Weight loss is something that most people struggle with at some point in their lives. Unless you are one of the lucky few who can eat anything they want and somehow magically still remain slender, you have probably wondered what the best way is to lose weight.
The weight loss industry makes millions of dollars a year just because people are not educated on the facts of weight loss.
To avoid becoming another financial casualty, here are some tips that will help you understand weight loss better.
But I Know What Calories Are, Don’t I?
According to Mirriam-Webster dictionary, a calorie is defined as “the amount of heat required at a pressure of one atmosphere to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius that is equal to about 4.19 joules.”
What this complicated definition means is that calories are a form of energy. When you eat an apple, for example, you are eating about 90 calories of energy. As your body digests the apple, it is oxidized and converted to energy, which becomes fuel for your body.
Every person has a basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is the amount of calories that you would use if you did absolutely nothing but lie in bed all day long.
Let’s say that you are a middle-aged 5’4”, 150lb woman. Your BMR would fall somewhere between 1400-1450 calories. If you ate this many calories, your body would be able to function without gaining weight or losing weight if you did nothing all day long.
This is not a realistic situation, however, because most of us have jobs that we go to, errands that we run, and families to interact with. Each of these things require even more calories.
Depending on how active you are, your calorie needs will increase.
How Calories Make Us Fat
The human body is the most complex system that has ever been found in the universe. Just think about that. Your body is a marvel. It can take food that you eat and turn it into fuel to get you through the day. If only our cars worked the same way…
Even though calories are what get us from the morning to the evening, too many of them can be a bad thing. You know this, but your body hasn’t quite caught up with your brain on this issue. When you consume an excess of calories, your body hoards those extra bits of fuel just in case you ever need them in the future.
Eventually, those extra calories add up, making you gain weight. If you eat 300 extra calories every day, for example, in just 12 days, you will have gained one entire pound. This is because just about 3600 calories equals one pound of fat.
How We Can Get Rid of Extra Calories
Now that you are thinking about getting rid of your excess weight, you are probably wondering what the best way is to do that. Fortunately, you have a few options.
Diet: If you were a middle-aged man who is not very active and is 5’10”, weighing 200lbs, you would need around 2200 calories a day to sustain your weight.
Now think, if you ate an excess of 300 calories a day that resulted in 1lb gained, you can work backward. You can eat 300 fewer calories a day, which will result in a 1lb loss over 12 days.
Exercise: Going with those same numbers, you could add jogging for 30 minutes a day to your routine, which will also provide a calorie deficit of about 300 if you maintain a 2200 calorie diet.
Diet & Exercise: Even better than diet or exercise is diet and exercise. If you were on a 300 calorie deficit diet and jogged for 30 minutes a day, you would have a 600 calorie deficit, which will mean that you will lose 1lb in six days, instead of 12.
The secret to weight loss that the industry does not want you to understand is that a calorie deficit will always result in weight loss. If you understand this, you can even add diet pills to your arsenal, which could help you to lose weight even faster.
If you are determined to lose weight, understanding the basics behind weight loss is absolutely essential so that you can make the best decisions possible for you and your body.