The Key to Lasting Weight Loss: A Balanced Diet and Exercise
The Key to Lasting Weight Loss: A Balanced Diet and Exercise
Introduction
Losing weight can be a challenging task, but it's essential to take a balanced approach. While there are several fad diets and workout trends that promise quick results, the key to lasting weight loss is a combination of a balanced diet and exercise. In this article, we'll explore the benefits of a balanced diet and exercise for weight loss and provide practical tips to help you achieve your goals.
The Importance of a Balanced Diet
A balanced diet is crucial for maintaining a healthy weight. When you consume a diet that is high in processed foods and refined sugars, you are more likely to gain weight. These foods are often high in calories and low in essential nutrients, leaving you feeling hungry and unsatisfied.
Understanding Macronutrients
Macronutrients are the three essential nutrients that provide energy to the body: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. A balanced diet should contain a healthy mix of all three macronutrients. Consuming too much of one macronutrient can lead to weight gain.
The Role of Fiber
Fiber is an essential component of a balanced diet. It helps keep you feeling full and satisfied, which can prevent overeating. Foods that are high in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, should be a staple in your diet.
The Importance of Hydration
Drinking enough water is also crucial for weight loss. When you are dehydrated, your body may mistake thirst for hunger, leading you to overeat. Drinking water before meals can also help you consume fewer calories.
The Benefits of Exercise for Weight Loss
Exercise is just as important as a balanced diet for weight loss. When you exercise, you burn calories and build muscle, which can help increase your metabolism.
The Role of Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardiovascular exercise, such as running, swimming, or cycling, is excellent for burning calories and improving heart health. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week to reap the benefits.
The Importance of Strength Training
Strength training, such as weightlifting or bodyweight exercises, is also essential for weight loss. When you build muscle, your body burns more calories at rest, helping you lose weight even when you're not exercising.
Practical Tips for Lasting Weight Loss
To achieve lasting weight loss, you need to make sustainable lifestyle changes. Here are some practical tips to help you get started:
Set Realistic Goals
Setting realistic goals can help you stay motivated and track your progress. Aim to lose 1-2 pounds per week, which is a healthy and sustainable rate of weight loss.
Keep a Food Diary
Keeping a food diary can help you track your calorie intake and identify areas where you can make healthier choices. There are several apps and websites that can help you track your food intake, making it easier to stay on track.
Find an Exercise Routine You Enjoy
Exercise shouldn't feel like a chore. Find an exercise routine that you enjoy, whether it's dancing, yoga, or weightlifting. When you enjoy your workout, you're more likely to stick with it.
Get Support
Getting support from friends, family, or a support group can make a significant difference in your weight loss journey. Having someone to hold you accountable and celebrate your successes can help you stay motivated.
Conclusion
A balanced diet and exercise are the keys to lasting weight loss. By consuming a healthy mix of macronutrients, increasing your fiber intake, staying hydrated, and engaging in regular exercise, you can achieve your weight loss goals. Remember to set realistic goals, track your progress, and find a routine that you enjoy. With dedication and consistency, you can achieve lasting weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.
FAQs
- What is a balanced diet? A balanced diet is one that includes a variety of nutrient-dense foods from all food groups in appropriate proportions.
- Can I lose weight without exercise? While it's possible to lose weight without exercise, incorporating physical activity into your routine can make weight loss more sustainable and improve overall health.
- How much water should I drink per day? The recommended daily intake of water varies depending on several factors, including age, sex, and activity level. However, a general guideline is to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day.
- How often should I exercise? The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week.
- What should I do if I hit a weight loss plateau? If you hit a weight loss plateau, try changing up your exercise routine or adjusting your calorie intake. Consult a healthcare professional if you're struggling to break through the plateau.
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Your Prettiness is Seeping Through II (Wanda Maximoff x Reader)
Warnings: maybe bungled the medical stuff and process of being admitted, suicidal ideation, aftermath, descriptions of self harm kind of? its not like currently happening. Bulimia and what comes with it. Those r the main things I think.
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-------the shame is manifest in my resistance-------
❅❅❅
“So they’re admitting you?”
