Readers take their doubts about healthy weight loss

Healthy weight loss was the subject of an interaction between readers, where they could write their main doubts on the subject.

Among the questions were how to establish lasting strategies adapted to the reality of each person. Most of them claim that popular diets like those that completely eliminate carbs, the soup diet, and even the moon diet, have already been part of their eating plan.

How to maintain weight after the weight loss process is a common question among almost everyone. Some say they never managed to achieve that goal.

To answer the questions, the Sheet invited Maria Edna de Melo, president of the obesity department at SBEM (Brazilian Society of Endocrinology and Metabology).

“Many times the patient cannot achieve the goal he wanted, but it is already a great gain for physical and mental health, and this gain should be seen and felt as a great achievement”, says Melo.

“When we talk about losing weight, people think it’s really getting thin, but losing weight is having a better weight, better health.”

Customer service agent Paula Cicogna Faggioni, 57, asks if it’s possible to lose weight and eat chocolate. And, if so, how much and when the person can ingest during the process.

According to the president of SBEM it is possible, but it depends on the food plan. Any amount will contribute to increasing calories and this can sabotage weight loss if not consumed properly.

“Chocolate that has a greater amount of cocoa, like 70%, 80%, or even those that are like 90%, are more recommended”, says Melo.

Professor Ilma Soares de Souza Gallo, 52, who has already adopted fad diets and exercises to try to lose weight, asks what is the best strategy for a woman over 50 years old.

According to the endocrinologist, a person with this profile should follow a balanced diet with regular physical activity that combines resistance and aerobic exercises.

In the case of Milena Lessa, 35, sagging is a problem. She asks how to improve this aspect of the body with age, and how to lose the belly if the person is considered visually thin.

For the abdomen, the SBEN specialist explains that if it is fat, weight loss is enough, since as weight is lost, the fat in the region is the one that goes away first.

In the case of sagging, the practice of physical activity with resistance exercises can help, in addition to aesthetic and dermatological procedures.

“And for those cases that impact more on the person’s perception, which really has an important physical component, there is the possibility of plastic surgery, but that depends on the severity of each case.”

The time in which the person should be vigilant after the weight loss process is also a recurring doubt among readers. Activist Eugênia Hidelmir Rodrigues, 43, would like to know what this period is after diets considered restrictive.

The doctor says that restrictive diets are not recommended, because to maintain the lost weight it is necessary to follow the food plan made during the weight loss process.

After losing weight on this type of diet, however, there is no set period in which a person should be vigilant, he says.

“Our food system is arranged in a way that encourages us to eat a lot, so it is important to always have food to maintain the weight loss achieved”, says Melo.

A popular and restrictive diet, for example, is low carb, where carbohydrate intake is low and controlled. Educational affairs technician Keila Patricia Gonzalez, 43, questions whether she poses any risks.

According to the expert, there are risks if it is unbalanced.

“When you go on a low carb diet, there is usually a higher intake not only of protein but also of fat, and as the protein is of animal origin, normally the fat is saturated. So for patients who already have high cholesterol this can increase the risk” , says.

Melo indicates that those interested in making the food plan should recommend the intake of food-origin proteins and seek the follow-up of a nutritionist.

Designer Rafael Santos, 38, wants to know how to start the weight loss process and, given the kick-off, how not to give up halfway.

Melo says that the journey should start with a focus on food, which is the main pillar for health and the search for a lower weight. This means, according to the doctor, reducing the intake of ultra-processed, fast foods and foods rich in fat and sugar.

“In order not to give up, we need perhaps to remember that persistence is one of the main markers of long-term weight loss maintenance.”

Finally, teacher Elaine Rizzuti, 61, asks how not to get obsessed with weight loss.

It is important to separate what is obsessive thinking and what is care for the body and health in general, says the president of SBEM. Melo says it is important to eat with a present body and mind, always looking for a healthy diet.