Losing weight is not an easy task, and it requires commitment and patience. The longer you have spent living a sedentary lifestyle, the harder it will be to lose weight, but don’t be disheartened. Working toward a healthy weight will reduce your chances of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer, but any new diet or exercise regimen should be discussed with a health professional first.
Calories In, Calories Out
Energy balance is the key to weight loss, says ACE Fitness, meaning the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to consume fewer calories and burn more. Some foods contain high levels of energy and others low. These foods are described as being high or low in calories. The number of calories you need to maintain a healthy weight is dependent on your age, height and level of activity. See the Fitness magazine website for its Caloric Needs Calculator to determine how many calories you should be consuming.
Metabolism and Weight Loss
Your basal metabolic rate is determined by how many calories your body needs for basic, daily functions. Calories are essential for you not only to engage in physical activity, but also for basic functions such as digestion, breathing, blood circulation and cell maintenance. According to the Mayo Clinic, it is a myth that a slow metabolism is the cause of excess weight gain. The real cause is often the consumption of surplus calories coupled with too little exercise to burn them off.
Healthy Diet
A healthy diet in conjunction with a sensible exercise regimen is the only way to achieve energy balance and therefore sustainable weight loss. Medline Plus recommends that you replace red meat with fish and poultry whenever possible and not to eat red meat more than once a day. Food should be baked or steamed rather than fried, and you should choose fibrous foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and nuts and seeds, which will aid your digestion and fill you up so that you eat less.
Exercise and Weight Loss
The government suggests that you should engage in at least five hours of aerobic exercise each week to lose weight, but this can be broken into periods of at least 10 minutes each. The reason is simple: The more calories you burn, the less energy your body will hang onto and turn into fat. Aerobic exercise could be swimming, cycling, jogging, brisk walking or racket sports such as tennis or badminton.
Successes
The National Weight Control Registry has been running a study on how people lose weight and maintain the loss. Of those who have kept the weight off for at least a year, 98 percent changed their diets, 94 percent increased their physical activity and 90 percent exercise for around an hour each day. See the registry website under Resources for the rest of the results.
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