You do not gain weight overnight and it is unlikely that you will lose it in one go.
You gain weight when the amount of energy you consume in terms of food is much more than the amount you spend in activity.
Before Talking About Weight Loss, Let's Get The Basics Right!
We keep hearing words like obesity, metabolism, BMI and calories. Let's see what they mean and how they relate to weight loss.
What is obesity?
A person is called overweight or obese when his weight is too much for his age or height.
As per WHO, overweight and obesity can be caused by a number of factors including:
- Increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars but low in vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients
- Decreased physical activity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.
For healthy weight loss therefore, you need to cut down about 500 calories from what you eat and burn about 500 calories in exercise. This will lead to an average weight loss of about half a kilo each week.
What is Metabolism?
Metabolism is the rate at which your body uses energy, or, burns calories. It includes is the body's process of breaking down nutrients and converting them to energy.
While everyone's metabolism works the same way, the rate at which it metabolizes nutrients is different.
Someone with a high metabolic rate is able to burn calories more efficiently than someone with a slower metabolic rate.
Assuming these two people eat roughly the same amount of calories, the individual with a faster metabolic rate "burns up" more of the calories the individual eats; the person who has the slower metabolism doesn't burn all the calories taken in, so the extra calories are "saved" and then converted to fat.
Can I improve my metabolism?
Some people are lucky to be born with a good metabolism. The rest of us need to work on ours. The best way to increase your metabolic rate is to exercise, especially doing a mix of cardio and weight training to build muscle.
Eating small frequent meals can also help.
What is BMI?
Overweight or obesity does not only make one look and feel unattractive, it also makes you prone to various diseases.
An easy way to judge weather you lie in the underweight, normal or overweight category is to calculate your BMI or Body Mass Index.
According to WHO, BMI is a simple index used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. A high BMI means that you are overweight and need to take measures to reduce your weight.
What are Calories?
Calorie is the unit of energy. Every food that you consume contains calories; some more, some less.
Eating calories is comparable to filling up the tank of a car. The food we eat and beverages we drink become the fuel that runs our bodies.
Despite popular diets that suggest carbs or fat are far more important, calories definitely still count. One gram of fat contains twice the calories as compared to one gram of protein or carbohydrates! If you "overload your tank," you will find yourself gaining weight.
How do Calories Make Me Fat?
We all need calories each day to perform minimal functions, including keeping our organs running.
When you are in excess of that caloric need, your body doesn't have any choice but to do something with those extra calories. It puts them in storage in the form of fat.
For every 7,000 calories you are in excess of your caloric needs, you will gain approximately one kilo.
The recommended caloric intake for the average sedentary individual is 1800-2,000 calories.
You may have these calories in the form of fibre rich low calorie foods or high fat calorie dense foods.
The two plates below contain the same number of calories! You need to choose what you fill yourself up with!
For a balanced diet it is important not only how much you eat but also what you choose to have!
What can I do for healthy weight loss?
- Limit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated fats to
unsaturated fats - Increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts
Limit the intake of sugars - Eat 6 small meals to keep your metabolism in shape
- Increase physical activity - at least 30 minutes of regular, moderate-intensity activity on most days
Have more questions regarding weight loss?
Check out: Weight Loss
