Slimming coach teaches 4 tricks against accordion effect –

You close your mouth, follow your diet to the letter, dedicate yourself to physical exercises and reach the desired weight. However, a while later, she leaves healthy habits aside, returns to leading a wild life and, when weighing herself, realizes that she has already recovered the lost kilos. Have you experienced the situation? It features the so-called concertina effectname given to repeated cycles of loss and gain of body weight.

An annual variation of mass gain and loss considered normal is between three and five kilos. When this alteration is greater, above ten kilos, it is already characterized as the “accordion effect”. According to abese (Brazilian Association for the Study of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome), between 80% and 90% of people who lose weight end up gaining weight again. In addition to the health risks, those who experience this phenomenon once tend to become a constant victim of it.

Read more: Real life: “I lost 18 kilos in 3 months and overcame the accordion effect”

“It’s a snowball”, says Gladia Bernardi, coach and creator of the Conscious Weight Loss method. “Each time the individual goes through this experience, the accordion effect is more intense and impairs the self esteem.”

According to the specialist, “after the end of the restrictive diet, if a new routine is not created — with the adoption of new healthy habits —, the tendency is to go back to eating to compensate for the period that was seen as a phase of deprivation” . That’s why many people get fat again.

But anyone who thinks that the accordion effect cannot be fought is wrong! For Gladia, anyone can escape the problem by incorporating four essential actions into their daily lives:

1. Change your mindset

Facing the new habits at the table as a dietary re-education (and not as a restriction) increases the chance of permanently changing your life, cultivating a healthy behavior that is unlikely to be abandoned later. “The diet shouldn’t be seen as a punishment or a sacrifice,” she says.

Combined with the regime, it is very important to create new habits, such as following regular times for eating and starting to practice physical exercises. Choose activities that you enjoy — such as cycling, to walk or rollerblading. Thus, you will consider this process as a new lifestyle and not as a passing phase.

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researchers from National Weight Control Group found that 90% of people who manage to maintain weight after dieting continue to exercise regularly. “That’s why it’s very important to be energetic, even after the diet period is over”, he teaches.

2. Choose your weight loss professional well

Having the help of a health professional to lose weight ends up being as important as having a scale at home. “It’s not enough to just make an appointment and leave the office with a diet schedule. Serious follow-up is needed”, emphasizes Gladia.

According to the specialist, in addition to the person being willing to lose weight, he should also be aware of the method of the person in charge who will help him. “In many cases, when someone regains weight, the failure is the professional who accompanies them, whose weight loss program does not suit that patient’s routine”, she explains.

3. Put an end to sedentary lifestyles

In Brazil, more than half of Brazilians are overweight (53.8%), according to the Ministry of Health. In ten years, in addition to the 60% increase in the number of obese people, the percentage of Brazilians diagnosed with diabetes increased by 61.8% and those diagnosed with hypertension increased to 25.7%.

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For the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (SBC), just 20 minutes of daily walking, at least four times a week, is enough for a person not to be classified as sedentary. “If the person continues to exercise and does not fall into a sedentary lifestyle, he will certainly not gain weight immediately after losing weight”, advises Gladia.

However, new habits should not be restricted to physical activities. “Going to the gym is great, but that’s not all. For example, swap a high-calorie meal at the end of a stressful day at work for a relaxing bath”, teaches.

4. Escape fad diets

One of the most recent fad diets, which has gained supporters even among celebrities, is the so-called intermittent fasting. Scientific studies show that spending hours without eating prevents chronic diseases, fights free radicals and loses weight — however, it is not recommended for everyone.

Read more: Buddhist Diet: New book points out benefits of intermittent fasting

For the nutritionist, the correct thing is to avoid any type of fad diet: “Restrictive diets — such as complete deprivation of meat, carbohydrates, sugar or fat — are harmful because they leave the body without the essential nutrients for proper functioning. body and mind,” she comments.