new year’s weight loss Archives

Weight Loss Resolution

14 Apr

Your Weight Loss Resolution And Difficulties That Accompany It

If you’ve recently engaged in a weight loss resolution for the new year, take note. New research has emerged regarding weight loss: the longer you maintain an unhealthy weight, the longer and harder it will be to lose.

Researchers and practitioners in Australia have found that after a strict clinical weight loss diet, even those who change their eating lifestyle will eventually gain a percentage of the weight back. This is not due to a lack of discipline but the fact that the body gets used to being a certain weight and used to taking in a certain amount of calories.

When you diet or are actively looking to change how you eat, you are essentially starving yourself by a margin of calories. Most people find that they are incredibly hungry at this time because the body expects what you’re used to. Recalibrating the body to expect less food is something that doesn’t take months – it could take years. In addition, the longer you carry the weight, the harder it will be to lose the weight. It’s often why people hit plateaus while working on their weight loss goals.

What does this mean for those who’ve resolved for 2012 to lose weight? Again, this is going to depend on how long you’ve been carrying extra weight around. Generally those who are 10-15 pounds overweight can easily lose and maintain weight through a better diet and more exercise but it needs to be a permanent change. If you have 20 to 50 pounds to lose, diet and exercise will help, but don’t be surprised if you end up gaining back 5 to 10 pounds of that weight.

Weight Loss Pace

13 Apr

Slow vs. Fast: What Weight Loss Pace Works For You?

We’ve all seen and heard the ads touting rapid weight loss. Of course, if you need to lose a few pounds, you want it to happen now, if not sooner. But is it a good idea? Doctors say “no” and that slow is better. Sticking to your own weight loss pace means that you stay healthier, change your habits, and keep the pounds off.

The recommendation many physicians make for losing weight is to aim for a couple of pounds per week, max. While this may seem way too slow, think of it this way: one pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. That’s a lot of food to give up or exercise to add into your routine in one week to shed one mere pound. If you starve yourself to lose weight even faster, it will be rough on your body and once you go back to eating, the pounds will creep back on. You will not be changing your patterns, either.

Better to make small changes and incorporate them into your lifestyle gradually, then stick with it. Walk for an hour every day after work, have desserts only on the weekends, switch to low fat milk and yogurt, and use the stairs instead of the elevator. These alterations will add up over time; the pounds will come off slowly, and stay off.

We live in a culture that is used to immediate gratification. If you use that mindset when it comes to losing weight, you may lose it quickly but gain it back before you know. Go for slow results that last.