| |
| |
|
Weight Loss Information |
|
|
|
Weight Loss - Sustained Success through Simple Steps
Weight Loss - Basic Lessons for Sustained Success Weight loss is a goal for many people today, but cutting through all the hype and getting quality information can be difficult. This article will give you information on your metabolism, nutrition, and exercise that you can use to evaluate weight loss programs that you may be considering, or to create your own. For healthy, effective, and sustained weight loss, you need to learn some basics about how your body's metabolism works. Your Body Does Basic Math One of the most important factors that directly impacts weight loss is a concept called "energy balance." Quite simply, this is a measure of whether a person has eaten more calories than they burned that day, or vice versa. Because of all the scientific jargon, it can be baffling to read detailed descriptions of how your body and metabolism work. But when it comes to weight loss, all you need to know is that your metabolism does basic math - addition and subtraction; calories eaten and calories burned.
In order to begin healthy, effective weight loss, you need to achieve negative energy balance. There are two primary ways to do this - daily diet and exercise. We'll take a closer look at each very shortly. However, it is important to note that most people who are aiming for moderate weight loss should not tip the scales too drastically into negative energy balance. For instance, if your daily activities result in 2000 calories burned per day, restricting your calorie intake to 800 calories per day would be excessive. You would lose weight, but probably not in the way you intended. Your body would see this drastic calorie restriction as starvation, and would begin hoarding body fat and burning muscle, in addition to losing valuable fluids and electrolytes, which is exactly the opposite of what you are hoping to achieve. If you are at neutral energy balance and have moderate weight loss goals, then a calorie restriction of 500 calories per day will produce healthy, gradual weight loss. Be sure to consult your physician regarding appropriate levels of calorie restriction and activity if your weight loss goals are very aggressive. Nutrition There are two main factors that you should consider when evaluating your daily diet - total calories and composition. The term "total calories" is as simple as it sounds - the number of calories you have consumed in a given day. If you're already mindful of the total quantity of food you eat each day, and are good at estimating serving sizes, you're in a good position to determine where your current energy balance is, and monitor it as you progress. If not, it can be useful to purchase an inexpensive kitchen scale to get a better idea of how big a serving that you consider "average" really is. You need to know how many calories you're eating on a daily basis in order to know where you can make improvements. The composition of your diet is also very important. With all the competing diet programs out there, it can be difficult to separate the science from the hype. The guidelines in the USDA's new food pyramid, called MyPyramid, are very helpful in identifying good food choices - whole grain carbohydrates instead of processed carbs (whole wheat bread rather than white), lean instead of high-fat protein sources (chicken instead of prime rib), and healthy sources of fat (olive oil instead of Crisco). These guidelines will serve you well in formulating a daily diet that will keep you well-nourished with sustained energy levels and feeling your best over the long term. Again, if working all the specifics out on your own seems difficult, there are high-quality programs available that help you specify meal composition, serving size, timing of meals and snacks, and even provide you with a shopping list. These programs can be helpful and convenient, but they are not absolutely necessary to achieve your weight loss goals. Exercise Exercise is a very important component of any well-balanced weight loss program. In its Guidelines for Healthy Aerobic Activity, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 to 45 minutes of moderate aerobic activity performed 3 to 5 times per week. This can be as simple as taking a brisk walk through your neighborhood. With this as a "base" of aerobic activity, weight training can be an excellent way to burn more calories and encourage development of lean muscle tissue, which burns additional calories even when you're sleeping! However, it's important to get qualified instruction in how to perform weight training in order to ensure that you are performing the exercises correctly, and not putting yourself at risk of injury. Another key element in the exercise equation is moderation. If you haven't worked out in a year, you should not set a goal of running for an hour a day, five days a week. Begin moderately and allow your body to become accustomed to this new routine. When you're used to walking briskly for 30 minutes three days per week, consider increasing to four days per week, and so forth. Regardless of what specific kind of exercise you choose, if you perform it safely, moderately, and most important, regularly, you will be in a much better position to achieve your weight loss goals. Remember, the goal is negative energy balance and exercise is another tool to get you there. If your daily goal is a 500 calorie negative energy balance, it can be much more pleasant to exercise 200 calories away, and only have to restrict your diet by 300 calories. Conclusion Successfully combining a healthy diet and exercise program is the best way to achieve and sustain your weight-loss goals. A pound of fat represents approximately 3500 stored calories. Using the above example of a 500 calorie negative energy balance, over the course of a week you would lose approximately one pound, for a total of around 4 pounds per month. Experts agree that this is a healthy rate of weight loss. More importantly, by taking a gradual approach, you are teaching yourself something far more important, which is behavior modification. Crash diets may promise that you will lose five pounds a week, but if you revert to the same patterns of behavior that you were accustomed to before you started your diet, you'll gain the weight right back. No one becomes overweight overnight, so you shouldn't expect to lose the weight overnight either. Allow your body to become accustomed to healthy new habits, so you can sustain your success over the long term. Liz Smith writes about weight loss programs and diets for thedietchannel.com Liz Smith is the Editor-in-Chief of Trouve Publishing.