I play sports, I eat well and I don't lose weight. What am I doing wrong?

 I play sports, I eat well and I don't lose weight. What am I doing wrong?

I do sports, I eat well and I don't lose weight. What am I doing wrong?

• Nutritionist Daniel Martínez Pardo and Dr. Helena Palacín, specialist in Sports Medicine at HLA Perpetuo Socorro, tell us about the most common mistakes when losing weight.

• The misconception of a good diet, food supplements and false beliefs prevent us from achieving the desired weight loss.

 If you are one of those who believes that you eat correctly,

 practice sports regularly and do not lose weight, you

 should continue reading. According to the HLA 

Group nutritionist, Daniel Martínez, "in most cases the 

problem lies in a misconception of what a good food

 education is, so in the nutrition and dietetics consultation

 the correct use of the products such as light foods, low fat,

 0.0 or dietary supplements, urging them to undergo dietary

 re-education. Supplements focused on athletes must be 

studied in each specific case and, if their use is necessary, 

the professional must indicate which one is the most appropriate. 

In the same way, the correct times and doses are key to 

maximizing the benefits we seek with supplementation”.

Dr. Helena Palacín, sports doctor at HLA Perpetuo Socorro 

de Lérida, assures that “sport, associated with a balanced 

diet, allows us to control our weight because even if it is

 maintained, it decreases fat weight and increases muscle

 weight. This fact increases our self-esteem by seeing a 

better image reflected in the mirror, in this way it will 

allow us to better overcome the small physical efforts of 

everyday life, such as climbing stairs and will increase

 the production of endorphins, which give us a feeling 

of well-being.

In other cases, popular belief blames age for being a factor 

in this useless slimming exercise, and this is not entirely

 correct. “Obviously age influences but it is not a determining

 factor when it comes to losing weight. That is to say, as we

 age it is true that our basal metabolism is reduced (we need

 less energy to carry out our day to day) but it is something 

insignificant, since when we exercise, maintaining and/or

 increasing our muscle mass, we are not only going to

 maintain our basal metabolism, but we can even increase it”, says Daniel.

Is eating healthy eating to lose weight?

Another of the crucial aspects in this aspect is to clarify 

if there is a difference between eating to lose weight and 

eating to be healthy. “Generally there is no difference when

 it comes to eating, since our habits should be based on a

 diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, quality cereals

, protein foods, etc. What would be different is the structuring

 and quantities of the menu, adapting it to the user's lifestyle

 and their sports practice, for which a prior study by

 a specialist is essential", adds the HLA nutritionist.

Similarly, patients come with preconceived ideas about the

 percentage between food and sport that they must 

follow to achieve a good figure, “personally I do not like

 to talk about sport versus food or vice versa, but both 

factors coexist in synergy. But we assume that food is 

essential to achieve our goals, assuming that 

there is quality training as a basis, which is not always 

the case. Diet is essential to meet our weight loss affirmation 

goal, but with good training we will enhance the results 

and achieve better results”, says Daniel.

If our goal is weight loss affirmations, the most influential factor 

would be that we follow a correct diet. Since if we

 maintain a correct and adequate diet for each individual,

 we will achieve our goal even if sports practice is not 

adequate. The best thing, as always, is to contact a sports

 professional who can advise us in our sports practice so 

that we can enhance the results.

 Regarding the physical aspect, before starting to carry 

out an activity, we must know our body, our physical

 conditions and the state of our heart, and our musculoskeletal 

system, to minimize the health risks added to the 

practice of sport. Therefore, we must perform a physical 

examination and complete history, which includes an

 examination of the musculoskeletal system, cardiorespiratory

 auscultation, etc. and also a resting electrocardiogram. 

This would be the minimum assessment, which depends on age,

 the sport to be practiced or whether there are risk factors: 

in these cases we should extend with an echocardiogram, 

a stress test (ergometry), a podiatric assessment and a 

nutritional assessment and study . ergometric. 

We must also know what objectives we have to 

decide on one type of activity or another and at this point the

he importance of professional advice that we start

 correctly in the sporting gesture, to avoid "bad positions 

or vices that could cause us injuries in the medium or long

 term and that would prevent us from performing at our best" concludes Dr. Palacín.

sports on an empty stomach

Regarding the practice of sports on an empty stomach,

 the HLA nutrition specialist assures that “it is not that 

it is better or worse for weight loss affirmations, but 

 it is one more strategy that exists and that one must know.

 If we adapt well, it is correct, but it should be remembered 

that it is not the only option. In fact, training on an empty 

stomach has some benefits but it does not favor weight loss. 

The balance and, therefore, the key to success lies in finding

 a correct and adequate lifestyle, which allows us to eat 

correctly and lead an active life. In this way we will create 

adherence to the menu and sport, maintaining it over time

 and achieving the goal of weight loss affirmations.