We have been constantly plagued by different diets to achieve weight loss: intermittent fasting, keto, clean juice, paleo, Weight Watchers and of course, the most common, CICO. While there are plenty of benefits and evidence for such a diet, there are also some serious pitfalls. But first, let’s break down how this specific diet plan works.
What is the CICO diet?
The CICO diet is an abbreviation for the term ‘calories in, calories out’ and is a regimen of consuming fewer calories than you burn. It is perhaps one of the most common and popular gateways to the world of weight loss. The idea behind This dietary method is that as long as you consume enough for your body’s essential needs, you can eat whatever you want and lose weight since you are in a constant calorie deficit. And, for most, it seems to work.
Just a scroll through the CICO diet subreddit It will feature hundreds of successful weight loss results, and people often use a calorie tracker app to calculate their caloric intake needs. But while it can help you lose weight, that does it no to mean It is a perfect method for healthy eating and living. It only works as an approach when people use the method that Correct way. Every dietary approach comes with a catch, here are four.
1 Nutrients are more important than calories
Under this method, if you maintain your specific caloric deficit, you can eat anything. So, technically, you could eat chocolate all day, as long as you don’t exceed your total calories for the day. This concept has led many to believe that all calories are created equal, and that is simply not true. This may lead people to choose to eat a packet of chips instead of an avocado, because it may contain fewer calories, even though the nutrients and benefits of avocado obviously far outweigh the irresistible chips. Even if this successful way of eating leads to weight loss, your body could suffer nutritionally.
Sports nutritionist and dietitian robbie clark explained to The Huffington Post that the way we metabolize and break down energy from calories is not the same for everyone: there are many factors at play, and different calories (those from unhealthy foods and those from nutrient-rich foods) have different effects on the body.
“Healthy, nutrient-dense foods will keep hunger at bay, help keep blood glucose levels stable, reduce cravings, and allow your brain to signal to your stomach that you’re full,” Clark said. While, ironically, reaching for those unhealthy foods that may be lower in calories may not only cause nutritional deficiencies, but also lead to weight gain. This is because making unhealthy food choices may not keep you full for long.
“Nutrient-poor foods [thus] they have the opposite effect, causing hormonal dysfunction, raising insulin levels, increasing cravings, suppressing satiety signals and encouraging overeating,” he continued. Things that just can’t be replaced through supplements. Weight loss in this case is not equivalent to Health. So if you’re going to try this method (although it works in many ways), make sure you’re eating as nutritious as you can afford.
2 Calorie counting is not always accurate
To participate in this regimen, counting calories is an essential element of it, and now, with a flow of fitness tracking and calorie counting apps, it seems very easy, right? Not quite. There’s a number of factors that can alter the accuracy of your daily count. Take the example of when you are eating in a restaurant: can you be sure of the calories in that food? Have you considered the effect that exercise might also have on your calorie count?
Sometimes when you exercise above a certain threshold, your body may start limiting the amount of calories it uses so you don’t starve yourself, it’s trying to help you. This is extremely difficult to determine accurately, but perhaps the most common reason for inaccuracy may be a tendency to underestimate calorie intake. A study found that people often forget what they ate or used to prepare a meal and also do not take into account high calorie drinkshidden calories or meaningless snacks during the day that can be eaten, this can lead to underestimating consumption and overestimating exercise.
Something to also consider is the lack of food options available when completing your diary on a calorie tracking app. Foods and cuisines from different ethnicities and cultures are often not accurately represented – your cultural food is not unhealthy just because an app says so. You don’t have to limit yourself to chicken breast and broccoli.
3 CICO is not sustainable in the long term
speaking to The express, Doctor Rupy Aujla expressed concern about diets like CICO: “The downsides surrounding diets usually come down to sustainability. When you employ a strategy that reduces calories, a very common dietary approach, your weight set point changes.” This means that when your caloric intake drops rapidly, you can go into what’s known as “starvation mode,” in which your body retains as many calories as possible, and therefore retains as much fat as possible.
“This is why people tend to plateau, despite being in a constant calorie deficit over a long period of time,” Aujla explained. “This also leads to people getting discouraged because they are less motivated, usually at three months, so they will quickly gain back the weight they lost.” There are not only physical reasons for this to be unsustainable, but also mental ones.
There is great enjoyment with food and it is definitely a big influence on your mental health. Living in such a restrictive way could seriously affect your mental well-being. president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR), happy jacka, I declare that “A healthy diet is protective and an unhealthy diet is a risk factor for depression and anxiety,” explaining that there is a lot of scientific evidence showing that food is just as important mentally as it is physically.
4 Calorie Counting Can Affect Disordered Eating
Counting calories has long been associated with eating disorders and unhealthy behaviors surrounding food. Defeat—a charity dedicated to helping people with eating disorders— told the BBC as part of their research on this association that counting calories, especially with the help of calorie tracking apps, only exacerbates eating disorders and makes recovery even more difficult. He also found many harmful entries by MyFitnessPal, Lose it! and sum of life users who showed dangerous evidence of binge eating, starvation, and severe declines in self-esteem and mental health.
4 reasons why the CICO diet is toxic for both your body and your mind
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