The painful lesson of losing 20 pounds: Ignoring these 5 points is equivalent to losing weight for nothing

The pants that have lost 20 jin can be stuffed into two fists, but how come you are still round like a rice dumpling in the mirror? The numbers on the scale are indeed pleasing to the eye, but the stubborn fat in the waist and abdomen still reminds you that in the battle of weight loss, brute force alone is not enough. The pitfalls hidden behind the success of weight loss may be quietly dragging down your metabolism.

1. insufficient protein intake is equivalent to breaking down the metabolic wall

1. The hidden cost of muscle loss

People who chew cucumbers and apples every day may lose weight faster, but the rate of muscle loss is even faster than fat. Muscles are the largest metabolic engine in the human body, and for every kilogram of muscle lost, the basal metabolic rate decreases by approximately 13 calories per day.

2. The vicious cycle of increased hunger

The duration of satiety in proteins is more than three times that of carbohydrates. Those who only drink Congee for breakfast will miss the snack cabinet crazily in less than two hours, and the combination of two eggs and milk can make the hunger feel 3 hours later.

2. Lack of sleep is the accomplice of fat

1. Late night cortisol frenzy

If you sleep less than 6 hours for three consecutive days, your cortisol levels will increase by 37%. This stress hormone specifically directs the body to accumulate abdominal fat, like tying an invisible lifebuoy around the waist.

2. Strike time of growth hormone

Growth hormone secreted during deep sleep can help break down fat. People who stay up late until 2am will miss 90% of the prime time for fat burning that day.

Thirdly, the knowledge of drinking water is greater than exercise

1. Dehydration disguised as a plateau period

When the body is dehydrated by 1%, the metabolic rate directly decreases by 3%. Many people mistake thirst for hunger, and those who drink 300ml of water before meals consume an average of 75 fewer calories per meal.

2. Unexpected Surprise of Ice Water

Drinking 500 milliliters of ice water can temporarily increase basal metabolism by 4.5%, lasting for about 1 hour. This is not magic, but the energy consumed by heating cold water in the body.

4. Excessive aerobic activity may have the opposite effect

1. Metabolic adaptation trap

People who run for 1 hour a day may consume 200 fewer calories per day after three months compared to the beginning. The body is like a shrewd accountant, gradually reducing energy consumption for the same amount of exercise.

2. Muscle protest signal

Continuous aerobic exercise for more than 45 minutes increases muscle breakdown rate by 300%. That's also why marathon runners need to crazily supplement protein.

Fifth, emotional stress is an invisible heat explosion Bullet

1. The truth about stress eating

Anxiety is the brain's thirst for high sugar and high-fat foods I hope it will increase by 40%, not because of weak willpower, but because stress hormones have changed taste preferences.

2. Accelerator for visceral fat

Chronic stress can reduce the sensitivity of fat cells to insulin, like giving an extra key to a fat warehouse. The ones who laugh until the end while standing on a weight scale are always the smart people who treat weight loss as a systematic project. You can add half an extra fried egg for breakfast tomorrow, and you can start sleeping half an hour earlier tonight. These adjustments have a better chance of breaking through the plateau period than being so hungry that you can see stars. The disappearance of fat takes time, just like its arrival silently.