it either alone or with many other foods.

It can be used to prepare mashed potatoes, healthy cakes or to accompany all kinds of cereals.

Turkey

29g of protein per 100g of turkey.

Turkey is the slightly superior version of chicken. Slightly more protein, slightly lower fat, and slightly more expensive.

If you can afford it, it will always be a better option, but otherwise with the chicken you have plenty if you are looking for a high protein intake.