Being skinny isn’t the same as being healthy

Our society has the very wrong idea that being skinny is the same as being healthy, but that’s wrong! There are plenty people that tend to be very thin even though they eat a lot. Why does that happen? Simple: they have a very fast metabolism, which their genes determine pretty much 80%. Of course there’s a difference between being skinny and being fit.

In this post we are going to discuss a little bit about people who are genetically very thin and all the healthy problems they are more predisposed to have.

First of all, why do thin people need to worry about their health?

Well, most people think that, because of their lack of body fat, they won’t have similar problems to obese people, but that conception is very wrong. When you have a fast metabolism, in which you don’t gain much weight even though you eat a lot… you tend to eat a lot of garbage… and there’s where the danger lives! These kind of food are incredible unhealthy and they tend to increase cholesterol (LDL, triglycerides and total), decrease HDL (the “good cholesterol”), and increase your blood pressure… which means you might have dyslipidemia and hypertension.

The dyslipidemia in thin people tend to be must worse then the ones in obese, that’s why it is recommended to do blood exams routinely (if you have someone in your family who has died or had an heart attack/stroke at young ages, you should visit your doctor regularly since young ages as well to prevent it).

Another problem is the malnutrition you are susceptible, once you eat a lot of junk food, you don’t ingest all the vitamins and minerals your body requests to be alive… making you more predisposed to not only chronic diseases (dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure), but infections as well.

Also, these diseases are trigged when you have a sedentary lifestyle… Well, when society says your body type is ideal and you don’t even have to make any effort to have it… why would you workout? Healthy problems seems only to affect older people… BUT that the problem: it doesn’t only affect you when your older… it shows itself at young ages, making it possible for you to die at age 40 if you don’t take of your body!!

As you can see, the healthy problems in thin people are must worse than those in obese because it is taken for granted. So, even though you don’t need to eat properly and exercise to “look good” (aesthetic speaking), you need it to feel good, live longer and avoid diseases.

How to engage a healthier nutrition

First of all, congratulations on willing to change your diet! It takes a lot to understand all the risks unhealthy habits provide, and the willpower to do something ‘bout it! If you are reading this, it means that you did the very first step: get motivation! Yay! Now, let’s get to business!

In my personal opinion, the base for a lasting lifestyle change is knowledge. If you know why you’re eating something, it becomes easier to adapt and enjoy it. Okay, now, if you are the kind of person that only eat junk food – I am happy that you WANNA change it – BUT the changes need to be slow. Why? Because if you change your eating routine completely in a heart beat, it won’t last! And you know this – it will be just like another HORRIBLE diet that we always cheat. And it’s almost humanly impossible to keep it! You gotta take baby steps, sweetie. 😉

I recommend you to go to a nutritionist and get a physical performance evaluation before engaging any changes. Why? Simply because you might have had developed a subclinical condition that could be very dangerous if not taken any precautions. But the good news is: the changes you wanna make are the same to prevent and treat these conditions. So, yay, let’s get to it!

First of all: a proper diet plan (read it as: nutrition, NOT restriction), you need to start nourishing your body, not your mind. There are lots of food that tastes delicious but don’t have enough ingredients necessary for your body functions, they are “empty” calories. The only thing they do is to add (+) Kcal in your daily balance, without the benefits.

To lose weight you need to keep a negative (–) daily nutrition balance, and the mechanisms for this are very simple, it’s math one-o-one: you need to ingest less kilocalories than and you use. Besides that, it is very helpful to ingest foods that fasten you basal metabolism (the amount of energy you use just to be alive), so you can achieve your goals earlier.

It is proven that, when you eat each 3 hours, you boost your metabolism (read it as: you start to use more energy to keep you alive). This is a basal condition you can actually change. Do you know those people that eat EVERYTHING and NEVER gains weight? Yeah, they have a fast metabolism… & so can you! 🙂

It takes time to adjust to healthier foods… at first sight they don’t look as delicious as a cheesecake, ice cream, pasta, chocolate, burgers… BUT wait, there are secrets to slowly adapt to this “weird healthy world” that everybody talks about.

First, you need to stop eating at fast food restaurants. That’s a fact. Trust me, you gonna thank me later. It is all junk, you feel hungry after just 1-2h, than you eat more & just have the impression of being full and heavy, like you can’t do anything afterwards… & than the hungry comes back… so you eat again… circle goes on & on.

Another thing, stop buying any kind of soda, THAT IS NOT WATER. You need to drink water to lose fat (water is essential in the break and use of energy stored in your adipocytes/fat cells) & nourish your body. Your kidneys will thank you… they need water to filtrate all the nutrients & electrolytes circulating in your blood flow, & also eliminate the damaging residuals in order to keep your cells alive. There’s a tip: buy sparkling water and add juice, it takes just like it… without all the sodium & sugar.

Also you need to start ingesting full food. Why? Because it takes more energy for you body to break the molecules, meaning it boosts basal metabolism (you spend more energy in doing something essential.. & you don’t even realize it). Yay, another way to help a negative balance! 😉

There is a sample of what your plate should look like. I know that it doesn’t look so pleasing at first sight, but there is something I can tell you: buy lots of salad. Green leaves are the key. Why? Well, they have essential vitamins, fibers & cellulose.

The vitamins are absorbed and used by our cells, while fibers and cellulose can’t be digested. This means that your gastrointestinal tract works faster, making it harder for our body to absolve more than the necessary ingredients from the other food components in that meal (meaning that you won’t full you fat cells with energy).

Likewise, you can eat lots of green leaves without guilt, because they are almost insignificant calories. So they is a tip: if you are really really really really hungry… you can exaggerate in the salad & it won’t damage your diet plan! Haha, nice hun? 😀

Hope this could help explain a little more about nutrition. See you next time!
xox

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