Out for the count in THE FLAB FIGHT

Since the advent of the mobile internet era, various fitness apps and calorie-calculating apps have gained popularity among dieters.

These apps are designed with easy-to-use interfaces, the developers having studied human nature to the extreme. They do everything possible to make you exercise every day and count calories every day, one of the main motivations being that in doing so the app will constantly feed you with data that makes you feel good about yourself. That in turn, for apps that require payment, will have developers feeling good about the fat profits their apps are making. However, anecdotal evidence－the number of overweight people about－suggests that these apps are having a limited impact on public health.

Yes, keeping fit by various means seems to be all the craze, but why does it seem that the ranks of the overweight are not thinning? The fitness fad is gaining ground, and everyone likes to exercise, why are there so many fat people anyway? Juhee Jhalani, a clinical psychologist in New York, says regarding exercise solely as a means of weight loss is not only wrongheaded, but could be dangerous as well.

Li Xiaomin, 35, a reporter in Beijing, is an example. After 45 minutes of pedaling, sweat drips from her body and she feels she is giving herself a really tough workout. "Looking at my bike again, it shows that I have consumed more than 600 calories. I can really indulge myself for a cheat meal, perhaps some chicken wings and a big bottle of cola if I can lose 3,000 calories this week," she says.

As long as dieters believe that by fixating on the number of calories they burn they can lose weight over any prolonged length of time, the more disappointed people there will be around stuck on the dieting treadmill, seeing little return for their efforts.

Having a precise goal has the merit of giving dieters and fitness fanatics a gauge with which they can measure their success then reward themselves at appropriate times for any progress they think they have made. In striving for such success many will take out a gym membership and buy fitness equipment and clothing, thus producing huge economic benefits. "Keeping fit with a definite goal is itself not problematic at all," says Chen Hanbin, a physician in the department of clinical psychology of Hangzhou First People's Hospital.

"The ultimate goal of going to a gym or pursuing a sport is to keep you healthy and happy.

"There is no correlation between health and calories, and using calories burned as a sole indicator often brings anxiety and pressure that in the long run is detrimental to one's fitness goals."

In a recent survey on Sina Weibo on the simple and effective ways of losing weight, more than 80 percent of respondents said they believed the adage "Just watch your mouth and move your legs" held merit. However, some may argue that if losing weight were that simple nobody would be overweight.

Lin Yuanyuan, 34, an office worker, is willing to talk a lot about her own inspiration. Lin, 1.65 cm tall and slender, even though she is 61 kg after earlier being 48 kg. She feels more energetic and sporty, and perfectly in tune with her outgoing personality, she says.

"I was crazy about weight loss three years ago. In the short term, you will definitely see results if you eat less and exercise more, but if you continue, you will find that you can't stick to it at all, and you will enter a cycle of dieting and binge eating. Many people don't know that their bodies have a fixed point.

"The fixed-point theory tells you that you cannot lose weight through overloaded exercise and constant dieting. If you exercise more, your body will automatically adjust and quickly adapt to your current state. And you have to do everything possible to keep that by eating less and less. Of course you lose weight, but unless you keep starving, your weight will easily rebound.

"If your body has been used to a famine mode, once you consume a few more calories your body will be afraid of another wave of famine and will find ways to store energy, mainly in the form of more fat."

She consulted a nutrition expert and trainer for a more scientific way of keeping fit, and she says a balanced and sustainable weekly schedule of exercises are the key. She is now infatuated with weight lifting which is not common among girls.

China is a gourmet treasure trove. In the traditional Chinese diet, the dominance of rice and flour is unshakable. Especially for older people, having some porridge or noodles in the morning and evening, and rice at noon are the standard meals for three meals a day, and they are even more dependent on them than vegetables, fruits, and meat dishes, which can easily lead to obesity.

Zhang Wenhong, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, provoked debate last year when he said Chinese children should eat eggs and milk in the morning, not porridge, and that protein is the most critical food infighting COVID-19 virus. His another gold words incurred quite the dispute nationwide as well. "It is difficult to support us to live beyond the age of 90 with refined carbohydrates as Chinese leading dietary nutrition."

For many people, it is more difficult for a person to change their eating habits than anything else. Many have lived abroad for a lifetime and still cannot get used to western food.

"Looking at many friends around us, our parents, it is difficult for them to accept new foods. They are reluctant to change their diet for the rest of their lives, because they do not have an open heart, they see less and feel less. They adopt a shielding attitude toward foods that are unfamiliar, unwilling to leave their comfort zone, and will never be able to change themselves," Lin says.

"In fact, changing your diet does not mean that you can't eat delicious Chinese food. You can also eat such food. Just eat less staple food, and you will find that losing weight is not that hard, and in fact can be enjoyable."

According to 2016 edition of the Chinese Residents' Dietary Guidelines the Mediterranean diet, which is globally acclaimed, may be more suitable for Chinese with minor revision of course.

Coarse grains for breakfast, you can eat whole grains (millet, oats, corn, sorghum, buckwheat, various beans, etc.), and can be mixed grains porridge and rice. Use less animal oil, more vegetable oil. Keep a slap amount of fish, chicken and other low-fat meats in your meal, and eat less red meats such as pork, beef, and lamb.

"Many dieters like to calculate their weight every day," Lin says. "The numbers on the scale directly affect their mood every day, but they don't take into account that the figures represent only a temporary set of factors. Losing weight is only a temporary performance. Many people look thinner. But he is still a fat man in his heart, still craving junk food as always, he doesn't like healthy food, he still doesn't have good eating habits, he has a regular schedule, and he doesn't like exercise," says Lin.

"If you can pay more attention to your heart, you can lose weight and it doesn't need a super strong willpower. I never feel that I have strong willpower. I just think that I can change my diet. I just like to exercise.

"If you really want to lose weight once and be healthy for a whole life, you have to change yourself from the bottom of your heart, learn to eat well, earnestly, exercise with your heart, and let yourself fall in love with healthy food and taste healthy food for you. Your body changes, to feel the happiness and changes that exercise brings to you. When you become more and more concentrated with self-control and willpower, these physical and inner changes, these positive and positive feedbacks will let you change your eating habits and living habits a little bit, so that you will be transformed, otherwise, you are really just looking thin."