Why is it so damn hard to lose weight?

Energy sources

Your body produces the energy it needs to function from the nutrients you take in with food. The digestive system breaks foods down into macronutrients — carbohydrates, fats and proteins. These are then used as either "fuel" or building material.

Each gram of macronutrient contains a specific amount of energy.

• carbohydrate: 4 kcal/g.
• protein: 4 kcal/g.
• fat: 9 kcal/g.

Every food contains all of these macronutrients, but in different proportions. That means each food has a different balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Your body's energy sources

Under normal circumstances your body's primary energy source is carbohydrate (sugar). It is easily "burned", and if available your body "prefers" to use it. Carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen) are stored in your muscles and liver. When your glycogen stores are full, you predominantly burn carbohydrates.

Fats (in the form of lipids) are stored in fat cells. This is a much more "concentrated" way to store energy, since it contains more than twice as much energy as carbohydrates. Fat is reserved for long-term use, for lean times — like preserves in a pantry.

Your body only starts breaking down fat when your carbohydrate stores are depleted. At that point lipids are released from fat cells into your bloodstream, from where muscle cells take them up. The mitochondria inside the cells (your body's mini power plants) produce energy from them.

Your carbohydrate intake and the "fullness" of your glycogen stores determine what your body uses as an energy source. If there is sugar available, you burn sugar. If there is too much sugar, the surplus is converted to fat.

When glycogen "runs out" (i.e., there's no sugar), your body slowly switches to burning fat.

How fast is the switch between burning sugar and burning fat?

The above description is very simplified and quick to read. In reality the switch from sugar to fat burning happens much more slowly. How quickly it switches varies between individuals.

The healthier your metabolism and the healthier the mitochondria in your cells, the faster the switch.

With a monotonous diet the switch can even take several days!

Why is it so damn hard to lose weight?

Losing weight is damn hard because nowadays foods, soft drinks, snacks and sweets — in short, typical Hungarian eating habits — involve a very high carbohydrate intake. A breakfast, mid-morning and evening sandwich alone contains more sugar than it should. Coffee and tea with sugar, cola and other sweetened soft drinks add the next dose. And I haven't even mentioned lunch, which often contains no vegetables but a huge portion of rice or potato as a side. Even vegetable stews are made with a fatty flour-based roux to make them properly unhealthy.

Hungarian cuisine therefore means a carbohydrate overload. In this article I wrote about what should be on your plate.

As long as there are carbohydrates in your blood and glycogen stores, you are not burning fat. If you are not burning fat, you cannot lose weight!

It follows that weight loss is influenced by the amount and daily distribution of carbohydrates you eat, and by the flexibility of your metabolism. With a less flexible metabolism it may take several days for fat breakdown to begin.

If every meal you eat contains carbohydrates, your metabolism becomes "narrowed" and constantly uses sugar — no meaningful fat burning occurs. The consequence is that the number and energy-producing capacity of mitochondria in muscle tissue decrease (because in a sugar-rich environment you are not using them for energy production).

You can lose weight if your metabolism is flexible. The faster your body responds to sugar withdrawal — i.e., the faster it switches to fat metabolism — the more successful weight loss can be.

Intermittent "fasting" — can help you lose weight

By timing your meals appropriately and of course reducing the proportion of carbohydrates, you can help deplete carbohydrates and shift to fat burning. Instead of carbohydrates you should consume vegetables and, to a lesser extent, fruits.

For timing, use intermittent fasting. Don't be put off by the word "fast" — it may sound like self-denial, but it's not about that.

The essence is to structure your day so you only eat during a narrower time window. The most common is the 16:8 method. That means you arrange your meals during an 8-hour period, for example between 10 am and 6 pm. During the other 16 hours do not consume anything except water and tea. Since between 8 pm and 8 am there are already 12 hours, it is not so hard to stick to!

In my experience a minimum 12–14 hour period without eating is necessary for the switch to fat burning to occur. For example, if you have dinner around 6 pm and the next meal is only at about 9 am, that may be sufficient.

It's useful to avoid, or at least minimize, carbohydrates at dinner.

This eating pause is enough for a body with a healthy metabolism to start breaking down fat. Obviously it's also important that your total calorie intake does not exceed your needs. If in addition you ensure that at most 20–25% of your food is carbohydrates, then daily "fasting" alone will help you lose weight.

Can be followed without suffering!

The above method is not a "diet", not deprivation or self-torture — it does not cause suffering, it only requires self-discipline. Because you can do it long-term as a lifestyle, you won't be eager to stop it.

It rests on three main pillars.

• Putting the content of your diet in order (don't eat carbohydrates in the evening)
• Pay attention to quantity (eat only the calories that cover your needs)
• Timing of meals (no food intake between about 6 pm and 9–10 am, only fluids are allowed)

You don't need to restrict energy, but don't bring in unnecessary calories either. And of course, don't snack.

A few tips that help you lose weight:

• Drink plenty of fluids. Mostly plain water, possibly herbal tea. Coffee only in moderation and without sugar.
• Carbohydrates (pasta, chips, pizza, bread, potatoes) should be consumed only in moderation and ideally at lunch.
• Let the bulk of your diet be vegetables, unsaturated fats (not bacon!) and easily digestible proteins.
• Your calorie intake should not exceed your needs.
• Exercise regularly — jogging, moderate-paced running, and cycling are best.
• After 6–7 pm any eating or snacking is forbidden. If you feel hungry, it's just habit. Keep yourself occupied.
• For gadget lovers I recommend the Lumen metabolism monitor. You can measure with it in the mornings and at any time of the day. You simply inhale air through the device and then exhale through it. By analyzing the exhaled air it determines which substrate your body is burning at the time of measurement — carbohydrates or fat, or both. It gives very useful feedback on whether your food composition was appropriate and whether the fasting interval was long enough.