You could feel the snow being crushed beneath your weight as you leaned back on your hands. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon and your best friend was sitting next to you on a random curb, taking the pack of cigarettes from your hand.
It was mid-winter. The city streets bustled with the cheer of festive Christmas decorations and the harmonies of carolers. It almost makes you feel better. You never cared for Christmas, or religion in general, but the joy in the little kids’ faces at the snow blanketing the streets, and the laughing of teenagers having snowball fights was cute.
It helped.
You sigh, turning towards your friend, “No, I don’t think so. Most that’ll happen is I’ll be in therapy, I guess.”
She rubs her hands together in an attempt to warm up, “I think I’d kill myself if I got caught. Kidding, you’ll be fine. Probably.”
You scoff, “Thanks,”
You snatched the pack from her hand, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.
You had gotten over the fear of throat cancer a long time ago. It’s more of an expectation than a fear now. Smoking and purging at the same time kind of makes it an inevitability. The thought of death didn’t scare you. Not that you were cripplingly suicidal. You didn’t desperately want to die anymore, you just wouldn’t mind if you did. If you died from all of these habits, it was fine, great even. If not, whatever.
Passively suicidal.
Tomorrow, you’ll have your long awaited psych evaluation. You were shocked that it wasn’t the first thing they’d done. You weren’t that big of a risk anyways. A week has passed since your parents caught you, and you’d been made to take a number of medical tests to determine the severity of your bulimia, or something.
The first one was a general physical assessment, the most simple yet most uncomfortable. You had been made to wear a hospital gown, which you felt was overboard but whatever. They wouldn’t be able to admit you just based off of a BMI measurement, you were sure. You weren’t very underweight, most bulimics you knew weren’t. In fact, most of them were normal, sometimes overweight, but you just assumed it was because they were bad at it. You didn’t feel anything looking at your weight. Numbers mattered, sure, but with every binge and purge, your weight fluctuated like crazy, so you learned to just look for signs of weight loss via mirror.
She read your BMI out loud, you knew it wasn’t low enough to be a concern. You internally celebrated, until you noticed her eyes glancing down to your arm.
Shit.
Burning was your preferred method of self mutilation. Cutting was unsatisfying, messy, and a pain in the ass. Burns look disgusting when they heal though, which was the only downside. The scars are easily passable as cooking accidents and such. When they’re still healing, though, charred, blistered, and disgusting, they’re almost impossible to excuse. Your mom had caught you once, with your worst burn nonetheless. One offer of taking over the chores for the day and she was off your back, already taking her place on the sofa.
The burns weren’t fresh, not at all. Most of them were years old, but you panicked nonetheless. You’ve seen how batshit they get at any sign of self harm. You watched as she glanced towards your arm, then turned back to her clipboard, writing something down. Subtly moving your other arm behind your back, you cover up the bruises on your knuckles.
You also had to go to a dentist appointment. Last time you went, you had just gotten your braces off and permanent retainers in. You still have glue on the back of your teeth from when your top retainer broke, they had never gotten rid of it. With how often it fell off, you were glad the dentist had given up on putting in replacements.
You were more worried about this appointment than the physical assessment. You couldn’t keep food down, smiling with your eroded teeth was uncomfortable, and your breath was horrible. The dentist would definitely notice something, at the very least that you were a smoker. Your mother would hate that more than bulimia.
Honestly, despite all of these effects, you got the benefit of barely having a gag reflex. Which, now that you think about it, doesn’t really matter considering you don’t even like men.
Surprise was clear on your face when your dentist complimented you on the health of your teeth and sent you on your way.
You didn’t really know what the other tests were, something about heart arrhythmias and electrolytes. You didn’t care, you were so over it. It was all bullshit. You weren’t sad. You weren’t suicidal nor were you a danger to yourself or others. You were just bulimic, not on the brink of fucking brain collapse.
All of this was bullshit.
❅❅❅
Wanda’s senses come back one by one. Her ears pick up the soft whirring of machinery and occasional beeping of monitors. The soft footsteps of nurses and patients walking past, the opening and closing of a door as doctors enter, the scratching of their pens against their clipboard. The lingering scent of antiseptic reaches her nose, and the bitter taste in her mouth makes itself known. Her fingers pinch the stiff material of her gown, and she can feel the IV in her arm. Finally, she opens her eyes.
