February 29, 2024
Beijing – Inspired by an actress who lost 50 kilograms to play the lead role in a recent box-office hit, Beijing pastry chef Liu Tiantian decided to try fasting for a day. This diet method is promoted online as a body cleanse and jumpstart. -Start losing weight.
Later that day, she developed acid reflux and had to quit.
“It wasn't wise to suddenly stop eating. You can't go on with life on an empty stomach,” the 35-year-old said.
For lunch on Monday, Liu treated herself to a hearty bowl of braised beef and potatoes, rice and a side salad.
“I realized that I can't blindly follow what celebrities do. For me, the way to lose weight sustainably is to eat a balanced, low-fat diet,” she said.
The movie that has recently sparked a weight-loss craze among Chinese people is YOLO, the highest-grossing film during this year's Lunar New Year holiday, which depicts the struggle of an unemployed woman who becomes a boxer. The film is directed by and stars Jia Lin, who became known for her curvy figure and quick wit after her breakout comedy work.
Gia said the story was meant to emphasize self-care and self-worth, but her amazing physical transformation (she lost half her weight in about a year) made this touching film and Together, they sparked a discussion about weight loss and encouraged viewers to hit the gym. Or change her eating habits.
Another Beijing resident named Liu said the film made him think about weight management.
“Before, I only did physical activities that I liked, such as cardio and high-intensity interval training, which get my heart rate up and release endorphins,” the 34-year-old said. “Now I push myself to lift dumbbells to gain muscle.”
Liu, a foodie who is often frustrated by being overweight, understands and admires the excruciating efforts Jia has put in to overcome mood swings and endure lactic acid buildup to achieve her current figure. He said he is doing so.
“It's really impressive considering she was able to accomplish that in a relatively short period of time,” she said.
While medical experts praise the growing interest in healthy lifestyles, they say dramatic weight loss like Gia's is difficult to replicate and warn of common pitfalls.
He Fan, a nutrition expert at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, said losing weight rapidly in Jia's way could lead to endocrine disorders and other health problems.
“It would be wise to emulate Jia's perseverance and determination in pursuing her goals,” she says. “How a weight loss plan is implemented depends on each individual's gender, body mass index, muscle density, and other factors.”
She said fad diets such as low-carbohydrate, high-fat keto diets and weight loss pills should be adopted under the supervision of a professional doctor.
“Hospitals cannot prescribe diet pills until they have run tests on the patient to assess their health status,” she says. “When it comes to training, the most important thing is to find a type of exercise that is safe and easy to stick to long-term, and it's important to combine aerobic exercise with strength training.”
In China, about 34 percent of adults are overweight and more than 16 percent are obese. The National Health Commission estimates that by 2030, 65.3% of Chinese residents will be overweight or obese.
The doctor said her nutrition department is seeing an increase in the number of severely obese patients weighing more than 100 kg.
“The key to staying healthy is adopting and adhering to a healthy lifestyle and understanding that weight loss is a long, gradual journey,” she said.
In a letter to movie fans in January, actress Gia said she ate 30 chocolate wafer bars the night she finished shooting a movie.
Fan Zhihong, a professor of nutrition at China Agricultural University, said that maintaining an ideal weight is even more difficult than losing weight, and that eating large amounts of snacks to cope with weight loss anxiety is alarming. He said that there is.
“Many people who appear on weight loss reality shows end up relapsing and disappearing from the screen,” she says. “Significant fluctuations in weight can be just as harmful as being overweight.”
