Woman lost 30 kg by eating lean meat

The young girl admitted that she has always loved junk food, especially sweets, since she was a child.

Weighing 82kg when she was in 9th grade, she was isolated by her friends because she was overweight. She also lost confidence. She can’t muster enough discipline and determination when trying to diet or exercise. Her persistent hunger always won out and she would disrupt her health routines. Afterwards, she tried to stop eating sugar but ended up feeling tired and anxious.

Previously, Tam could not control her weight due to her love of sweets. Photo provided by Tam

When some health problems related to her weight became increasingly alarming, Tam decided to follow her family’s advice.

She started her weight loss journey by eliminating fat in her meals, especially lard. She only eats vegetables or lean meat for dinner and tries to limit her salt intake as much as possible. Vegetables and fruits make up 50% of her diet and meat makes up 30%, while carbohydrates and healthy fats make up the remaining 20%.

Sometimes she replaces her meals with smaller snacks like sweet potatoes, corn or cereal.

According to Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh, Institute of Food Technology and Biotechnology at Hanoi University, lard is a food source rich in vitamin B, vitamin D and other minerals that help the body absorb calcium.

“However, lard contains high levels of saturated fatty acids,” Thinh said. “So eating a lot is not good for our health.”

Doctors say people with heart and blood pressure problems, stroke, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol should avoid it.

When his diet proved effective, Tam became more determined and even stricter with his diet. After that, she formed the habit of eating a lot of vegetables and fruits to supplement fiber, while avoiding fruits with a lot of sugar such as longan, jackfruit, and mango, which she has maintained until now.

She gradually realized that following a diet does not mean eliminating all fat.

“I turn to nuts, olive oil or sesame oil as my fat sources,” she says.

This is consistent with what registered dietitian Claudia Carberry at the Arkansas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends.

According to Carberry, lean meat is also a good source of protein. She said that 100 grams of lean meat contains 29 grams of protein. Therefore, it can provide the body with enough energy and a feeling of satisfaction, both of which make it easier for you to follow a weight loss diet.

“However, you shouldn’t completely eliminate fat from your meals,” says Carberry.

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She added that fat should make up 20-25% of an average adult’s daily intake. Therefore, if you want to avoid lard, you should use other sources of fat in your daily meals including rice oil, olive oil, sunflower oil or soybean oil to ensure your body absorbs healthy fats. strong.

Now Tam eats oatmeal, sweet potatoes or fruit when hungry between meals. She also mixes lemon, cucumber, and watermelon into a healthy drink every day. She drinks juice or snacks on other fresh fruit juices throughout the day instead of drinking soft drinks and other high-sugar products.

Nguyen Cao My Tam, 19 years old after losing weight. Photo provided by Tam

She allows herself a “cheat day” once a week in which she eats whatever she wants.

“It helps me reduce stress every time I think about dieting,” Tam said.

The cheat day method has been widely recommended by health authorities. What you eat on your cheat day and the frequency of your cheat day can completely depend on your preferences. But most practitioners choose to “cheat” once a week.

However, you shouldn’t completely lose control of your calorie intake on a cheat day, or your weight may start to fluctuate or increase again, according to Healthline.

In addition, every day Tam spends 2 to 3 hours at the gym, combined with 30 minutes in the morning to practice cardiovascular exercises. She also walks three times a week, for an hour each time. She sometimes rides her bike with friends to add variety to her exercise routine.

Currently she weighs only 51-52kg.

Tam realized after many tries that compulsively obsessing about both the problem and the solution did not help her.

“Checking my weight every day makes me feel haunted and depressed if I don’t reach my ideal weight,” she said.

So now she weighs herself and records any changes just once a week.

She also maintains a diet full of essential nutritional groups, sleeps well and drinks enough water to maintain a healthy balance during the weight loss process.