How we lose weight: 8 stages of weight loss for men and women

Which parts of the body lose weight first?

The peculiarity of our body is that excess weight is smoothly distributed throughout the body. At the same time, it initially appears on the stomach, thighs, and only then we can observe changes in the face and hands. That is, weight gain starts from the lower body.

But here's the paradox - when we start the process of losing weight, the opposite phenomenon occurs. Initially, we can observe the results of weight loss on the face and arms, and only then does excess weight disappear from the main problem areas - the hips, abdomen and sides. That's why everyone says belly fat is the hardest thing to lose. A person cannot lose weight locally, so when losing excess weight, the whole body is involved.

Many people have a question: why does the stomach lose weight last , and the face and upper body lose weight first? The thing is that fat on the stomach has a saving function, and on other parts of the body it has a protective function. In fact, fat appears on the face in order to protect it from frost, winds and other factors.

What is the first thing to start losing weight when you diet?

Looking at your figure, you can with one hundred percent confidence name the parts of your body that you would like to correct. Most often these are the so-called “problem areas” - hips, buttocks, waist.

But the physiology of the human body, in particular the female body, is designed in such a way that fat deposits are consumed according to a certain pattern, from different parts of the body. If the body no longer receives sufficient nutrients, fat is gradually removed from the “bins” - subcutaneous tissue.

A diet is a restriction on the intake of certain substances. This is a big burden on the body, and fat deposits are consumed primarily from where the lymphatic vessels pass close and the lymph nodes are located:

1. Neck and face;
2. Arms, hands in particular;
3. Chest area (chest “deflates”);
4. Back (upper part).

After losing weight according to the indicated scheme, different women and girls experience different volumes in the abdomen, buttocks and legs.

What girls lose weight first, among other things, depends on the state of the body, physiological characteristics and genetic predisposition to a particular body type. But most often the stomach and thighs are the last to lose weight.

What comes first when losing weight: muscle or fat?

Many who begin the process of losing weight are afraid that muscle mass will go away along with fat. But due to the fact that muscles are much denser than fat and are located behind it, adipose tissue is burned first . Even with intense exercise and a low-calorie diet, your muscles will not go anywhere until all the fat is burned off.

But if the fat layer is already gone, you need to take care of your diet. Not getting enough protein after you've lost weight can cause you to burn muscle mass. Here are the reasons why this happens :

• lack of essential vitamins
• lack of protein when switching to a carbohydrate diet
• improper diet (you need to eat 5 times a day - 3 main meals and 2 snacks)
• unbalanced diet

Remember, the body must receive enough protein and amino acids. To do this, nutritionists recommend eating more legumes, fish and meat (mainly chicken and turkey). Also, do not forget about low-fat fermented milk products (cottage cheese, yoghurts, etc.).

Woman losing weight and breasts

Exercises with a fitness band for women for weight loss

If you lose weight too quickly and train your body intensely, a woman's breasts can significantly lose volume and shape. This has a negative effect on the silhouette.

The following recommendations must be followed:

• do not go on too strict a diet, do not practice fasting days;
• you should choose protein diets - this will help strengthen muscles;
• stop jumping and running;
• wear quality bras;
• drink a lot of water: this way the mammary gland will not lose weight as a result of dehydration, that is, dehydration;
• do push-ups;
• do breast massage (only as prescribed by a doctor).

Stages of weight loss

Features of weight loss in women and men of different ages

The process of losing weight largely depends on your gender and even age. Have you noticed that losing weight as an adult is much more difficult than when you are young? The thing is that with age, metabolic processes in the body slow down. Thus, tightening problem areas requires more time in women than in young girls.

The peculiarity of losing weight in adulthood is that the production of collagen, which is responsible for the firmness and elasticity of the skin, is significantly reduced. This is where stretch marks and sagging skin appear. Some areas may not go away for a long time, sagging in folds. In this case, it is recommended to help the body and use special medications.

