Any time you reduce the number of calories you consume, you will lose weight. You can also shed pounds by cutting carbohydrates, but some weight loss will be from water --- and you'll regain the water weight if you don't make a low-carbohydrate diet a lifetime habit. A diet that is nutritionally balanced and includes exercise and metabolism-boosting foods will help you safely lose fat.
Moderate Diet Plan
The Mayo Clinic provides a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet that is closely aligned to the dietary recommendations of the United States Department of Agriculture. If you follow a 1,500-calorie diet, you can lose 1 to 2 lbs. per week and get all the nutrition you need if you eat a variety of foods. The Mayo Clinic advises to eat as many vegetables and fruits as you desire, generous amount of grains, limited amounts of protein and dairy and restricted amounts of fats and sweets.
Metabolism-Boosting Food Choices
The types of foods you choose among each category counts. Leslie Beck, a Canadian registered dietitian who writes for "The Globe and Mail," says that proteins derived from lean meats and poultry, fatty fish, nuts and seeds boost your metabolism. Metabolism-boosting fruits include strawberries, oranges, blueberries, blackberries and mangos. Low-fat dairy also helps you burn fat faster, Beck says. Whole grain cereals and breads lower your blood sugar, while processed carbohydrates elevate them. And monounsaturated oils --- found in nuts, seeds and vegetable oils --- are kinder to your heart than saturated fats such as butter or fats such as margarine that contain triglycerides.
Weight Loss Beverages
Your choice of beverage is also important to fat loss. In a report published in the "Journal of Nutrition," participants who drank green tea lost significantly more abdominal weight than those who drank black tea. The green tea drinkers lost 5.4 lbs. in 12 weeks compared to 2.9 lbs. for the black tea drinkers, according to the report. You could also lose 5 lbs. a year by drinking 6 cups of water daily, according to the results of a study published in the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism." And you could lose 7 lbs. a year if you substituted water for two cans of soda daily, according to "USA Today."
Benefits of Exercise
You can further speed fat loss by adding exercise to your diet efforts. Something as simple as walking will produce results. If you spent 60 minutes a day walking 4 miles, you would burn 300 to 450 calories, depending on your starting weight. With this exercise routine, you could lose 1 lb. every seven to 12 days. If you add up the pounds lost through diet, beverage choices and exercise, you could lose 26 lbs. in 12 weeks or more than 114 lbs. in a year.
Diet and Exercise Combine for Success
Further evidence about the benefits of exercise to weight loss was discovered by T. Wu and other Harvard University researchers. According to Tu's study, published in 2009 in "Obesity Review," those who included exercise in weight loss programs lasting six months to two years lost substantially more weight than dieters who did not exercise. Wu's study is an analysis of clinical trials spanning more than four decades, from 1966 to 2008.
References
- "The Gazette"; Understanding Atkins: So, Why Do We Lose Weight on Low-Carbohydrate Regimens? Karen Haram; 2003
- Mayo Clinic: Healthy Weight Pyramid
- "The Globe and Mail"; Low Glycemic Load is the Best Diet Road; Leslie Beck; 2006
- "Biotech Business Week"; New Obesity Study Findings Have Been Reported by K.D. Maki and Colleagues; 2009
- "The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism"; Water-Induced Thermogenesis;Michael Boschmann, Jochen Steiniger, Uta Hille, Jens Tank, Frauke Adams, Arya M. Sharma, Susanne Klaus, Friedrich C. Luft and Jens Jordan; 2003
- "USA Today"; Drink More Water, Lose More Weight; Nanci Hellmich; 2006
Member Comments