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Take Control of Your Metabolism:Quick Tips for Increased Muscle Tone, Faster Fat Burning, and Energy So many people are talking about how slow their metabolism is and why they need to start taking the latest diet supplement scam yet they don't even understand how the human metabolism works. So before I even go into how to speed yours up, I want to first go over some of the basics. Super Sizing: Money Shrinks While Waist Lines Grow "Your Eyes are Bigger Than Your Stomach""Your eyes are bigger than your stomach," my mother said, which meant, "No, you can't have a milk shake." She didn't think my 10-year old appetite was sufficient to finish all that food, and she was probably right. Five Tips for Easy Weight Loss! Weight loss is a hot topic among people today, especially considering the fact that more than half of us are overweight. As we get older we often get busier, and before we know it, find ourselves in the prime of our lives and packing a few extra pounds. Setting Objectives For Weight Loss I am sure that when I mention setting objectives for weight loss, the majority of people will be thinking in terms of how many pounds in weight that they, or someone else, should lose. That is similar, in a way, to those who consider setting financial objectives, and then state money as an objective. Combating Obesity So you ask, "How do I determine if I am Obese, Overweight or fat?" Usually 20% or more over recommendations on standard weight charts indicates that you fit into the obese category. Obesity refers specifically to having an abnormally high proportion of body fat. The Dirty Little Diet Secret Have you ever wondered how actors stay in such great shape? You know they couldn't starve themselves all the time, because you can see their weight fluctuate from movie to movie, depending on the role they're playing. The fact is Hollywood's slim and slender are hiding a dark secret from you, their adoring fan. Lose A Pound Lose a pound of fat? what does it take? Not eating for a day? Not eating for a week? Eating less? How much less?Professionals say that it takes 3500 calories in order to loose One Pound of fat you stored in your body. That simply means that you have to reduce your calorie intake for 3500 cal per week, and here you are - one pound less. The Papaya Diet: A Guaranteed Loser Search Yahoo for "papaya" and "kirstie" and you'll find at least a hundred sites that claim papaya is single-handedly responsible for melting literally dozens of pounds off the body of a popular actress.I can recall, from my own quality-time spent in line at the grocery store, virtually every food known to man being touted as the key ingredient in a new "miracle diet. Lose Fats - Gain Confidence when You Lose Weight "How do I lose 5 kg or 30 kg?""How do I gain some muscles and tone up sexily?"It is simple. Yes, you heard it right, it is simple. The Mini Tummy Tuck Procedure What is a mini tummy tuck? Officially called a partial abdominoplasty, a mini tummy tuck simply removes unwanted skin and fat from the area below the navel. This type of procedure has substantially increased in popularity. Cycle Your Way To Weight Loss Of all the possible exercises there are to help you lose weight, cycling is one of the best.If you want to lose weight and are looking for the perfect exercise, or if you're looking for a great calorie burning exercise to add to your exercise repertoire, this article is for you. Fit or Fat?! "Hey, you have reduced now, compared to the last time I saw you!"These are golden words for a woman who is fat. This woman would not even have lost an ounce but this one makes her feel good. Dieting? Upgrading Your Non-Conscious - Part 1 Visualizing and Declarations are today's topics.Visualize what you want as if now is how to create everything. Dropping The Carbs - The Pros and Cons of Ketogenic Dieting We must all now be familiar with the Atkins Diet. Of all of the 'trend' diets that move through our popular culture, none has caused as much interest or controversy. Dont Be Misled. The Best Attitude and Action for Weight Loss Weight loss can be one of the most difficult things to accomplish. Today's media and the marketplace can sometimes make the effort of weight loss even harder. Know How Many Calories To Cut For Permanent Weight Loss It is not recommended to lose more than 1 pound per week for healthily weight loss. The reason for this has do to with the issues which quick and drastic weight loss can have on your body's metabolism and muscle mass. Dieting to Death It has been 15 years since I was diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa and I have been recovered for 12 years. To this day if I head for the washroom after a meal my mother feels the panic start to well up inside of her. On A Diet? Ensure You Get Enough Nutritional Supplements For Your Good Health There is never any absolute certainty about what the nutritional requirements are for the human body of a certain age, size and gender. Scientific research on the subject takes a long time, and results are often not that clear. Are You Ready To Lose Weight? I know, I know. What a crazy question!Considering that we've all tried so many diets until we can give calorie counts in our sleep - where do I get off asking a question like that?But bear with me please. Diet Tips for Weight Loss: Free Diet Tips Which You Cant Afford to Miss! Obesity is a disease that is not caused by a bacteria or virus but a person's own eating habits. It is a disease which is very easy to get rid of just by changing your food habits.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