For men the situation is a little simpler. The entire fat layer is gradually absorbed, starting from the lower part of the body. This way the stomach, legs, and then the shoulders and face are tightened. Exception: severe obesity in men. By the way, when losing weight, men are recommended not only diets, but also strength training. This is necessary in order to avoid sagging muscles and the formation of sagging skin.

How does a person lose weight when losing weight?

Most often, the person on a diet loses weight first. This is because weight loss occurs mainly due to the burning of subcutaneous fat, and the layer of fat on the face is thinner than on other parts of the body.

There is no need to worry if you feel like your cheeks are sunken or your nose is cut off. Firstly, you are simply not accustomed to your new appearance, because the face is the first to change. Secondly, you compare your face with your previous body, which is why it seems to you that your face has lost more weight than it actually does.

But it may also be that the face, on the contrary, does not lose weight or almost does not lose weight. Sometimes it depends on the structure - there are women who lose weight “from the bottom up”. However, much more often it means that you have swelling on your face.

If this happened to you:

Go to the doctor, check the condition of the thyroid gland, heart and kidneys. If there are problems, treatment will be required

get rid of the habit of slouching when walking and lowering your head when sitting or walking

take a larger pillow than the one you used before for sleeping at night

While lying in bed, do not read or use any gadgets.

And in any case, remember that when losing weight you need to take special care of your face. Maintain skin tone and elasticity to prevent sagging.

How to prevent breast loss in women?

Another feature of weight loss in women is breasts. Being overweight can cause girls' busts to shrink significantly, which often confuses them. The thing is that the breast consists not only of mammary glands, but also of adipose tissue. Moreover, there may be more fat. If you do not want your breasts to sag and greatly decrease in size, you need to follow some tips:

• When dieting, do chest exercises. Exercising 15 minutes a day every day will help you stay in shape.
• A woman who is on a diet should have a sufficient amount of protein in her diet.
• Eat split meals - 3 meals and 2 snacks.

If you want to maintain a beautiful breast shape after losing weight, it is also recommended to perform massages and drink herbal decoctions that help strengthen muscles.

How to Maintain Your Breast Size

If you are determined to lose weight, but want to maintain your breast size as much as possible, remember a few important rules:

1. Forget about express diets and fasting days, they have a very bad effect on the elasticity of connective tissues. Your choice is proper nutrition, avoiding starchy, sweet and late dinners. This way you will lose weight more slowly, but your breasts will remain beautiful.

2. Your choice is protein food, it stimulates the production of collagen, thereby strengthening muscles and increasing tissue elasticity.

3. Drink protein shakes, they also help the synthesis of collagen fibers in the skin.

4. Buy a good, expensive sports bra that fits you perfectly. This is the key to proper breast support and maintaining its shape.

5. If you have breasts larger than size 3, do not get carried away with jumping, racing and running. Give preference to strength training, yoga, Pilates and stretching.

General rules of nutrition for weight loss

To reduce the thickness of belly fat, it is extremely important to reduce the number of calories you consume.
Without a strict diet, even intense workouts will not help you shed those extra pounds. The recommended energy value of the daily menu for weight loss is 1300-1500 kcal. In this case, fasting is undesirable, because it can cause a slowdown in metabolism and reduce the rate of breakdown of subcutaneous and visceral fat.

The basis of the diet should be low-calorie foods. You should consume about 300-350 g of food at a time, take it every 2-3 hours. This is enough to saturate.

Dishes rich in carbohydrates should be excluded. The first meal should be 15-20 minutes after your morning workout. You need to have dinner 2 hours before going to bed.

What happens to the body during weight loss

At what speed should weight be lost and why?

