Weight loss can be a challenge for many people. It can be confusing in terms of what you should and shouldn’t do. Eating healthy and exercising are a great start, but it’s important to understand how to do it safely. Sometimes it’s a matter of changing just a few simple things. These simple tips can help you move in the right direction.
1. Know how many calories you need. Knowing how much to take is important information. To calculate the number of calories you should eat, you need to calculate your basal metabolic rate. An easy way to calculate this is to look up your basal metabolic rate on a search engine like Google. We suggest the Harris Benedict formula for basal metabolic rate. Once this is calculated based on your activity level, you can adjust the number of calories to lose weight. While calories aren’t something to obsess over, it’s very helpful to know how much energy you should be expending.
2. Portion size is your friend. You may not like counting calories, and serving size can be an equally great way to monitor what you’re consuming. Eating too many calories, consuming more than you are burning, causes the body to store excess calories as fat instead of using them for energy. This is why eating the right portions can help you. Try to measure your food using your hand. Meals can be structured using the “Eyeball Method”. Choose a protein source that is equal to the size of your palm, a carbohydrate source that is equal to the size of your clenched fist, and a fat portion that is equal to the tip of your thumb. The Eyeball Method can also help you choose portions when eating out or at parties and friendly gatherings.
3. Burn more than you eat. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. This should be done by creating a caloric deficit of 500-1000 calories per day or a combination of caloric deficit and deficit through exercise, such as a deficit of 500 calories and burning 500 calories through exercise. A deficit of 500 calories per day would equate to a weight loss of 1 pound per week (500 x 7 days a week = 3,500 calories. 3,500 calories = 1 pound).
4. Safe weight loss is important. A weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week is the surest way to lose weight and keep it off. More than 2 pounds per week creates an unrealistic caloric deficit that cannot be sustained. This deficit sends the body into starvation mode because it is not consuming an adequate amount of calories to properly fuel the body. Starvation mode does not allow you to lose weight. Instead, the body hangs on to whatever you consume because it’s trying to store the calories coming in for later, since not enough fuel is coming in.
5. Fuel before and after training. Ingesting enough calories to fuel your workouts is essential to get the most out of them. This means eating 1-2 hours before exercise to give yourself enough energy and replenishing your body with a balanced snack half an hour after exercise.
6. Make your workouts count. Why work out if you’re not going to give 100% and get as much as you can out of that workout? Going through the motions will get you nowhere. When exercising, it’s critical to put in all your effort and push yourself as hard as you can. This will ensure that you get the most out of your workouts and the most calories burned. Exercising at 50% will only burn 50% of the calories you want to burn.