How to Lose Weight - The Basics of Weight Loss

How to Lose Weight - The Basics of Weight Loss

 

Despite the way it feels, losing weight isn't a mysterious process. It's a simple matter of burning more calories than you eat. But, if it were really that simple, none of us would have a weight problem, would we? Weight loss can be such a struggle that we start thinking we have to do something drastic to see results -- diets, pills or those weird fitness gadgets on infomercials that promise instant success. The true secret to weight loss is this: Make small changes each and every day and you'll slowly (but surely) lose those extra pounds. The key is to forget about instant results and settle in for the long run.

Rules of Weight Loss

To lose one pound of fat, you must burn approximately 3500 calories over and above what you already burn doing daily activities. That sounds like a lot of calories and you certainly wouldn't want to try to burn 3500 calories in one day. However, by taking it step-by-step, you can determine just what you need to do each day to burn or cut out those extra calories. Below is a step by step process for getting started.

 

Example:

 

Mary's BMR is 1400 calories and she burns 900 calories in daily activity with regular exercise, walking around and doing household chores. To maintain her weight, she should be eating 2300 calories but, after keeping a food journal, Mary finds that she's eating 2550 calories every day. By eating 250 more calories than her body needs, Mary will gain one pound every 2 weeks.

This example shows how easy it is to gain weight without even knowing it. However, it's also easy to lose weight, even if the process itself can be slow. You can start by making small changes in your diet and activity levels and immediately start burning more calories than you're eating. If you can find a way to burn an extra 200 to 500 calories each day with both exercise and diet, you're on the right track. Try these ideas:

Instead of...	Do this...
An afternoon Coke	Drink a glass of water. (calories saved: 97)
An Egg McMuffin	Eat a small whole wheat bagel +1 Tbsp of peanut butter (calories saved: 185)
Using your break eat sweets	Walk up and down a flight of stairs for 10 minutes (calories burned: 100)
Hitting the snooze button	Get up 10 minutes early and go for a brisk walk (calories burned: 100)
Watching TV after work	Do 10 minutes of yoga (calories burned: 50)

Total Calories Saved: 532 (based on a 140-pound person)

How Much Exercise Do I Need?

Exercise is an important weight loss tool, but how much you need varies from person to person.

 

 

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How to Lose Weight Easily: 7 Simple Steps to Loosing Weight.

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Weight loss and dieting are two words which people don't like to hear, overweight or not. Images of intense work out regimes and trying to stick to strict, bland diets are some of the things that come to mind when those words are spoken.

But it's not hard to loose weight and it shouldn't be. It should be fun and easy to loose weight. Here's 7 simple steps to make loosing weight fun and easy.

1) Exercise in the morning before you eat breakfast Research has shown you'll burn three times more body fat working out during the morning than out at any other time of day.

I'm not talking about doing 100 push up with one hand behind your back, take it slow and easy. Do a few toe touches or arm curls with 5 pound weights each morning. The key here is easy and fun.

Though, you need to perform both resistance and cardio workouts so get your cardio in by taking a walk or jog to the park or around your neighborhood with your favorite tunes playing on your walkman or ipod. Believe it or not your body will continue to burn fat even after you're done excising so be sure to eat a full breakfast to get your energy levels back up.

2) Stay hydrated by drinking water.
Drink lots of water all day long from the time you wake up to when you go to bed. Drink 8-16 glasses filtered or bottled water a day. That may sound like a lot but after your morning workout you will probably drink one or two glasses of water.
Not only is water good for you, but it also flushes out harmful toxins in the body, increases your metabolism which will help you burn fat and keeps your skin completion clear.

3) Do light resistance training before cardio workouts
During the first 20 minutes of any exercise, your body will burn not any body fat. To counter this fact during the first 20 minutes of a workout do some stretching or warm-ups. Stretching and warm ups are important for exercises because it will help your muscles loosen up and prevent you from having any cramps and kinks the next day. It will also help increase your metabolism which will help you burn the fat.

4) Eat Breakfast
Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day but it will also boost your metabolism and give you the energy you need to burn fat. Eating a healthy and hearty breakfast will help put a stop to the cravings during the day so you won't find yourself snacking in between meals.

5) Change your mindset
People who are battling with weight (and even those who aren't) often compare themselves with others. Don't fall into this trap because you will never feel you stack up to the competition enough. Low self-esteem will lead you down the road to emotional trouble and will prevent you from reaching your goal. People are genetically different and therefore will lose weight in different amounts of time. Don't be so hard on yourself.

Be your own person and stick to your own target weight. Weight loss is not a race or a competition, the only person you're competing against is yourself.

6) Change your lifestyle
If you normally drive to work take the train and walk to the station. Take up some dancing classes or sign up some classes in a sport of your interest. This will not only get you exercising but doing these activities will also help you meet new people. Remember, loose weight easily while having fun.

7) Take before and after photos
While this may be hard for some people as they shy away from cameras at gatherings and it may not be easy to see yourself overweight. However, there is no easier way to see the progress your making than by taking before and after weight loss images. After you reach your target weight you won't be able to keep yourself away from cameras. You'll want to show everyone what you achieved.

In addition to helping your self development before and after weight loss images serve as a good reminder of how much you have achieved and can achieve if you set your mind to your goals.

By following these 7 simple steps to loosing weight you'll be on your way to your desired weight