Waking up in the fiery depths of hell would’ve been better than where Wanda was right now. She mumbled curses under her breath as she looked around, taking in the hospital equipment around her.
“Natasha?” She croaked out when she caught sight of her friend sleeping on the hospital chair in the corner of the room. Natasha jumped up, wiping the drool off her chin and rushing towards Wanda. “Oh, thank god.” She sighed, pulling Wanda into an awkward hug.
She pulls back when she realizes Wanda wasn’t hugging her back. “How do you feel?” Wanda cringes at the pity on Natasha’s face. “Peachy.” She turns away, not stopping Natasha when she reaches to grab her hand.
The widow sighs, rubbing circles into Wanda’s hand, making her fingers twitch slightly. They sit in silence, not knowing what to say to each other. Wanda was glad Natasha had found her. She didn’t want to be found at all, but at least it was Natasha.
She was so stupid, so fucking stupid. Of course it wouldn’t have worked. She should’ve just shot herself in the head, like a man. She’d read somewhere that men have higher suicide rates because they carry it out in more extreme ways. Girls usually go for lighter, prettier deaths. Overdoses, slitting their wrists in a rose petal filled bathtub, and such. More survivable, and less of a burden for whoever cleans up after them. Men don't feel the same obligation. So what if it's more work for the cleaners? A shotgun to the head is easier for them, that's what matters. They don't think about how puffy their face would get if they hung themselves, or how awkward they'd be positioned on the ground if they jumped off a building. They don't think about the possibility of surviving afterwards and dealing with the deformity.
Pietro’s lifeless body flashes in her mind.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
Wanda finally notices the iron grip she had on Natasha’s hand.
She didn’t want to talk about Pietro. Never. “What’s going to happen to me?”
Her friend looks away, “You’re suspended until you get help.”
“What! No!” Wanda sits up, snatching her hand out of Natasha’s grip, ��This was the first time! Bruce tried to kill himself, why isn’t he suspended?”
“That was before he even joined.”
Wanda sighs, “So, what like, therapy for a week?”
Natasha raises her eyebrows, “Wanda, you tried to kill yourself. You need to be monitored.”
“I’m not a fucking child. Jesus, Nat!”
“It’s not up to me, Fury’s orders. Either get help or you’re fired, basically.”
“Don’t I need a psychological evaluation or some shit?”
“Wanda, you swallowed a whole bottle of whatever-the-fuck pills. I can evaluate you right now. You’re fucked in the head, babe.” Natasha attempts to joke.
She sighs in relief when Wanda huffs out a laugh, “So, you’re sending me to the loony bin?”
“Yup. It’ll be great though, perks of being an Avenger.” Natasha places a comforting hand on Wanda’s shoulder.
“How long will I be there?”
Natasha grabs Wanda’s hand that’s picking at her gown, “Until you’re better.”
The sound of a girl yelling stops their conversation.
❅❅❅
“Inpatient would be the best option…”
The ringing in your ears blocks out whatever the doctor was saying. What the fuck. You were not crazy. So what if you were bulimic. You didn’t constantly starve yourself and avoid food so you were chill, but you also were not getting fat, so you were hot. It’s like a win-win.
You’re sitting with your parents, a doctor across from you. He must be a therapist, or psychologist…psychiatrist? Potato, Tomato.
A hand on your shoulder brings you back to earth. Tears are pooling in your mothers eyes, your father is sighing into his hand. “What about my classes? My life!”
“Lower your voice. You aren’t being sent away to the fucking Alcatraz.” Your father grits out.
The doctor chimes in, “I’m sure you’ll be able to do your school work, most institutions let you have books and supervised computer time.”
You push your mothers hand off your shoulder. “Why are you doing this to me?”
She scoffs, “Me? Why are you doing this to yourself!”
“You can’t make me!” Passersby can hear your voice through the closed door of the office.
It was true, they couldn’t really. You were a legal adult, they couldn’t make you do shit. Your mother pinches the bridge of her nose before turning to your father expectedly. You look back and forth between them with an eyebrow raised.
