Hanoi Wanting to have a healthy and beautiful body for Tet, many people try to find ways to lose weight quickly such as taking medicine and cutting down on starch, leading to many unpredictable risks.
Huyền, 29 years old, 1.62 m tall, 63 kg in weight, has an unbalanced body so she cannot fit into her favorite ao dai. Afraid that every time she meets relatives during Tet, she will be criticized for "having to lose weight to get married", she " wants to make a complete change in appearance to impress everyone". Huyền plans a strict diet to lose 10 kg in time for Tet.
The female office worker completely cut out starch and fat from her menu, abstained from soft drinks, fruits, and milk because they contain a lot of sugar. Instead, she ate a lot of green vegetables, tubers, and drank water. In the first two weeks, Huyen lost 3 kg. Secretly happy because the goal was getting shorter and shorter, she had more motivation to cut out starch even though she often craved rice, noodles, and bread.
By the third week, the girl's body became more tired, her mood became tense, uncomfortable, and sometimes angry over small things. Many times while riding her motorbike on the road, Huyen felt dizzy and had to stop in the middle of the road to rest due to sudden hypoglycemia. She is still following the diet, but often wants to give up because of the feeling of being drained of energy.
Also looking for a way to lose 9 kg in two months, Thuy Linh, 35 years old, went online to buy candy and weight loss coffee following the advice of friends. Two weeks after taking the pills, she lost 5 kg but her body was always tired, thirsty, bloated, and weak, and her family took her to the Central Endocrinology Hospital. Test results showed that the patient had low blood sugar and high liver enzymes.
Abusing weight loss can seriously affect your health. Photo: The Sun
As the Lunar New Year approaches, many people begin to apply rapid weight loss methods. A seller of weight loss tea online shared that since the end of November, the number of customers looking to buy the product has increased 2-3 times compared to the same period last month. Most people cannot follow strict diets and exercise regimens, so they want to find a product that is effective quickly and without much effort. Among them, many people are not fat but are not satisfied with their appearance and want to lose weight.
"Many young people are not satisfied because their bellies are a bit big, they want to have a slim body to take pictures during Tet, some people want to lose a few kilos so they can eat comfortably during Tet, the weight gain is just right, so they buy my tea," said the seller.
In diet groups, a frequently discussed topic is also how to lose weight quickly for Tet.
A page selling quick weight loss products before Tet with an inviting advertising trick. Photo: Screenshot
Dr. Phan Thai Tan, a HomeFiT weight loss health coach, said he also received many requests for advice on "losing weight" as Tet approaches. For example, someone wanted him to guide them on how to lose 7 kg in 25 days after hearing an online advertisement. However, the doctor warned that this would cause many health risks.
"With natural methods, losing an average of 0.5-1 kg/week is already very effective. Rapid weight loss will cause countless health problems, such as exhaustion, gaunt face, long-term illness, and micronutrient deficiencies," said Mr. Tan.
Sharing the same view, Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung, National Institute of Nutrition, said that there are currently many methods that are considered effective for weight loss, such as keto, low-carb, eat clean, the common point is to cut down on carbohydrates (sugar, flour). Abusing these methods causes the body to lack nutrients, seriously affecting the digestive system.
A person who restricts calories too much will lose muscle mass and slow down their metabolism, and will easily gain weight when they return to their normal diet. Some people, due to hunger or physical weakness, tend to eat more and more afterwards, leading to further weight gain.
A keto diet high in healthy fats and low in carbs can reduce blood sugar and insulin levels, impact the body's metabolism and limit fat storage, but must be strictly monitored. "Starch, protein and fat are energy-producing substances, so not consuming enough starch can cause weakness, affect memory and work productivity," said Mr. Hung.
Weight loss methods such as low-carb and detox are also not recommended. Low-carb is a diet that limits the amount of carbohydrates and increases the proportion of protein and fat in the diet. In addition to the harmful effects of cutting down on starch too much, eating too much protein makes the liver and kidneys work harder. Overweight and obese people need to supplement calcium to prevent osteoporosis because the skeleton has to bear a large weight, eating too much protein will increase calcium excretion through urine, which is not good for bones.
Or, using too many detox drinks causes electrolyte imbalance, muscle loss, and too much nutritional loss, causing hormonal disorders.
Nutritional medicine recommends that an adult needs to eat 130-150 grams of carbohydrates per day to nourish the body. People who do a lot of mental and physical work need to supplement more.
Experts recommend that a balanced diet must include 4 groups of carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. People who want to lose weight need to persistently follow a diet and exercise regimen for 6 months. During Tet, the need for physical activity is less, so each person should eat 80% of the energy needed to avoid weight gain, maintain health, eat slowly, and chew thoroughly. In addition, maintain a healthy lifestyle, be active, and set a goal of energy input (calories in) less than total expenditure (calories out).
"Tet doesn't come just once but will repeat itself. We can use it as an excuse to make a decision to start, but it's not a reason to lose weight at all costs," said Dr. Tan.
Thuy Quynh
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