Diets for Losing WeightBasics on Diets
Calories are the way we measure the amount of energy that a person’s body uses and how much energy is stored in foods. The basic idea is to simply burn off more calories than you eat. You can burn off more calories by exercising or doing physical work, and you can take in fewer calories by dieting. There is a wide range on how many calories a person needs because everyone is so different. There are also a few ways to estimate how many calories you burn per day. One way is to take your weight in kilograms and multiply it by 22, but this number can be off as much as 20%. You can also use an online calculator to figure this out. On average, eating 500-1000 calories less per day will cause people to lose 1-2 lbs per week. The amount of calories in foods can be found on the package labels or several web sites. One thing that must be kept in mind is that as you lose weight, you will have less body tissue to burn calories. This means that you will need to take in fewer calories to lose weight at the same weight, and when you achieve your goal, you will have to eat few calories than you used to. It takes long term commitment, which really means life style changes, to maintain weight loss. Types There are several types of plans out there. The main way they all really work is by taking in fewer calories than your burn. However, different people may find it easier to stick with different diets. Main categories are listed below. You can click on each one for more about each of those types. In one study done on women 25-50 who had not yet gone through menopause, weight loss was compared between four different plans (Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN). These women lost the most weight on the Atkins diet. Women on the Zone, Ornish, and LEARN plans all lost about the same amount of weight. Again, everyone is different, and this study was done on a certain set of women. You should discuss different options with your doctor. Goals In order for a weight loss diet to be considered successful, a person must lose more than 5% of his/her weight. For example, a person weighing 200 lbs would need to lose more than 10 lbs to be considered successful. This may not be the result you are looking for, but it will make a notable difference. A weight loss of 5-15% decreases the risk of having a disease related to being overweight. An ideal goal would be to bring your body mass index (BMI) to somewhere between 20 to 25. BMIs are different for different people and are based on height and weight. You can calculate your BMI online. This may be more difficult to achieve for some people. If you are overweight and farther away from your ideal BMI, a 5-15% weight loss is good, and a more than 15% weight loss is considered extremely good. It takes effort to stick with a program. In the first six months, the average person loses about 5% of their body weight, but because of slipping, they generally go back to their original weight after 1-2 years. With enough dedication, people can reach their ideal body weight. It is important not to overshoot. A BMI less than 18.5 is considered unhealthy. When you are able to stick with a diet, it will work. However, combining a diet with
exercise produces more weight loss than either one alone. This combination also causes a better improvement in cholesterol levels.
It is important you
discuss any weight loss or exercise plan with your doctor. Only you and
your physician can decide what is best for you. Some people have
certain conditions that prevent them from doing all exercises, and goal
body weights may be different for different people. You need to discuss
all these things with your physician before starting any weight loss or
exercise program. This article was written by John Vickery, MD. References
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They
are the mainstay and often the crux of weight loss. For most people
trying to lose weight, some of their biggest problems are with being
able to stick to one. The reason there are so many fads out there is
that everyone is looking for a plan that will work for them. However, a
basic principle holds true in all the plans that work.
