10 Tips: A Step-by-Step Guide to Finesse

Nutrition and Dietetics Specialist Dilan Eker shared tips on healthy weight loss and offered recommendations.

Dilan Eker, Nutrition and Dietetics Specialist, stated that people's weight loss efforts have created information pollution where scientific and incorrect information are mixed together, as well as a massive weight loss industry. Eker said, "Popular diets, nutrition recommendations that could harm health, and numerous weight loss products pushed to the market can cost you both money and health. To lose weight in a healthy way, you should first adopt a nutrition behavior based on scientific information, seek support from a nutrition specialist if necessary, and stay away from popular weight loss diets and products."

Hypothyroidism, Insulin Resistance as Causes of Weight Gain

Remember that weight loss and maintaining ideal weight is possible through behavior change and consistency. If you have a metabolic health problem such as hypothyroidism or insulin resistance that could cause weight gain, address that first. If you don't have such a condition, your weight gain may be due to just a few of your habits. Making behavior changes is not always easy. To do this, set realistic goals and give yourself at least 3 weeks to adopt this habit. Abandoning the habits that cause you to gain weight and adopting healthy habits constitutes the key point that will help you maintain your ideal weight and health.

Maintain Weight Balance by Creating a Caloric Deficit

Stay away from very low-calorie and overly restrictive diets. While these diets may cause you to lose weight initially, they can result in you gaining back more than the weight you started with. Adopt a nutrition plan that will provide your body with the nutrients it needs, yet create a caloric deficit to enable weight loss. Reduce your portions and plate size. Of course, you don't always need to eat less; you can also achieve this caloric deficit by consuming more low-calorie foods.

Establish Regular Meals

To do this, create a good meal schedule that fits your lifestyle, starting with breakfast, and try to maintain this schedule every day. Do not eat when you are not hungry, but do not go so hungry before the next meal that you overeat. Have 2 or 3 main meals daily, regularly and at roughly the same times each day. Avoid frequent snacking.      

Eat a Balanced Diet

Dilan Eker, Nutrition and Dietetics Specialist at Acıbadem Taksim Hospital, said, "Consume vegetables and fruits of different colors and varieties each day. Do not neglect low-fat protein sources (meat, fish, legumes, cheese, eggs, etc.) from your diet. Consume adequate amounts of anti-inflammatory fats such as olive oil and oily seeds. Prefer whole grain sources over refined grains. Avoid foods and beverages with added sugar, fast foods high in saturated and trans fats, and processed foods.

Do Not Eat for Emotional Reasons

First, realize that the hunger you feel may be emotional rather than physiological. Do not turn eating into therapy; do activities that will comfort you instead. When you are genuinely hungry, focus on what you are eating to feel your fullness, eat slowly, and chew well.

Drink Enough Water

Drinking sufficient water helps your body burn fats more easily, control your appetite, and eat less. Do not neglect drinking 30 ml of water per kilogram of body weight; drink at least 1.5 liters of water daily. You can add apple, cinnamon, or cucumber, mint, ginger to your water to make drinking water more enjoyable.

Engage in Regular Physical Activity

To lose weight in a healthy way and burn fat, you need to increase your physical activity while reducing the energy you get from your food. Walking, running, dancing, cycling, and swimming are among the best exercises for fat burning. Do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity endurance exercise per week. Support these exercises with strength, flexibility, and balance exercises to support your muscles. Adopt regular physical activity as a lifestyle that you can maintain throughout your life.

Pay Attention to Your Sleep Schedule

Research shows that insufficient sleep causes weight gain. Getting too little sleep increases appetite hormones and causes you to eat more during the day. Although the adequate sleep duration for adults is on average 7-8 hours, this varies from person to person. Sleep enough so that you can wake up without an alarm clock or need for coffee. Also, plan your sleep and wake times to be at roughly the same times.

Be Patient and Consistent

Nutrition and Dietetics Specialist Dilan Eker said, "After you start losing weight through balanced eating behavior and physical activity, monitor your weight at regular intervals. Be patient and consistent until you reach your target weight. Your body may not always lose weight at the same rate. For this reason, track your weight at 1-2 week intervals and avoid weighing yourself too frequently. Once you reach your ideal target weight, maintaining that weight is just as important as losing it. If you succeed in maintaining each kilogram you lose for 1 month, you support making your weight loss permanent," she said.