WEIGHT LOSS BASICS - CONTROLLING YOUR WEIGHT
The key to weight control is a simple equation:
Calories in - calories out = weight management
WEIGHT LOSS BASICS - CONTROLLING YOUR WEIGHT
The key to weight control is a simple equation:
Calories in - calories out = weight management
Exercise plays an important role in weight control by increasing energy
output, calling on stored
calories for extra fuel. Recent studies show that not only does exercise
increase metabolism during a
workout, but it causes your metabolism to stay increased for a period
of time after exercising,
allowing you to burn more calories.
How much exercise is needed to make a difference in your weight depends
on the amount and type of
activity, and on how much you eat. Aerobic exercise burns body fat.
A medium-sized adult would
have to walk more than 30 miles to burn up 3,500 calories, the equivalent
of one pound of fat.
Although that may seem like a lot, you don't have to walk the 30 miles
all at once. Walking a mile a
day for 30 days will achieve the same result, providing you don't increase
your food intake to negate
the effects of walking
If you consume 100 calories a day more than your body needs, you will
gain approximately 10 pounds
in a year. You could take that weight off, or keep it off, by doing 30
minutes of moderate exercise daily.
The combination of exercise and diet offers the most flexible and effective
approach to weight
control.
Since muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue, and exercise develops
muscle to a certain degree,
your bathroom scale won't necessarily tell you whether or not you are
"fat." Well muscled
individuals, with relatively little body fat, invariably are "overweight"
according to standard weight
charts. If you are doing a regular program of strength training, your
muscles will increase in weight,
and possibly your overall weight will increase. Body composition is
a better indicator of your
condition than body weight.
Lack of physical activity causes muscles to get soft, and if food intake
is not decreased, added body
weight is almost always fat. Once-active people, who continue to eat
as they always have after
settling into sedentary lifestyles, tend to suffer from "creeping obesity."
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GETTING STARTED
While percent body fat is a much better measure of healthy body composition, it is not readily available for most people. Therefore, use regular (once a week minimum) weighing. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning, preferably the same day of the week.
RECOMMENDED WEIGHT LOST RATES: It is best to keep weight loss at about 1/2 to 1 pounds per week - even less is good. That may not sound like much, but it quickly adds up.To lose weight faster tends to result in a feeling of deprivation and doesn't lead to a long-term healthy diet. If weight is lost quicker, one of two things, or both, can occur. First, much of the weight loss could simply be water loss. We need water to function, similar to oil in a car engine. Without it, the engine falters.
Second, when weight loss is more rapid there is more of a chance of gaining it back - the yo-yo effect.
The only way to get weight off and KEEP IT OFF is to change basic habits on what you eat. If weight loss is rapid, it is unlikely that behavior change is occurring. Instead, you are "going on a diet" that you plan to abandon when you get to your desired weight. If you do that, you are pretty much guaranteed the weight will go back on - and often even more than you had initially.
In addition, when there is rapid weight loss, the body detects it as "starvation mode" and reduces metabolism accordingly. The body keeps a slower metabolism to be ready for the next starvation period. The result is that your basal metabolic rate is even lower than when you started on your weight loss.
The truth is, there is NO QUICK FIX. If there were, and it worked, we'd all be skinny.
While individual adjustments should be considered, some of the basics for a good diet and weight loss are:
A possible recommended diet (as followed by the instructor of this class):
Breakfast: Start with fresh fruit and add some sort of protein. Don't skip breakfast!
Mid morning snack: fat-free yogurt or pineapple cottage cheese.
Lunch: Tossed salad with fat-free dressing and chicken slivers.
Mid afternoon snack: something crunchy may be in order. Try soy chips, carrots, and maybe a slice of whole grain bread.
Evening: Divide your plate into forths and fix a meal with 1/4 of the plate for protein (lean meat, fish, grilled chicken), 1/4 with a starch such as rice, potatoes, or noodles; then fill the remaining half of the plate with steamed vegetables. Pile them on.
If you need a dessert, search for low fat options. If you constantly crave something sweet at the end of a meal, accept it and find a healthy option.
RECORD WHAT YOU EAT
There are free downloadable programs that help you keep track of what you eat.
Or keep it simple: just keep a notebook and write what you eat. Research has shown that people who keep track of what they eat - WRITE IT DOWN! - are more apt to lose weight. They're less likely to cheat if they feel accountable.
The best diet is the one you don't know you're on. In other words, small changes in what and how you eat could result in long-term weight loss.
Weight loss greater than 0.5 to 1.0 pound a week tends to make a person feel deprived. The long term result is that a person tends to gain the weight back - and then some. That is much less likely to happen when weight loss is more gradual.
Examples of a few simple changes are listed below.
The same thing works with burning calories: walking one extra mile a day is 100 calories and 10 pounds a year.
Imagine weighing 20 pounds less next year - and keeping it off permanently without ever feeling deprived.
These types of changes - getting rid of a few bad habits - can add up to permanent weight loss.
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