These days market is flooded with weight-loss products and getting popular very fast. Products such as green tea, green coffee, detox juices etc. can be easily found in retail stores or online space. They are prominently projected as a miracle fat-loss or weight-loss food products. Office going educated population is one of the leading consumers of these types of products. According to a recent study published in Mar’2019 by journal economics and human biology, India has 3rd highest number of overweight or obese individuals amongst all the countries in the world. 20% of adult Indians and 11% of adolescents can be categorized as obese in India.
Obesity – A lifestyle induced disease
Obesity is a lifestyle induced disease and people have emotional attachment with their looks and personality overall. Day long jobs combined with binge eating and sedentary lifestyle has led to obesity in Indian white collar job population that’s why we call it as lifestyle induced. Nobody will ever deny about dream to possess a beach body. Now, the companies who sell these miracle fat-loss products take advantage of these emotional sentiments and the urgent need of losing fat and are easily able to crack the deal by selling it to you. But you and me won’t find a major chunk of population who have actually lost fat and got rid of obesity by just drinking 3 cups of green tea daily, right? Still, we opt for them as in India anything can be sold based on sentiments.
How our body gains or loses fat?
To understand this, we need to get back to the basics of how a human body works and what’s the science behind it. Now, our body weight-loss or gain machinery is actually dependent on law of energy balance (remember this law is part of physics & taught to us in our earlier days). Now, even if you are not a science student, I will explain it to you in simple terms (though I have been a commerce student myself). There are only two major points to remember under law of energy balance:
(I) If your caloric intake is greater (>) than the calories expended (burnt), you will gain weight
(II) If your caloric intake is lesser (<) than the calories expended, you will lose weight
Please note caloric intake is defined as calories absorbed & stored by the body through the food sources eaten throughout the day and whereas calories expended (burnt) is the energy utilized in whole day through various physical or non-physical activities. Our body works by using energy and energy is derived from calories we have eaten through food. Excess energy is always stored by the body known as fat.
So, if one has to lose fat, he or she has to eat lesser than what is being defined as his or her daily caloric expenditure (vice versa for gaining weight). Exercise and staying active whole day adds to your daily expenditure but as one has a limit of how much one can exercise, eating in a deficit state with exercise is considered to be the best option.
So, we are clear now how one can lose fat or gain fat. Now, let’s move on the last part and save your money.
Why green tea, detox juices, green coffee etc. are waste of money?
Now, as per law of energy balance stated above, let’s assume person A daily caloric expenditure (or requirement) is 2000 calories but due to no control over his eating habits, he is eating 2500 calories daily and drinking 3 cups of green tea on daily basis to lose fat but in this state, he will gain fat irrespective of whatever miracle food he eats as he is actually eating in surplus (caloric intake is greater than caloric expenditure). So, green tea didn’t help with fat-loss actually but it does provide you the psychological satisfaction that you drank something healthy.
So, the money you invested in miracle fat-loss food products becomes a waste when you are not sure about your daily caloric intake and expenditure. Companies are selling and taking advantage of false advertising due to lack of nutrition and exercise awareness.
Fitness apps are there these days to help you lose fat by calculating your caloric requirement but gain it has limited knowledge & application and results differs case to case basis. Best is to take some expert guidance if you are really looking to transform yourself.
About the Author : Lucky Gaur is an INFS Certified Fitness and Nutrition Consultant and a Diploma holder in Naturopathy & Yogic Science, All India Nature Cure Federation. The views expressed in the article are his personal.
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