Understanding Weight Loss – A Simple Explanation of Everything You Need to Know

So, you’ve been dieting and exercising and still haven’t been able to drop those last few pounds? Don’t fret. It is 100% possible to lose that weight once you understand the basics of weight loss.
The first thing you should know is how many calories per day it takes to maintain your weight. To find this out simply multiply your weight by 11. Remember this number. If you take in more than this number you will gain weight. If you take less than this number you will lose weight.
Next, note that one pound of fat consists of 3,500 calories. This means that in order to lose one pound of fat you need to cut 3,500 calories by either dieting or exercising or both. For instance, if you’d like to lose one pound in a week you would need to cut 500 calories a day from the number of calories it takes to maintain your weight. You could do this through dieting, exercising or both. At the end of 7 days you will have cut 3,500 calories / a pound of fat. (500 calories a day x 7 days = 3,500 calories = 1 pound)
Exercise Hints
• Cardio is the best type of exercise for weight loss, which includes, jogging, biking or using the elliptical.
• The elliptical impacts the knees less if you have joint related issues.
• If you choose to jog it may be helpful to plot out an interesting course starting at and returning to your residence. You can do this on most mapping websites. Start with a one mile run, and try to work your way up to 5 or more.
• If you can find a workout buddy do it. If you don’t have a friend who will workout with you try petitioning for one on Facebook or Craigslist. A good workout buddy will push you to work out and achieve results even when you don’t want to.
• Consider training for a 5K. This can provide excellent motivation to improve your running.
• As you see results you will probably want to work out harder. Once you are ready to tone up add bicycle exercises, squats, lunges and arm exercises to your workout routine. A good rule of thumb is as follows: To bulk up use weights where you can only do a maximum of 8 reps. To tone up use weights that allow you to do up to 12 reps. Do each set of reps 3 times.
Diet hints
• When it comes to dieting do not cut your calories to less than 800 a day. Cutting your calories to less than 800 a day will trick your body into thinking that you are starving and cause your metabolism to slow down to compensate.
• It is best to eat small meals throughout the day if possible.
• Some foods that are great for weight loss are:
o Chicken breast, turkey breast, eggs and tuna. These foods are low in calories and high in protein, which makes you feel fuller longer.
o Salad, fresh vegetables and fruit. These types of foods fill you up with very minimal calories. It is important though if you are having salad to make sure the dressing isn’t high in calories. It is important to eat these items to get your daily allotment of fiber. A good way to tell if you are getting enough fiber is to (I know its gross) check your stool. It if floats you are getting enough. If it sinks you need to add more.
o Leaving fruit out in a fruit bowl will make it more available to you and increase the chances of you adding this to your diet.
o Soups. Soups are proven to fill you up more than other foods, and many soups are very low in calories. Pasta Vazul is a great soup to make at home, which is very easy and has only about 200 calories per serving. You can make 10 cups of it for about $3.00.
• Drinking 2 cups of water within an hour before eating a meal with help you feel fuller and help you eat less.
Now print this article and save it, and good luck with your weight loss.