Two of every three Americans are overweight, and the nation spends around $50 billion each year on weight-loss programs and products, according to Harvard University Medical School. But a diet that peels away pounds is only the first step to a healthier weight. A strategic approach to achieving weight-loss goals, and keeping extra weight off, includes tracking your own eating patterns, getting a move on, eating for nutrition and embracing a healthy lifestyle.
Intake Tactics
Too much fuel gets stockpiled as extra weight. You must expend more energy than you take in if you want to drop a few pounds. One way to know exactly what you are eating and to figure calories is to take notes. Keep a food diary and don't forget snacks. Write it all down to discover your patterns, the low points in your day, and the macro- and micronutrients you are getting or not getting. Then employ some strategies for success. Eat main meals at breakfast and lunch so you burn off calories while you are active all day. Eat small meals about every three hours to stabilize blood sugar and energy levels. Always pick the low-fat versions. Use a smaller plate and trim portion size. Eat foods you love and won't give up -- but just a little. Chew slowly and savor your food. It takes about 20 minutes to feel that hunger is satisfied. Stay hydrated. Drink water before meals and drink enough so that thirst, which mimics hunger, doesn't send you to the fridge.
Energy Expenditure
Exercise increases metabolism. That aerobics afterglow is burning calories and so are the bigger, stronger muscles you developed in the gym, even while they are resting. To lose a healthy 1 to 2 lbs. a week, cut calories, but don't risk nutritional deprivation. Instead, the University of Maryland Medical Center recommends that you spend at least 20 minutes a day, three to five days a week, in a vigorous activity that you enjoy like swimming, cycling or jogging. Thirty to 45 minutes of exercise five days a week is even better for fitness and weight loss. Remind yourself on days when you'd rather be a couch potato that dropping just 5 to 10 percent of excess body weight will significantly lower your cholesterol and your risk for diabetes. Move it and lose it to get fit and look fabulous.
More Sleep, Less Stress
A University of Chicago study found that 50 percent of weight lost by dieters who got a full night's sleep was fat. In contrast, only 25 percent of the weight lost was fat when the study participants cut sleep time by two hours a night. Inadequate sleep also boosted the production of ghreline, a hormone that creates the sensation of hunger and slows energy expenditure. Stress can make you fat, too, or at least it can motivate the behaviors that add unnecessary weight. The production of cortisol, the stress hormone, triggers increased appetite and cravings for fat and sugar. A good night's sleep and stress-busters like meditation, yoga or long walks in nature belong in your arsenal of weapons against excess weight.
References
- MIT:Weight Management Strategies
- U Maryland Medical Center: Common-Sense Strategies to Long-Term Weight Loss
- Harvard Medical School Publications: Lose Weight and Keep It Off
- U Chicago: Sleep Loss Limits fat Loss Study Finds
- University of New Mexico: Cortisol Connection: Tips on Managing Stress and Weight
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