Weight loss should never be rapid.
A safe and lasting result can be obtained only when fat tissue is lost, but muscle tissue is preserved. Therefore, losing excess weight should be gradual, spread over months and years. “A safe rate is 3-4 kg per month. If weight loss occurs faster, there is a significant risk of muscle loss. And along with this, there are other risks associated with the loss of protein by the body. The smooth muscles of blood vessels and internal organs may be damaged. There is a danger of prolapse of the kidneys, pelvic organs, varicose veins, deterioration of the skin up to sagging in problem areas and hair loss,” says Maria Ibragimova, nutritionist, therapist and fitness testing specialist at the federal network of fitness clubs X-Fit. In order to lose excess fat, you need to create a calorie deficit. That is, make sure that the body expends more energy than it receives. “Based on physiology, an adequate amount of weight loss per week would be 0.5–1% of your current weight. For example, if you weigh 70 kg, then this norm will be from 350 to 700 g per week. Therefore, at a reasonable pace, you will lose from 1.5 to 3 kg per month. If we are talking about losing excess weight in a person whose condition can be characterized as obesity, then this figure will be more significant,” explains Anastasia Chigarinova, nutritionist and crossfit trainer at MSK CrossFit & Fight Club. — If we are talking about a change in body composition (a decrease in the percentage of fat or an increase in pure muscle mass), then the indicators on the scales will not always reflect real changes in the body and we resort to other methods of assessment. That is, the weight may remain the same, but the percentage of fat will decrease, the desired relief will appear, and the volume will decrease.”

Sudden weight loss leads to sagging skin and slow metabolism, and may also indicate that the diet is not chosen correctly. It is important to get a balanced set of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

How to avoid losing muscle mass while losing weight

Often, with the loss of fat and water, muscle goes away. When losing weight, you need to adhere to a balanced diet with an emphasis on protein and follow a diet - this will allow you to lose fat, not muscle mass. “When fasting, strict diets and eating once a day, even just proteins, the body simply begins to store reserves in the form of fat and consume muscle mass,” warns Olga Tiryukova, an international class trainer at ZARYAD.studio.

Muscle is a calorie-burning furnace, so the more muscle mass, the higher your metabolic rate. The diet should be such that there are 1.6 g of protein per 1 kg of weight. “For example, if you weigh 70 kg, you need about 110 g of protein per day, this is 30-35 g of protein in each meal plus a protein snack. On training days you can and should eat more (especially protein), and on rest days - less. You should also include strength exercises,” recommends Anna Bykova, nutritionist at the Section fitness studio.

What happens to hormones during weight loss

With a balanced diet, the body's hormonal levels are balanced. If the nutrition program is chosen correctly by a trainer or nutritionist, then no imbalance will occur. “Often, disorders affect how insulin works. An unbalanced diet often leads to metabolic disorders associated specifically with this hormone. The most common is insulin resistance, a condition in which cells do not respond to hormonal signals from the body. That is, the pancreas stops coping, and the concentration of glucose in the blood increases - this can lead to diabetes,” explains Anastasia Chigarinova.

Without a balanced amount of carbohydrates in a woman’s diet, the functioning of female hormones (estrogen and progesterone) can be disrupted, even to the point that menstruation stops. “Fat cells release extra estrogen in both men and women. In excess, estrogens reduce testosterone and libido, provoke muscle loss and increase fatigue. With a decrease in fat reserves in the body and a decrease in the number of fat cells, many of these symptoms disappear, as hormones gradually return to normal, adds Anna Bykova. — And the level of cortisol may increase, since losing weight is stressful for the body. Therefore, it is important to use stress-reducing practices (Pilates, yoga, walking), drink soothing teas, pamper yourself in every possible way and get enough sleep.”

If you are on a very strict diet, you may experience problems with hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, and peptide YY, which regulate feelings of appetite, hunger, and satiety.

How does fat burning happen?

Training and a balanced diet have an impact on metabolism, which allows you to launch effective metabolic processes in the body. “Our cells require or may require energy from fats. Under the influence of hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, fat cells release their resources in the form of free fatty acids, or proteins and glycerol, which, in turn, enter the general bloodstream. Cells in need of energy consume it from the blood and release water, carbon dioxide and acid in response,” explains the international trainer ZARYAD.studio.

