What is the biggest problem of not eating staple foods to lose weight? Be careful not to get fatter!

Recently, I saw a report in the news again about a young girl who starved herself to anorexia nervosa in order to lose weight and died. Every time I see such news, it is heartbreaking. Our society has been advocating for aesthetic diversity for so long, but in the eyes of many people, thinness is still one of the important standards of beauty. After all, makeup and beauty can change your face, but a bad figure cannot deceive people.

There are almost no women around me who don't want to lose weight. Some people lose weight by increasing exercise, while others lose weight by dieting and reducing calorie intake. In recent years, there are fewer girls who lose weight by not eating at all or eating very little, as reported in the news, but more and more people who don't eat staple foods and refuse to consume carbohydrates to lose weight. In the past two years, many of the various weight loss methods that are said to be used by celebrities on the Internet require not eating staple foods or eating very little staple foods.

When I eat with the girls, they treat carbohydrates as an enemy and regard staple foods such as rice and steamed buns as "junk food". Every time I see them like this, I can't help but say: if you don't do it carefully, you will easily get fatter if you don't eat staple foods.

Image source: Tuchong Creative

1. What is the biggest problem of not eating staple foods?

Girls who don’t eat staple foods are probably believers in the “ketogenic weight loss” method.

The so-called ketogenic diet means not eating carbohydrate staple foods and using large amounts of fat- and protein-rich meat as the main source of energy.

In other words, in the diets of those who do not eat staple foods, beef, mutton, chicken, duck, fish, shrimp and crab can be eaten freely, but rice, noodles, steamed bread, potatoes, grains, beans and other staple foods containing carbohydrates should be avoided as much as possible; sugary drinks and even milk containing lactose cannot be consumed...

The reason why the ketogenic diet is so popular is that some people have achieved significant weight loss results in a short period of time by eating this way. The principle behind it is that carbohydrates are the first nutrient for human energy supply. When the intake is too little, the body is forced to start using ketone bodies produced by fat for energy supply, thereby increasing fat consumption and achieving the goal of weight loss. At the same time, a high-fat diet can quickly bring people a sense of fullness, and ketone bodies also act on the brain to help suppress appetite.

Plus, this way of eating looks more appealing than other diets or those that require increased exercise - you can eat as much meat as you want and lose weight quickly.

However, if anything sounds too good to be true, be careful! What is the biggest problem with the ketogenic diet?

First, it’s really hard to do.

According to the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, 50-65% of the body's energy should come from staple foods, that is, carbohydrates. The energy from fat should be maintained at 20-30%, and the remaining 10-15% should be provided by protein. However, the ketogenic diet requires that the energy from fat be increased to 70-80%, the energy from carbohydrates be reduced to 5-10%, and the remaining 20-25% should come from protein.

This means that not only can you not eat rice, noodles, steamed buns, dumplings, pancakes, pot stickers, porridge, rice noodles, pancakes, sesame cakes, twisted dough sticks, bread..., as well as potatoes, sweet potatoes and other potato products, desserts, cakes, and even fruits with high sugar content and dishes with high sugar content cannot be eaten. At the same time, you have to eat a lot of fat. Don't think that eating meat is a happy thing. In the ketogenic diet, you have to eat meat with high fat content and fatty meat. You should also eat more foods with high fat content such as various butters, creams, salad dressings, etc. If you don't eat enough fat, you can't turn on the "ketogenic" mode and you can't achieve the expected weight loss effect.

How long can you stick to this diet?

Once you can no longer stick to it and start eating carbohydrates, the weight loss results you have achieved may "rebound quickly."

Second, the side effects are too great.

When you stop eating staple foods, the fat from animal foods cannot be completely metabolized in the body, and "ketone bodies" will accumulate in the body, which may cause ketoacidosis. Your health will deteriorate quickly, and you may experience irritability, constipation, fatigue, poor sleep quality, irregular menstruation, dry and loose skin, wrinkles, hair loss and other problems.

When you first quit carbohydrates, you may experience muscle soreness, fatigue, confusion, etc. Due to low dietary fiber intake, you may also suffer from constipation. A large amount of high-fat meat intake will also increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The large amount of protein in the body accompanied by high-fat meat intake will also increase the metabolic burden on the liver and kidneys.

The saddest thing is that many people just don't eat or eat very little staple food, and don't eat enough fat to put the body into ketosis. When the body is under-supplied with energy, the basal metabolic rate will gradually decrease for the purpose of self-protection - although you eat less, you consume less, and the result may not necessarily lead to successful weight loss.

So, think about these issues carefully before deciding whether to give up staple foods.

2. I want to eat staple foods but also want to lose weight. How should I eat?

Too many domestic and foreign studies have confirmed that eating coarse grains, beans and whole-grain staples can help people prevent and improve obesity.

If you can change half of your staple food from refined rice and white flour to coarse grains, beans and whole grains, after a period of time, you will find that not only can you eat enough at every meal, but your weight is also slowly decreasing and your overall health is also improving.

This is because:

The dietary fiber in whole grains is much higher than that in refined rice and white flour. After eating, we feel full and don’t eat too fast or too much.

The content of B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, iron and other minerals in whole grains and beans is several to dozens of times higher than that of refined rice and white flour, which can help improve various sub-health symptoms;

The glycemic index of whole grains and beans is much lower than that of refined rice and white flour. After eating them, blood sugar will not rise rapidly, and sugar is not so easy to synthesize into fat.

The dietary fiber in whole grains and beans can slow down the absorption of fat in the intestines, help control blood lipid levels, and reduce the risk of obesity.

…

In summary, the ketogenic diet is not as easy as we think, and it may bring many side effects to the body. If you really want to lose weight, don't worry about whether to eat staple food. As long as we learn to replace part of the refined rice and white flour with coarse grains, beans and whole grains, and pay attention to controlling the three meals with less oil and salt, so that the overall calorie intake does not exceed the standard. Through this gradual and long-term approach, you can gain health and a good figure at the same time!

The article is produced by Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project (Creation and Cultivation). Please indicate the source when reprinting.

Author: Wang Lu, Chinese registered dietitian, Master of Public Health, Peking University Reviewer: Xue Qingxin, the first nutrition instructor of the National Health Commission, Chinese registered dietitian