the difference between diet and sport

Lose weight e lose weight: they look like two synonyms but they are not. They are not physical, aesthetic, and they are not health. “A person could lose weight even by eating snacks only, as long as his caloric intake is lower than his energy expenditure, so as to have a caloric deficit. But certainly this is not the right way to obtain good results in terms of weight loss, therefore of reduction of fat mass, and of health “, he said. Official Active Dr. Chiara Vitobello, former Italian high jump champion, now a trainer and nutritionist biologist.

The difference between slimming and weight loss –

To understand if you are experiencing a simple weight loss or a real one slimming, you need to be able to understand what the weight loss is due to. “It is appropriate to limit ourselves to talking about weight loss when the nature of this change is not known, ie whether it is related to a loss of lean mass, fat mass or water. On the contrary, we can talk about weight loss when it is, specifically, the quantity of fat mass“, Clarifies the nutritionist. “The number on the scale is therefore a partial figure, able to testify only to weight loss. But to understand if a real weight loss is taking place, more precise tools are needed, which evaluate the body composition, such as the skinfold meter and bioimpedance analysis. Only a weight loss confirmed through these tools is positive for health. The weight loss highlighted by the scales can instead hide a loss of muscle mass which, despite the initial enthusiasm dictated by the decrease recorded, does not actually represent a positive achievement either in terms of aesthetics or in terms of health “.

Basal metabolism, thermogenesis, movement and calories: the factors that affect weight loss –

In recent times, the diets who simply cut out a macronutrient, mostly carbohydrates or fats, from their daily diet. “From the point of view of mere weight loss, the subdivision into macronutrients in the diet plays a secondary role”, says Dr. Vitobello. “On the other hand, the total amount of calorie that we introduce during the day. If the latter turns out to be lower than the calories consumed over the 24 hours, here we are going to record a progressive weight loss. Energy consumption, however, is not only given by sporting activity, but is the sum of four factors: the basal metabolic rate, the TIME (diet-induced thermogenesis, i.e. the calories our body consumes to digest what we eat), the NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis, i.e. all the calories we consume to carry out daily activities other than sports) andenergy consumed in doing sports. Diets that credit the elimination of a food, food class, or macronutrient for their results are deceiving. If we go, for example, to delete all carbohydrates from our diet, we will most likely end up introducing fewer calories than our needs. The weight loss, therefore, will not be due to the absence of carbohydrates as such, but, rather, to the indirect but consequent decrease in total caloric intake “.

Diet or sport to lose weight better? –

One of the questions that all those who want to lose weight ask themselves is whether it is more effective diet or what sport, physical activity, movement. In other words, whether to lose weight it is more useful to cut calories or increase energy consumption. “It is difficult to answer. In the beginning, results are obtained even by applying only in one of these two areas. But in my opinion the winning way is that which involves the implementation of an active lifestyle combined with a controlled diet. Also because this is the only way to avoid having to take one of these two practices to the extreme, ending up following extreme diets or too intense physical activity, which can be harmful to the body “.

Localized weight loss: why fat is lost in some places and not in others –

It must also be said that the risk of some drastic diets is also that of ’emptying’ in some parts of the body that may not be the ones we would have liked to see lose weight. And if surely one crash diet it’s not good for you in general, where you lose weight may not depend on your diet: “Once you’ve set one diet that foresees an energy deficit, it will be our genetics that will determine in which parts of the body, more than in others, we will lose fat mass and volumes – explains Dr. Vitobello -. Instead, it will be precisely the characteristics of the low-calorie nutritional plan, in terms of distribution of macronutrients, to determine which tissue the decline will take place. Caloric deficiencies combined with a insufficient protein intake, for example, they will ensure that most of the sacrifice is there muscle mass, with negative consequences in terms of health, aesthetics and performance “.

Losing weight after the holidays: practical tips between diet, sport and lifestyle –

The distinction between slimming e simple weight loss, and underlined the importance of both diet and physical activity (and not just sports) to lose weight, here are some practical advice to get back to normal after the excesses of the holidays: “My advice for this period is not to fall into the trap of crash diets, which involve excessive calorie cuts or even fasting – underlines the nutritionist -. It has in fact been seen that depriving oneself totally of something then leads to the search for an excess of it. And passing from one excess to another can lead to an incorrect relationship with food and even to the onset of eating disorders. For this reason I suggest returning to an active lifestyle. And before talking about training I would think about increasing the so-called NEAT that we have already mentioned, that is the set of all those daily activities at no cost that in the space of a day have a weight in terms of energy expenditure, such as walking, doing the stairs, doing housework, carrying shopping bags. This will then be combined with a varied diet, tailored to one’s needs, to be structured in agreement with a specialist in the sector such as a dietician, a nutritionist or a dietician “.