“The total amount of fat in the human body is on average 15-20% of body weight, and in the case of morbid obesity it can even reach 50%. Fats perform many functions in the body, but one of their main tasks is to store energy. Accordingly, to burn fat we need to create a calorie deficit. The process of formation, deposition and mobilization from fat stores is regulated by the nervous and endocrine systems, as well as tissue mechanisms and is closely related to carbohydrate metabolism. — explains Oksana Lishchenko, nutritionist at World Class Romanov. “So, an increase in the concentration of glucose in the blood activates the synthesis of fats, and a decrease, on the contrary, enhances their breakdown. With an excess of carbohydrates and the absence of fats in food, the synthesis of fat in the body can occur from carbohydrates, and in the complete absence of carbohydrates, they will be formed in the body from the breakdown products of fats and proteins

Why does irritability appear during weight loss?

Lethargy and irritability are not normal conditions during weight loss. This means that the diet is composed incorrectly. “Failures and nervousness are possible due to a lack of carbohydrates. These are the ones that people often cut back on when losing weight. Glycogen reserves (deposited glucose in the liver and muscles) are consumed within a few days, and our brain begins to openly “starve” without its favorite food - glucose. You can raise your glucose level only with the help of carbohydrates,” says nutritionist and CrossFit trainer at MSK CrossFit & Fight Club.

What indicators to monitor while losing weight

The most important thing in losing weight is to drink enough water, maintain moderation and balance in your diet, monitor your iron levels for energy, and get enough Omega-3 to improve your mood and strengthen your immune system. “It is important to follow the rules of a balanced diet for fat burning: a small calorie deficit in the diet (about 20-30%), an optimal amount of protein, a sufficient content of vegetables and fruits in the diet (at least 500 g per day to obtain fiber), adherence to a diet (food intake at least 4 times a day). Regarding the drinking regime: try to follow the general recommendations - at least 1.5-2 liters of fluid during the day, on the day of training this amount is higher. The standard calculation is 30-40 ml of liquid per 1 kg of ideal body weight,” explains Oksana Lishchenko.

How do men and women lose weight?

In men, it is the belly that gets fat first, but testosterone helps you lose fat quickly. This makes it easier for men to lose weight. But after thirty years, this process is complicated by the fact that representatives of the stronger sex take in a larger volume of food. They are also more likely to choose a sedentary lifestyle, which contributes to rapid weight gain. Many men love beer, this leads to a larger belly and a decrease in testosterone. Therefore, it is much more difficult for them to lose weight at an older age.

Women lose weight more slowly than men if their testosterone is normal. In this case, the chest may lose weight first, which upsets many women. And the face remains full. Sometimes it is very difficult to get rid of a second or even third chin.

When losing weight through diets, sometimes the skin in the lost areas hangs. You need to know the rules of proper weight loss to avoid such problems.

Fullness depending on changes in hormonal levels

If a woman is not okay with her hormone levels or their ratio, then male-type obesity begins. After all, in men the main hormone in the body is testosterone, and in women it is estrogen. If it becomes low and testosterone levels are increased, then women’s bellies begin to grow.

Knowing your hormone levels, you can regulate it with the help of special medications prescribed by your doctor. Trying to lose fat on your own, through diets and workouts, without achieving normal hormone levels is useless. The belly will still remain the same volume, and may even increase.

Sample exercises for body shaping when losing weight

Gymnastics for young women differs from similar exercises for older women.

Here are some exercises for young ladies losing weight:

1. Light workout.
2. Walk at a fast pace for about 3 kilometers (you can use a simulator).
3. Cardio warm-up. You can use cardio equipment.
4. Gymnastics for the spine.
5. Exercise for arms with dumbbells weighing one kilogram.
6. Do push-ups.
7. Squat.
8. Plank.
9. Breathing exercises.

The following exercises are suitable for older women:

1. Circular movements with arms bent at the shoulders.
2. Walk, alternate between fast and moderate pace.
3. Feet shoulder-width apart, bend over to each leg individually, trying to reach the toe.
4. Squats at a fast pace.
5. Breathing exercises.
6. Plank.

Each exercise must be done carefully, avoiding overwork, so that the heart does not become exhausted.