The body science of weight loss adheres to a very basic idea: burn more calories than you consume. When you consume more calories from your daily diet than you burn off through physical activity each day, you'll most likely gain weight. To lose weight, you'll need to do the opposite. In this way, the body science of weight loss is simple and requires no special tricks or methods other than following a healthy, balanced diet and exercising regularly.
The Basics
Put simply, you lose weight when you burn more calories than you take in, the Mayo Clinic says. One pound of fat in your body equals about 3,500 calories, so you would need to burn or cut out 500 calories each day to lose 1 pound each week. Despite all of the complicated fad diets, weight-loss pills and exercise routines, the basic principle is the same -- eat less and exercise more to lose weight. Before you attempt to lose weight, however, you should consult your doctor to determine whether you actually need to lose weight and, if so, how much.
Food Specifics
Although cutting calories seems like a fairly simple concept to achieve weight loss, not all calories are created equal. In fact, you could deprive yourself of essential nutrients and needed energy if you cut calories from your diet without considering the vitamins, minerals and nutrients that you might be eliminating along with the calories, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Limiting your intake of sweets, animal proteins, saturated fats, cholesterol and trans fatty acids is a great way to cut your calories, as well as unhealthy sugars and fats. Replace these tunhealthy foods with additional servings of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and plant-based proteins, which contain fewer calories and are packed with nutrients. Many vegetables and fruits contain lots of water, so they provide a larger volume without the added calories, the Mayo Clinic notes. High-fiber foods like whole grains and many vegetables make you feel fuller because they take longer to digest.
Exercise Considerations
If you're generally healthy, you should aim to perform at least 2 ½ hours of exercise every week, specifically moderate aerobic exercise like swimming, biking or brisk walking, according to the Mayo Clinic. Alternatively, you could perform 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous exercise like running each week. If you want to lose weight, you should aim for 30 minutes or more of physical activity every day and strength training exercises at least twice per week. Regular exercise can also help you to maintain your ideal weight after losing the pounds, because the added muscle will burn more calories than fat, notes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Ideally, you should incorporate different types of physical activities into your exercise plan; these include aerobic, stretching, strength training and weight-bearing exercises.
Check with your doctor before you begin an exercise regimen. Also, keep in mind that regular exercise not only helps you to lose weight, it raises your HDL or "good cholesterol" levels and reduces risks for anxiety and depression, certain types of cancer, stroke and heart attack, hypertension, and osteoporosis.
Tips
Instead of following fad diets or taking weight-loss pills, you can achieve sustainable, permanent weight loss by eating a healthy diet that's rich in fiber and nutrients but lower in calories, and by exercising regularly. Burn off fat through exercise and reduce about 500 calories per day to lose 1 pound per week, but don't attempt to lose more than 2 pounds per week. Aim for steady, slow weight loss and progressive lifestyle changes that you'll stick with in the long term, advises the University of Michigan Health System. Also, find physical activities that you enjoy, so that you're likely to give up on an exercise routine.
References
- University of Michigan Health System: Weight Loss and Obesity
- Mayo Clinic: Exercise for Weight Loss -- Calories Burned in 1 Hour
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center: Achieving and Maintaining a Healthful Weight
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Exercise and Weight Loss
- Mayo Clinic: Energy Density and Weight Loss -- Feel Full on Fewer Calories
Member Comments