“We won’t support you anymore if you don’t do this.” He finally pushes out.
“What? As if you’ve ever supported-”
Oh. Financially. College and such. Housing and such. Food…and such.
You’re not that level of adult, yet.
“What the fuck-”
“Language!”
“No! What the actual fuck! I’m not sick!”
Your father’s face contorts in anger, “Did you not hear a single word the doctor said? Your potassium levels, electrolytes, and heart are all fucked! You could have a heart attack!” He takes a breath,
“You are killing yourself.”
“What?” You don’t know what to say. Why is your heart beating so fast?
You let out a frustrated shriek, getting up to leave. They don’t know what they’re saying. You storm out of the office, narrowly avoiding passing nurses and stretchers, trying to ignore the sense of dread building within you.
Heart attacks were a lame death. You could imagine how stupid you'd look; jaw wide open, leaning back in your desk chair, clutching at your chest. The door to your room is always locked, so your parents wouldn’t care to check for a while. They’d just assume you were isolating yourself.
Stiffening up in that position, rotting and decomposing. So lame, so ugly.
It didn’t scare you.
Your head ricocheting off a wall interrupts your spiral.
Natasha winces, peaking over the door to find you on the floor, rubbing your head. Wanda had asked her to check what was going on, and you happened to be passing by at the same time she opened the door. You push yourself off the floor before Natasha could help you up. Black spots appear in your vision and you start swaying. You must’ve stood up too fast.
Natasha holds you up as you fall into her for a second, before you regain your bearings.
“Get off me!”
She lets go immediately, raising an eyebrow when you double-take at the sight of Wanda.
‘She’s so skinny.’
Wanda looks up at you, confused when she takes you in. You could’ve been the same weight as her, if not a little more. She doesn’t read people's thoughts if she can help it, but yours were so loud. You blush when she makes eye contact with you, turning and stomping away.
Your footsteps fade as Natasha closes the door, making her way back to Wanda. The widow smiles at Wanda, poking her side, “I think she has a crush on you.” Wanda’s eyes widen, “No way; she said I was skinny.” Natasha tilts her head, “Like in a disgusted way?” The witch looks down at her hands.
She assumed it was envy at first, but you didn’t look like you weighed significantly more than her. Nor was it disgust, based off of how you looked at her.
“Not…really. I don’t know.”
Natasha sighs, “Well, it doesn't matter. We’ll fatten you up in no time.”
She winces at Wanda’s obviously forced laugh.
She didn’t like being skinny, but it was an effect of her depression. It wouldn’t be that easy to reverse. The only reason she was open to this treatment was so that she could go back to work. She’ll just pretend to get better, go back, and work until she can’t take it anymore. Next time, she’ll use a gun. Actually, would she subconsciously stop the bullet with her powers? The pills almost killed her, maybe she’d just lock her door next time. She could pick up smoking, maybe that’d be like a backup. A slow, eventual death could be happening in the background while she found short term options. Multitasker.
“What’re you thinking about?”
Wanda is taken out of her reverie as Natasha pokes at her stomach again. She smiles, shaking her head and curling up into the bed. The older redhead pats her shoulder, “The squad’s going to visit before you leave. Just thought I’d give you a heads up.”
Wanda groans, she didn’t need any more people up her ass.
She stiffens at the sound of sniffling, looking up when she feels her shoulder dampen.
“Don’t ever do that again.”
Natasha leans over her frame, hair masking her face. The brunette stammers, racking her brain for a reply. She’d never seen Natasha so emotional. It was like hearing Steve use slang.
She sighs, curling further into herself and ignoring Natasha. She wishes she could reassure her. Tell her that even the thought of trying again made her nauseous, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t live the rest of her life seeing her brother's corpse every time she blinks.
Living with the memory of Pietro’s death for the rest of her life was worse than any torture she’d ever endured.
She ignores the flashing images as her eyes drift close, falling asleep to the sound of Natasha’s sniffling.
❅❅❅
A/N: I lowk regret writing in in second person but yolo. reply to this post if u wanna get tagged in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed!
Tags: @mathxa @nikkinss
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