More exercise, fewer calories.
By: David Warner
Those are four simple words that can spell success for safe and sustained weight loss.
But beyond the simplicity of the words lies a battle with which thousands struggle in their daily lives – how to shed the pounds that will get them to a healthy weight.
Many make the decision to attempt to lose weight in a hurry, but the evidence shows that slow and steady does it – most experts recommend a pound or two a week.
The math behind weight loss is also fairly simple. A pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. So, if want to lose a pound a week, you need to reduce by 500 calories a day the number of calories you eat, or burn through exercise.
The temptation to drop those pounds more quickly than most professionals recommend comes with some concern, and some danger.
For one thing, if you try to lose the weight quickly, your scale may indeed show a loss, but it may well be water – or even lean tissue.
For another if you, say, lose more than 3 pounds a week – after the first couple of weeks -- you could end up with gallstones. Plus, if you really reduce your caloric intake to fewer than 800 calories a day you could end up with potentially fatal heart rhythm abnormalities.
In addition, it takes a major effort to exercise and diet enough to lose weight quickly, and most people can’t keep that up over time. You need to make changes in your eating and exercise habits that you can live with over a lifetime.
The first step, of course, is to decide whether you really need to lose weight at all. Your doctor or other health care professional can give you advice on that subject. You could also consult a Body Mass Index table to see whether you qualify as overweight or obese for your height. Don’t be surprised if you are – some estimates show that more than half of American adults fall in one of those categories.
It’s worth noting that the federal government’s Healthy People 2010 program lists overweight and obesity as one of the 10 leading health indicators for Americans.
That’s because being overweight or obese can literally make you sick. Your blood pressure could go up, your cholesterol level could elevate, you could be putting yourself at risk for Type II diabetes, as well as heart disease, stroke, gallbladder problems, arthritis, and sleep disorders.
Moreover, there are other impacts as well. Heavy people may face social discrimination, and could suffer from low self esteem.
Many believe that the number of overweight and obese people in the country stems from a diet that contains too much high fat food, other food and drinks that are loaded with sugar, like soft drinks, candy and snacks.
Some diets claim they have unlocked that special combination of foods to make you lose weight – the perfect blend of fat, protein and carbohydrates that could burn through fat in a hurry.
But studies have shown that cutting calories is the key. In other words, eat less.
Your diet should include fruits, vegetables, grains, low-fat dairy products, lean protein sources and nuts and seeds. The key is to find the right blend of foods, so you can eat them for a lifetime, not just when you’re “on a diet.”
The other component of losing weight is exercise.
You’ll need to be exercising from 30 to 60 minutes on most days.
Exercise, in this case, is defined as repetitive activity that you do regularly, as opposed to, say, making the bed, or gardening.
So, step it up, and while you’re at it, eat better, and eat less.
Learn more about diabetes screening.
Learn more about cholesterol screening.
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