Before starting with your weight loss program, it seems fair to let you know that this is a complicated but not impossible process. Sometimes it takes a lot of patience and motivation.
You need to have a mind set that says you are in this program for the long run.
1.1 What is the “Balance” in weight loss?
Your weight loss plan is a balance of a healthy diet, calorie intake, and proper exercise.
The fundamental balance we are talking about is the balance between calorie intake and calorie burn.
Your weight loss is a process of burning down more calories than what you take in. You may already know that we get calories from food. The food we eat is a proportionate composition of Carbohydrates, Fats, Proteins, Vitamins, and Minerals.
Calorie burns can be described in the form of increasing metabolic rate. Metabolic rate is the rate at which the body burns up the calories.
Let’s say a person is consuming approximately 1000 calories a day and burning exactly 1000 calories then, their weight remains same. If a person is consuming more calories than he will burn, he will become overweight.
If a person’s calorie intake is less than the calories burned, then the person is moving in a right direction for weight loss. So, for weight loss, we have to decrease our calorie intake and increase our metabolic rate.
1.2 Is long-term weight-maintenance important?
The long-term maintenance of a persons body weight is much more important and difficult than the initial success of weight loss.
Many people achieve success in weight loss but then revert back to unhealthy eating habits and cut-out exercising altogether.
In such a situation, the person will return back to their previous weight or gain even more weight. Nutrition and Health experts believe this is more hazardous than being overweight.
These continuous fluctuations between gaining and losing weight will result in heart problems or even worse, a stroke.
Long-term weight maintenance requires a big commitment. At some points, you will feel uncomfortable and it will seem quite easy to give up.
You have to understand that you just don’t want to lose few pounds and look slim, but want to achieve a healthy lifestyle and looking gorgeous is a big part of it.
1.3 How long will you have to wait to see results?
When we start with any weight loss program, we find ourselves a little impatient to see results. We are feeling like only one day of low-calorie diet or extensive workout in the gym will lead us to our goal.
Having patience is the key. The time it takes for you to see results can vary from person to person. There are many factors affecting this process including your diet chart, calorie intake, exercising habits, and even snacks.
However, in general, many people start seeing a difference within one or two weeks. It is recommended by nutritional experts, that a person should start looking for weight loss results after the first few weeks of dieting and exercise. At the same time, it is important for you to be kind and patient with yourself.
1.4 What is the significance of High Metabolic Rate in weight loss?
Metabolic Rate is the rate at which our body burns calories and expends energy. It is determined by many factors which together determine your body weight. The higher your metabolism the more calories you’ll burn.
In other words an increase in metabolic rate is the way to lose weight without cutting calories. As mentioned earlier burning more calories than you can consume is the defined key for weight loss. Higher usage rate can help use up energy your body has stored as fat.
One more thing to take into consideration, is that when you reach your desired weight, you might reduce your dieting and at the same time cut out some exercise. You will then need to decrease the amount of calories you consume. If not, you will start to regain the weight you lost and maybe even more quickly.
1.5 Are supplements the solution to weight loss?
For anyone sticking to a healthy diet and exercise plan may find it to be very tormenting. More often than not you will wish that instead of following rules somebody would just hand you a “Magic Pill” for losing weight.
I hate to break it to you but there is no such pill out there. Although there are some vitamins and
nutrients available in the form of pills, that can help you in your weight loss program. But they are effective in a very limited way.
One more thing to consider before using pills is that they come with a certain risk factor or side effects. Before taking any pills it is better to consult with your doctor. You have to decide that the benefits these pills are providing “outweigh” the risk and side effects for you or not!
1.6 Losing Weight quickly can be harmful?
We all want to lose weight as quickly as possible. While it is tempting to lose weight fast, experts usually recommend the opposite. Diets that promote quick weight loss are often too low in terms of calories and nutrients causing many health problems including:
– Muscle Loss
– Nutritional Deficiency
– Slow Metabolism
– Gallstones
– And many side effects.
One more problem with fast weight loss is that it is difficult to maintain for the long term.
So the bottom line is that if you want to lose weight and keep it off for long-term, you should
aim for a “slow and steady” pace that will lead to losing 1-2 pounds per week.
1.7 How to get started with a weight loss plan?
One of the biggest problems in a weight loss program is people mostly wonder where to start? Here are some tips that will help you off on the right track.
Tip #1: Analyze your lifestyle closely.
Before starting you need to analyze your lifestyle in regards to (food and exercise habits). This would include identification of the cause of fat accumulation. One way to do this is by keeping a food diary in which you record what you eat on daily basis.
Tip #2: Set a realistic goal.
Determine how much weight you want to lose. After that, take baby steps towards it by establishing short-term goals. Keep in mind that you need to set-up realistic goals.
Don’t be thinking that you can lose 20 pounds within a week because thet is probably impossible. You should expect gradual changes but not immediate results.
Tip #3: Calculate your Calorie intake.
As discussed earlier you need to burn more calories than you eat in order to lose weight.
Your calorie intake depends on your current weight and the amount of exercising you are doing.
Normally, calculating calories can be so boring so, you might try using an online calorie calculator
that will calculate you’re calorie intake for you.
Tip #4: Monitor your progress regularly.
You should “Self-monitor” your progress for your weight loss. Keep regular tabs and make the necessary changes.
If you’re having trouble in accomplishing your goal, maybe see how you can make a change in your behaviour or routine in order to achieve it.
All these tips are significantly helpful for you to get started with your weight loss program.
Good luck and get started.