Being overweight is something modern day’s people are struggling with. But if you are like any of them who are constantly thinking of a fastest approach to lose weight, and more often than not are ending up following crash diets and other intense workouts, then I’m very sorry to disappoint.
None of these methods will work because of the inability of the body to adapt to sudden changes in diets as well as workouts. Simply put, if you have not been exercising for a very long period of time and all of a sudden went on a 3 mile running expedition, you are more likely to do yourself more harm than good. Not only will you get your body injured, you will also be more likely to feel demotivated and depressed in no time.
The same holds true if you suddenly start on a crash diet course. The slow adaptation of the body to changes on calorie intake could ultimately lead to sickness caused by deprivation of nutrients that the body needs to function well.
Weight Loss Is Nothing But A Number Game
As such, being overweight and trying to losing weight is merely a process of finding ways to burn off those excess fats in your belly and waistline. But how do you get rid of these excess fats? Let’s get back to the basic of equations where calories in equals calories out.
Yes, losing weight is a number game. When calories intake (calories in) is greater than the calories burned (calories out), then the extra calories will be converted by the body to be stored as excess fats.
So it simple term, it simply means that if you are eating more foods than what your body actually needs (to perform metabolism and other bodily functions), then you will be gradually gaining more weight as your body slowly stores up those fats. Hence in order to lose weight, the equation needs to be turned around.
In fact, there are actually two ways of doing it. The first is to reduce the amount of calories intake so that the calories in is less than calories out while the second method, is to increase the calories burned so that calories out is greater than calories in. Either way, you will start to lose weight as the body tries to compensate for the lack of calories by burning those stored body fats for calories (energy).
It would be better still if you could adopt both the methods by reducing calories intake and at the same time increase calories burned. All you have to do is to reduce your food energy consumption while at the same time do more exercise and other physical activities. The best way is to do it steadily and gradually and you will be on your way to lose weight. The fact that you have to make the changes gradually is to allow your body some time to slowly adapt to the changes that is taking place.
Effectively, weight loss involves only two main components and they are:
1) Changes to your diet
2) Changes to your physical activities
1. Changes To Your Diet
Diet change is no doubt the best way to lose weight fast. But before making any changes to your diet, you should fully understand that there will be a permanent change in the diet that you intend to follow. As the goal of losing weight is to reduce the amount of calories intake until your ideal body weight is reached and then maintaining a balanced calories intake from there on, reverting back to your prior diets after that will defeat the entire purpose as you will quickly gain back all the weight that you have lost if you will be back to consuming more calories than necessary. Besides, you should also read about foods to avoid if you are really serious about losing weight.
Fast weight loss won’t work unless you know what you are consuming each day. For instance, to make gradual changes to reduce your calories intake, try taking skimmed milk instead of whole or full cream milk, switching ice-creams for salads and eating breads and biscuits instead of butter cookies and cakes. Also when cooking foods, try to bake, grill, braise or steam the foods instead of pan frying or even deep frying. For instance, when cooking potatoes, try to make baked potatoes instead of french fries. Read also about good eating habits that promote weight loss.
In addition, don’t let hidden calories spoil your newly created weight loss plan too. Look out for hidden calories in your foods. There are many calories that are hidden particularly in foods and drinks such as your daily cup of coffee, tea and sodas where you are most likely to under-estimate the amount of calories they contain. Here’s a simple guide that helps you watch whether you are eating healthily.
2. Changes to your physical activities
Before you start exercising, always plan ahead first. Find an exercise that suits you and most importantly it is the one that you would enjoy doing. The fastest exercises to lose weight are normally those that involve intense workouts that pushes your muscles. Exercise and workouts such as swimming, cycling, running, walking or even taking up martial arts or aerobic classes are generally very beneficial for weight loss. Selecting one that you really like doing is vital because if you are doing an exercise that you hate or dislike so much, then you are doing yourself no favor. This wouldn’t be the best way to lose weight even if that is what you have been hoping for.
You are most likely to quit and walk away from it after a day or two of doing it. Therefore, planning and choosing the right physical activity is very important. In the end, it is best that you stick to it and make it a part of your weekly routine. Always remember that every single time that you workout, you are burning calories and fats.
Also where possible, walk to your nearby grocery store instead of driving, walk the stairs instead of taking an elevator or lift and do it whenever possible because you are burning calories and fats in every physical movement that you do. You can try brisk walking around your neighborhood too.
Don’t expect to see any changes the very first day of doing it. Even to lose 5 pounds quickly via crash diets wouldn’t show instant result. If you do not know what crash diet is, there’s an explanation by Wikipedia here – Crash Diet. Weight loss is not an overnight business and it does take a lot of efforts and time to lose weight. Also know that results are not measured in days, you will only see your first result in at least a week or two. After one month, you might notice that your waistline is trimmed by probably an inch. Whatever it is, keep your motivation high and stick to your plan.
If your weight loss is not showing any results, you might need to re-look at your diets and physical activities or even your sleep. Look at where the flaws are more likely to occur. Have you not been doing enough exercise? Do you need to increase the workout intensity? Do you need to make some changes to your diet? Do you have good night sleep? And so on. In fact, lack of sleep can affect weight loss too. Once you have identified where the flaws are, work on it, revamp and continue with your plan to lose weight.
Your fast weight loss plan would never work unless you commit yourself to follow the diet and fitness regime that you have set. If you are currently overweight, you should try to work it out the soonest possible.
Research have found that obesity is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in the United States. People who are obese are also more likely to have high blood pressure, high LDL “bad” cholesterol level as well as higher risk of getting heart attack and cancer beside other potential health problems.
Although the problems may seems too distant away into the future from now, it is best that you start to lose weight and keep fit sooner rather than later. If you think that you are still young today and still have plenty of time to put off weight loss, think again. Do know that it will save you from many troubles in your later years? So take action now and start planning your weight loss regime today!
Health Benefits Of Weight Loss
While everyone would love to lose weight fast, the health benefits that weight loss can bring is even more important. Recent studies have also shown that overweight women who lose between 10 lbs and 20 lbs halve their risk of developing diabetes. For men, the risk of heart problems reduces considerably.
Generally, we tend to gain weight as we age. A few pounds over the years are not a problem, but some people who have gained more than 20 lbs compared to the weight as an 18-year-old will rapidly increase their risk of health problems due to those extra weight that they are carrying. In particular, women increase their risk of heart attack and double their risk of dying from cancer too.
It may seem like these are problems to worry about in the future, but time flies by and tomorrow becomes today. By keeping your weight in the healthy range today, you are less likely to be troubled by illnesses in your later years. So if you are still longing to lose weight through abrupt and intense workouts or crash diets that promises quick slim down, I suggest you to think again.
Also, do read about how you can lose weight by simply drinking more water here.
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