Hai Phong Nguyen Cao My Tam, 19 years old, completely eliminated fatty meat, only ate lean meat, and combined it with two hours of gym training every day to lose weight.
Since childhood, Tam loved to snack, especially sweets. In 6th grade, she weighed 60 kg, the same as an adult. Three years later, she gained 82 kg, and was rejected and shunned by her friends because of her obesity. Knowing that she was "giant", Tam felt self-conscious and withdrawn. However, the constant cravings made her unable to persevere enough to diet or exercise. Giving up sugar, Tam became stressed, tired, and her academic performance declined.
Seeing her health getting worse, Tam followed her relatives' advice to lose weight by cutting out fat, not eating fatty meat, especially pork fat. Except for breakfast and lunch, for dinner she only ate boiled vegetables or lean meat, limiting salty foods. The nutritional ratio was 50% vegetables and fruits, 30% lean protein and 20% starch and healthy fats. Occasionally, she replaced them with sweet potatoes, corn, and cereals to make the meal lighter.
In the first three months, she only lost 5 kg, "sometimes feeling discouraged and wanting to give up". Thanks to her parents' encouragement, she tightened her diet, eating more vegetables, tubers, fiber, and limiting sweet fruits with high sugar content such as longan, jackfruit, and mango.
Tam realized that dieting does not mean completely eliminating fat. "Instead of eating fat, I supplement fat from nuts, olive oil, sesame oil or sugar in vegetables, tubers and fruits," Tam said.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh, Institute of Biotechnology and Food, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, said that pork fat is rich in vitamins B, D, minerals, helping the body absorb more calcium. Pork fat contains about 40% saturated fat, about 50% monounsaturated fat and about 10% polyunsaturated fat.
However, "lard also has a high saturated fatty acid content, consuming too much will cause excess and is not good for health," said the associate professor. People with cardiovascular disease, stroke, blood pressure, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obesity should abstain.
Nutritionist Claudia Carberry, Arkansas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, recommends eating lean meat instead of fatty meat to help control weight and cholesterol better. For example, 100 grams of pork belly contains up to 21.5 grams of fat, while lean meat contains only 0.06 grams with the same weight. The protein content in lean meat is relatively high, 29 grams per 100 grams of meat, helping to provide the body with just enough energy, helping to create a feeling of fullness for a long time, thereby supporting the weight loss process.
"However, you need to balance the amount of fat in your meals, you should not completely eliminate it," the expert said.
For children under one year old, fat accounts for 40-50% of dietary energy; for children one to 40 years old, it accounts for 35-40%; for children up to 10 years old, it is 30-35%, for children over 10 years old and adults, it is 20-25%. Therefore, the best way is to eat a balanced diet, combining both oil and fat, protein, supplementing fiber, vitamins, and drinking enough water. If you do not eat lard, you should consider using a variety of cooking oils from rice bran oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil so that the body is provided with enough fat.
Due to his addiction to sweets, Tam gained weight uncontrollably. Photo: Character provided
To avoid cravings, Tam always has oatmeal, sweet potatoes or fruit in the fridge. Every day, she prepares a 500ml bottle of detox water made from lemon, cucumber, watermelon, or pure fruit juice instead of soft drinks or sugar water.
However, she still sets aside one day a week to eat freely. "This helps me relax my mind and reduce stress when thinking about food," Tam said.
According to Healthline , on a "cheat day", you can eat your favorite foods that are not on the weight loss menu, which are often high in calories. The foods and frequency of "cheat days" also depend on each person's preferences. Usually, people will apply one day a week, which can vary depending on the weight loss goals and health of each individual. However, you should also control the amount of calories, avoid consuming too much on a "cheat day" which will cause the weight loss process to fail.
In addition, Tam spends two to three hours a day at the gym, combined with 30 minutes of cardio at home every morning. She walks three times a week, one hour each time. Occasionally, she goes cycling with friends on the weekends to avoid boredom. To lose weight faster, Tam cycles for an extra three hours on the weekends.
Currently, Tam maintains a weight of 51kg to 52kg. Photo: Character provided
After many weight fluctuations, Tam realized that she shouldn't be too obsessed with her weight. "Step on the scale every day and you'll get discouraged if your weight doesn't decrease as expected," she said. Instead, she only measures and records her weight after a week. She follows the rules of eating enough nutrients, getting enough sleep, and drinking enough water to lose weight healthily.
Nhu Ngoc
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