Friday, March 25, 2011

There Is Only One Way to Lose Weight

There is really only one way to lose weight. Before I tell you what it is, let me clarify something. When people say they want to lose weight, they actually mean that they want to lose fat so as to look firm and more attractive. Let's face the truth - nobody likes to admit that they are fat. It's embarrassing. So, what is this one way to lose weight? You have to create a caloric deficit. In other words, your daily consumption of calories must be less than your daily calorie burn, period! If you eat 1800 calories and burn off 1800 calories, your weight will not budge. It is just basic math like 2 - 2 = 0. Now one pound is equal to 3500 calories, so if you want to lose one pound per week, you will have to eat 500 fewer calories per day than what you are going to work off. How are you going to do that? Well, you have three options.

1. Go on a diet, but keep your workload the same. This is the most widely selected option on the planet, and my goodness, you do have a lot of options to choose from. Sadly, the vast majority of diet plans simply do not work because your body will not allow it. After a few days, your body recognizes the reduction in calories and goes into starvation mode. It will automatically begin slowing your metabolism down to match your food intake, and it will try desperately to store as much fat as it can. Your body prefers to burn carbohydrates and to store fat. It will even start breaking down proteins which will result in a loss of lean muscle tissue. The more effective diet plans usually involve some sort of meal plan delivered to your house. These plans tend to be low in carbohydrates to force your body to burn fat. The biggest drawback to these plans is the price, which tends to run about $300 per person per month.

2. Maintain your current eating plan, but start an exercise program. While this is practiced by both sexes, it is used more frequently by younger males. You know who they are, former high school jocks that have noticed that they have developed a belly and say something like, "Man, I've gotta start workin' out!" After a few weeks they realize that they are getting stronger, but that washboard belly they had in school isn't coming back. The problem is this: they are still eating the same junk that gave them that pot belly to begin with! You can do thousands of crunches and sit-ups and not lose that belly. In fact, your belly could get bigger because you will be increasing the size of your abdominal muscles, but you won't be burning off the fat that is covering them.

3. Consume fewer calories, and start a fitness regimen. This is the plan that is recommended by nearly every health and fitness expert. It is important to note that it is not enough to merely reduce the calories and start just any workout routine. Do not go on a diet! Change your dietary lifestyle. Start eating healthy, whole foods, and stop eating processed junk. As for your exercise, forget about sit-up and crunches. Concentrate on the large muscle groups like legs, back and chest. Muscle burns calories faster than fat, and large muscles burn more calories than small muscles. Your doctor will tell you to eat right and exercise. Your health and fitness coach will tell you to eat the right foods at the proper times, and do the right exercises in the correct manner.

The choice is yours to make. You can create a caloric deficit using any one of these methods. You just have to decide what you are really trying to accomplish. Will you be happy losing weight but not fat, or would you rather burn off the fat and build a little more muscle? Have a long and healthy life!

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