Recently, I have had the unpleasure to participate in discussions about overweight. It was really uncomfortable, because the couch professionals throw themselves like hungry piranhas at anyone who does not meet their requirements.
If you only mention that you are overweight, immediately every Uncle-Good-Advice and every Auntie-I-Know-Better in the area hurrying with advice and suggestions. “Eat less, hehehe,” laughs someone with whom you have whole one common friend. “Eat half,” says the friend, a little familiar with the speaker before. “Remember not to eat carbohydrates overnight,” observes a girl who is slimming down professionally. “Move, your weight doesn’t lose itself,” hints stranger, reaching for the pilot.
And for the gods, do not mention that you like your weight and you feel good with it. “Do you have any idea what the burden on your joints it is?”, the experts ask from behind the keyboard. “And diabetes? And a heart attack? Disease, my dear, these are trifle things, “perfect strangers frown over your carelessness. “No hate, darling, but you shorten your life, and I can not look at it,” a man in the street is worried.
Obviously, overweight and obesity are a problem. And this is a growing problem. However… well, however.
However, even seeing a photo on the internet or watching Instagram or a person’s blog, we don’t know anything about this person. We do not know what they are, how they are, or what they are. We do not know what the lifestyle is. We have no idea what diet they have and whether it is on diet at all.
We see snapshots that don’t make up the perfect whole.
Many people in these conversations have admitted that forced weight loss (especially in the case of a restrictive and mismatched diet, such as a calorie-only diet) causes recurrences of eating disorders – anorexia, bulimia, overeating – and psychological problems – obsessive compulsive disorder, compulsive counting of calories.
Several people have had health problems. Restrictive diets can cause a number of undesirable side effects, ranging from irregular periods or fatigue, to the need for gall bladder removal due to gallstones, and bone weakness due to calcium deficiency.
In addition, restrictive diets or monodiets often lead to jojo effect, ie weight recovery after weight loss.
Weight loss, mass to muscle conversion is possible and simple (it can also be pleasant) after several conditions.
First of all – you have to eat.
Of course, maintaining a negative caloric balance is still the best way to lose weight. However, calories alone are not only thing in food and the diet should be rich in all micro- and macroelements. Carbohydrates are the same source of energy as proteins. Fats help to assimilate vitamins and some trace elements. A well-balanced diet will be rich, and tasty meals (fats and spices).
It is important that the diet is tailored to your needs and health. Another diet should be for person with a nutrition disorder, another for a person with diabetes, another for those suffering from epilepsy, another for office worker, another for physical worker.
It is very important for a professional dietician to prepare a diet.
Secondly – you have to move.
Sometimes it is enough to add a one hour walk a day to your daily routine. Some people loves to run. Sometimes it’s a gym and strength training. Or crossfit or, fashionable lately, kettle bells.
It all depends on what we like, what will involve us for more than a few days. Try everything. Chose something. Have fun. 🙂
Third – let’s be happy.
If you don’t want to lose weight and these few kilos do not worry you, then calm down – let’s get rid of all these „I-know-better” people and live happily. Because it’s nobody’s business, just yours.
And for cool temperament I have for you an Oriental chill soup with rose petals.
In general I learned today that in the Middle East they don’t have cold soups. Now you know it too. 🙂
Ingredients (4 servings):
800 ml of thick yogurt (Greek, Balkan – I used yogurt made of unsweetened coconut milk – click)
2 cups of very cold water
1 cups of walnuts
1 – 2 cucumbers
A bunch of mint
A bunch of chives
A bunch of dill
0.5 cup dried rose petals
salt
white pepper
grains of paradise (aframomum melegueta)
To serve:
sumach
rose petals
Preparation:
- Heat up the oven to 180C (350F). Place the nuts onto a baking sheet and place in a warm oven for 5-10 minutes (you need to control time, because it depends on how severely crushed nuts are).
- Remove the nuts from the oven and leave to cool.
- Cool walnuts crush – eg by translate them into a bag and rolling with rolling pin. Put 1 – 2 teaspoons aside for serving.
- Peel cucumbers, remove the seed pods and cut into small cubes.
- Fine chop peppermint, chives and dill.
- Place the rose petals in water and set aside for 15 – 20 minutes. After that time, rinse and squeeze the petals.
- In the pot (or large bowl) mix the yogurt with cold water. We can mix the spoon, but using the mixer gives more foamed, more oxygenated yogurt.
- Add nuts, cucumbers, rose petals, mint, chives and dill to the yogurt. Mix.
- Season with salt and pepper and aframomum (if you don’t have aframomum, you can skip it completely or add some black pepper mixed with lemon zest).
- Put the soup in the refrigerator for min. 1 hour.
Serve sprinkled with sumac, rose petals and the rest of the walnuts. Bon Appetit!