A calorie deficit occurs when you consume fewer calories
than your body expends, so you either eat fewer calories than you previously
ate, or boost the number of calories you burn through exercise.
While physical activity is important for many aspects of
health, it is much so much easier and more sustainable to create a calorie
deficit through diet rather than exercise.
You should know that exercise doesn’t burn as many calories.
If you walk briskly for 30 minutes, you will burn just 200
calories. Since 3,500 calories is a pound of fat, you will need 17.5
days to lose one single pound.
To lose one pound of fat you will have to run 35
miles. If you were to run 7 days a week, you would need to run 5
miles each day in order to lose one pound of fat in a week.
So, what to do?
Eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages and consuming non-processed or minimally processed foods can help you reach a calorie deficit without calorie counting.
Do not drink liquid calories. Replace sugar-sweetened
beverages and replace them with water. Eat fresh, non-starchy vegetable and fresh
fruits. Eating lots of vegetables every day will help you lose weight quicker.
Changing what you eat will bring about a large-enough
caloric deficit to allow for a satisfactory rate of weight loss.
Take advantage of the motivation you are feeling today and
start now. Everything that you need in is your hands.
Getting rid of extra weight is hard. You could spend hours on the treadmill and only see a very small decline in weight. The old adage "you can't outtrain a bad diet" is absolutely true: in order to lose weight effectively, you have to change your diet and eat the stuff your body really needs, not the highly-processed foods which give your brain large doses of reward chemicals.
ReplyDeleteChange is never comfortable, even change for the better. It’s why many people stay in jobs they loathe, in relationships that leave them lonely and in situations that drain them of life rather than embrace the uneasiness, uncertainty and vulnerability that change creates.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I signed up with a gym and I talked to a trainer about losing weight. She gave me great advice—you lose weight mostly by controlling your intake of food as opposed to strenuous exercise. Exercise is important but I speak from experience when I say you have to dial back your caloric intake (and do so by eating healthier food). Exercise is good and recommended but it’s unlikely to help you with significant weight loss.
ReplyDelete90% of weight loss takes place in the kitchen. I work out daily. But if I'm consuming more calories than I'm burning, I won't see a difference in my body. I think there's a general misunderstanding that exercise leads to weight loss. It really doesn't. It leads to burning more calories, but if you're still consuming more calories than you're burning, it doesn't matter how much you exercise, you won't lose weight. That's a tough lesson to learn, but conversely, if you start eating well and allowing for those *healthy* calorie deficits (don't starve yourself!!), your body will start losing weight quickly.
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