"I can't take this because I'm on a diet". How many times do we say this sentence but then we find ourselves eating that thing and much more?
“It can happen because when there is an imposition, the rule tends to break: if you force yourself to avoid that food, unconscious resistances appear that they lead you to eat it insteadHe explains , psychotherapist, president of Aidap (Association of the country's eating and weight disorders).
Plan your calorie budget
Here, the basic error is precisely think of diet as something privative. «This happens in the moment in which you set excessive goals, like “I want to lose 5 kilos in 15 days”. So, you limit yourself as much as possible by thinking that it's worth gritting your teeth for such a short time, so then you can resume giving yourself everything », explains the expert.
Nothing more wrong. There is no need to give up any type of food, just implement small compensatory strategies. "There are no right foods and no wrong foods," says Dr. Banderali. "The important is respect a daily calorie limit. It's like going to the supermarket and having a certain amount of euros to spend, you can buy what you like, but within that amount. It is therefore important to plan your calories for the day in advance».
Then use a less punitive strategy: if you make an exception to your diet, do not say "I went out of my way": with this sentence you attribute the responsibility for the fact, thus creating negative emotions that will lead you to binge or to abandon the diet. Instead, define the cheat as an obstacle you have encountered, therefore as something surmountable that leads you to focus on solving the problem.
How to calculate the energy balance
"First of all monitor the calories consumed, perhaps with the appropriate apps»Says doctor Banderali. "Then you discover the energy you burn during the day." Like this:
1) Calculate your basal metabolic rate which detects consumption at rest. It is done with the Harries-Benedict equation: 655,095+ (9,563 x weight in kg) + (1,8496 x height in cm) - (age x 4,6756).
2) To calculate the calories burned with daily activities use a pedometer. Count how many steps you take each day, after which multiply the number of steps by your weight and then by 0,0005.
3) Discover the value of diet thermogenesis: it is what you consume for digestion and absorption of nutrients. It is obtained by calculating 10% of the calories of what you ate.
4) Finally measure calories burned with exercise. Each sporting activity has its own Met (on average it is 5.5, but you can find the table at https: // bit. Ly / 2q7ykNE). Multiply the Met of the activity performed by your weight and the minutes of the activity; divide the result by 60. Compare the number of calories ingested and consumed: if you want to lose weight, the latter must be at least 500 more.
