A WAY OF LIFE TO ACHIEVE
WEIGHT LOSS
If you need to lose weight, you should make a commitment for a lifetime. A recent Harvard Medical School study of 100,000 women tracked for fifteen years showed that although weight matters, maintaining that weight through regular exercise and a healthy diet is more important than staying below a number on the scale. We each have a predisposition for how much body fat we carry. But environment, metabolism, and physical activity play important roles.
Calories matter. Fat, protein and carbohydrate calories are each used differently by the body. Carbohydrates and protein are converted into glucose which the body uses for fuel. Only excess calories are stored as fat. However, almost all fat calories are immediately stored in fat cells. To make matters worse, a gram of fat has nine calories, while the same amount of protein or carbohydrate has four. Research has indicated that excess weight may be caused more by the amount of fat consumed rather than the amount of calories.
Fasting and fad diets which severely limit the amount of calories you consume will result in a decreased metabolism and weight loss. However, the weight you lose will be muscle not fat. The body slows down to maintain vital functions such as breathing and heart rate. It is easier and more efficient for the body to use protein rather than fat.
A healthier way to lose weight is to eat less fat. You should consume no more than 30 grams of fat a day, with less than 10% of your total calorie intake from saturated fats. Read food labels. They list the amount and type of fat in the product. Eliminate sugar which is similar to pure glucose and used first by the body because it is easier to break down. Do not increase the amount of complex carbohydrates or protein in your diet. This will give you a healthy weight loss. To maintain this loss, simply increase your carbohydrates and protein once you have reached your goal.
Regular exercise is equally important in losing weight and keeping it off. Any type of physical activity will burn calories, increase your heart rate and increase your metabolism. The more you weigh, the more calories you will burn with physical activity. There are four types of equally important exercise: aerobic, which strengthens the heart and burns the most calories; endurance, which trains the heart, lungs and muscles to work longer; strength training which tones and strengthens the muscles to keep you from getting flabby; and flexibility or warm-up which keep muscles supple to decrease the likelihood of injury during your work-out. The key to exercise is to do it regularly at least thirty minutes 3-4 times a week. Check with your doctor before beginning an exercise program.
Limiting fat intake and regular, moderate exercise will result in a healthy weight loss for your lifetime.
Copyright 1996: MJ Bovo. All rights reserved.
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