Losing Weight – Understand The Basics Of Weight Loss

Posted by: Lowell on September 13, 2011 Under: Weight Loss |

There are many different ways to lose weight. Some diet plans are based on the elimination of an entire food group, like the low-carb diets or the low-fat diets. Other diets tell you not to eat after 7 p.m or to eat 6 times per day. However, losing weight doesn’t have to be so complicated. Weight loss is a simple process. The only thing you need to do is to understand a few basic premises:

Losing weight is a just a simple mathematical formula.

The only real way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you eat. There is no way you can lose your extra pounds, without creating a calorie deficit. If you consume more calories than you burn, these calories will be stored as fat. It doesn’t matter where they come from. It doesn’t matter if they come from healthy, foods or unhealthy foods, from carbohydrates or protein, they will still get stored as fat.

But, what about all these people who lose weight by cutting carbs or by reducing their dietary fat intake? These types of diets simply trick you into eating fewer calories. For example, if you follow a diet that doesn’t allow you to eat any sugar, then in all probability you will end up eating fewer calories anyway.

Additionally, if you cut starches you will reduce fluid retention, which will cause you to lose more weight. However, this weight wont be fat. It will simply be water weight.

While these ‘specialized diets,’ like the low carb diets do trick you into eating fewer calories, they tend to appeal more to the ‘tastes’ of individuals.  Low carb diets are well suited to people who don’t want to give up meat, while low sugar diets are attractive to people who tend to eat a more vegan diet anyway.

Exercise does not equal weight loss.

Conventional wisdom dictates that exercise is essential for shedding the extra pounds. However, according to many studies, the actual contribution of exercise to weight loss is minimal. You need to exercise many hours per week to be able to lose fat. What is more, even though it’s true that exercise can help you burn calories, unfortunately it has another effect: it can increase appetite. If you start to eat more food, then exercise won’t help you lose weight. It may even make it harder.

A combination of diet and exercise is required for any weight loss regimen to give effective, and lasting results. A simple plan to engage in one hour of cardio exercise, and 2-3 strength training sessions per week are the basics of a proper weight loss regimen.