Is it easier to gain weight in summer? 8 ways to stay away from fat

A woman called me and asked me: Other people gain weight in the winter, but it is hidden under their clothes and they are slim and beautiful in summer clothes. Why do I gain weight every summer? When I wear a skirt, there is an extra circle of fat around my waist, which is so depressing...

In fact, people ask similar questions every summer, and there are only a few common reasons.

So I asked confidently: Are you sure you don’t eat too much in the summer?

She said: "I obviously didn't eat more for the three meals. My exercise volume hasn't changed much either. I still run 5 kilometers on the treadmill in the gym twice a week."

I said: There is no fat or thinness in the world without reason. Don't think that you are a magical species that can break the law of conservation of energy.

If you think about it carefully, what is different about summer?

She thought seriously for more than ten seconds on the other end of the phone, and then replied: If there is any difference, it is that we drink mung bean soup and eat watermelon in summer.

I asked: Do you add sugar or honey to the mung bean soup? How much watermelon should you eat?

She said: "I put a little honey in it, but it's just a light sweetness. As for watermelon, I eat about half a piece a day. I often buy very small watermelons, each weighing only two kilograms. If I eat several kilograms of watermelon, I will skip a meal. In order to control sugar intake, I dare not eat ice cream every day, and only eat two pieces a week.

I said: Okay, this is enough to show that you ate a lot of extra sugar in the summer.

In summer, people sweat a lot and want to drink water. But drinking plain water is not tasty enough, so they always want to drink some water with sugar, eat some cold drinks, or eat some fruit.

If you drink sweet water, you will drink a lot of sugar. Even if it is "lightly sweet" mung bean soup, it contains at least 6% sugar. An expert in beverage development told me that if there is no 6% sugar, consumers will feel that the "light sweet" satisfaction is not achieved. If it is a "comfortable" sweetness, then it is 8%~10%.

Of course, many people feel more comfortable with 12%. Drinking two cups of mung bean soup, a total of 400 ml, means you will drink at least 24 grams of sugar, which is 96 kcal more than pure mung bean soup.

When you eat fruit, you also eat a lot of sugar. For example, watermelon is said to be a low-sugar fruit, and it is said that it only contains 6% sugar. In fact, that is an old data from 20 years ago. I checked the agricultural data and found that the sugar content of the popular small watermelon varieties on the market is between 8% and 13%. Consumers don't like to eat it because the sweetness is low. Think about it, what supports such a satisfying sweetness?

If you eat half a small watermelon every day, that's 1 kilogram. For a small watermelon with a thin skin, the pulp ratio is more than 80%. Based on the sugar content of 10%, eating 800 grams of watermelon pulp will bring 80 grams of sugar, which alone contains 320 kcal of calories.

If you eat popsicles and ice cream, they contain both sugar and fat. The calorie content is listed in the nutrition facts table on the product packaging.

The problem is that you still feel that you "didn't eat much", which means that although they provide more than 400 kcal of calories, they don't make you feel full, but just quench your thirst...

The key is that these things are very low in protein and very little in B vitamins. Therefore, in summer, the situation that is particularly prone to occur is that the energy supply ratio of carbon water increases and the energy supply ratio of protein decreases.

At the same time, because it is very hot in summer, you will sweat even if you don’t exercise, and you will be covered in sweat once you exercise. In addition, you are afraid of being exposed to the sun, so you are unwilling to go out for a walk and stay in the air-conditioned room. Although you go to the gym twice a week, your activity level at other times will decrease, and your energy consumption will decrease.

She did not make any excuses for this and seemed to be reflecting on it.

To sum up, there is too much sugar, too little protein, and not enough exercise. It is okay to do this occasionally, but if you do it for 3 months in a row, it will easily lead to an increase in body fat percentage and a decrease in muscle mass. Although the weight gain does not seem to be much, fat is smaller than muscle. When loose fat replaces some of the firm muscles, people suddenly look a lot bloated.

In addition, because the weather is hot, people go to bed later and later at night, stay up late and eat snacks when hungry, which is also one of the reasons for obesity.

She quickly explained: I did go to bed a little late, but I really didn't eat any snacks! At most, I ate some fruit...

I said: Actually, you are doing quite well because you still eat three meals a day seriously and also insist on exercising.

Some people often eat fruit to replace a meal in the summer. At first, they may feel complacent because they reduce their salt intake, which may lead to a decrease in body water content and a slight weight loss. However, in the long run, malnutrition may lead to mild protein malnutrition edema. Then, people will appear fatter.

At the same time, due to malnutrition, people will be particularly lazy, weak, tired and sleepy, and will not want to exercise. Even if they still exercise, their physical strength will decrease and the effect will be much worse than before. Hair will become dry and easy to fall out, and the skin color will be dull and lack elasticity. Malnutrition leads to a decrease in resistance, and it will be easier to catch a cold in autumn and winter...

The key to solving these problems lies in the following eight points.

1. Don't be too greedy with fruits. A maximum of 1 catties a day is fine. Don't use watermelon or other fruits to replace meals. Especially for people who eat less fish, meat and eggs, people with poor digestion and absorption, people with soft abdomen and low physical strength, it is not suitable to eat too much fruit.

2 When it is hot and you sweat a lot, it is beneficial to eat some salty dishes. Some diets that only eat fruit can help you lose weight in a few days. In fact, they use high-potassium and low-sodium foods to make the body excrete water, and they cannot really reduce body fat percentage. However, sweating will lose sodium, and always not eating salty foods and only eating fruit will make your muscles tired and weak, and the calories consumed by physical activities will be reduced, which will make you more likely to gain weight.

3 Eat staple food normally, eat eggs and milk every day, eat one kind of fish and meat every day, or replace them with soy products. Sufficient protein and B vitamins are necessary conditions for weight loss. If you replace staple food with fruits, although there is enough carbon water, there is too little protein, which is a disguised reduction in protein supply, which will cause muscle loss and cause malnutrition.

4. Cook with less oil. By changing from deep frying to steaming, boiling and mixing cold dishes, you can save more than 10 grams or even 20 grams of cooking oil a day and reduce your calorie intake by 100 to 200 kcal. For example, braised fish can be changed to steamed fish, roasted eggplant can be changed to steamed eggplant with sesame sauce, take-out Kung Pao diced pork can be changed to skinless roast chicken, and stir-fried vegetables can be changed to blanched vegetables.

5. Drink less sweet drinks and eat less cold drinks. If you can't drink plain water, you can drink unsweetened grain porridge, unsweetened bean soup and rice soup, barley tea, light oolong tea, light lemonade, etc. In short, try to use sugar-free and slightly fragrant ways to replenish water.

6 Replace cold drinks with drinks containing protein, such as milk, soy milk, and yogurt. They can not only supplement protein and multiple vitamins, but also replenish water. If your stomach and intestines are strong and you really want to drink cold drinks, drinking them chilled is also very refreshing.

7 Keep exercising to maintain your muscles. Don't be afraid to sweat a little while avoiding heat stroke. After washing and rubbing yourself, you will feel very cool. With enough exercise, you will not gain weight even if you eat three meals a day. In particular, 20 minutes of sunlight activities every day can supplement a lot of vitamin D. Some studies have suggested that too little vitamin D is also associated with the risk of obesity.

8 Go to bed on time and eat less midnight snacks and high-calorie snacks.

As long as you follow these key points, it is not difficult to maintain a tight and slim figure in summer!

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