Weight loss requires the expenditure of more calories than consumed over an extended time period. Typically, one to two pounds lost per week is a healthy and manageable increment goal. Since one pound of body weight is equivalent to 3,500 calories, you should aim to distribute this amount over the span of seven days instead of in one or two days. Different methods work to burn calories, including exercise, diet restriction and a combination of both.
Diet
Calorie restriction through dieting can be an effective method for you to lose weight. However, you should ensure that despite this restriction, you still take in nutrients from the three major food types: fats, proteins and carbohydrates. These shouldn't be consumed in equal proportions, but should follow the Mayo Clinic's recommendations of 45 to 65 percent carbohydrates, 10 to 35 percent proteins and 20 to 35 percent fats.
Exercise
An exercise regimen under the guidance of the American College of Sports Medicine's guidelines is an effective way to lose and manage your weight. The college recommends that three to five days of 30 to 40 minute sessions of cardiovascular exercise combined with at least two days of whole body strength training per week is a sufficient weight-loss stimulus.
Calorie Needs
The "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition" reports that if you're a regularly physically active person, you should consume at least 1,800 to 2,400 calories per day to meet your daily demands. This means that you should proportion out the fats, proteins and carbohydrates relative their caloric equivalents and needs. Proteins and carbohydrates are equal to 4 calories per gram, whereas fats are equal to 9 calories per gram.
Exercise Expenditure
At most, your estimated single day of caloric expenditure via exercise is roughly 400 calories per session, reports the journal "Kinesiology." This means that, based on this number, you expend roughly 2,800 calories via regimented exercise on a weekly basis. Although your resting metabolic rate accounts for the majority of your caloric expenditure, these two combined barely account for 1 pound of body weight loss in the absence of dieting.
Combination
Your best bet to lose weight healthfully and effectively is a combination of a well-balanced diet and regular exercise. It is essential for you to consume enough of the right calories to prevent your body from going into an anti-starvation mode, but not go into over-consumption, where you create a surplus. Thus, the incorporation of exercise can accomplish the expenditure of calories that you might otherwise be restricting through diet, allowing your to meet your body's minimal daily energy requirements.
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