Diet and Exercise Plan for Life-Long Weight Loss
Tips for Losing Excess Pounds and Inches Naturally and Safely
Sep 27, 2009
Excess weight doesn’t mysteriously pile on overnight while people are sleeping. In fact, it takes years for extra inches to thicken waistlines and widen hips. Many people, however, erroneously believe there’s some magic potion in a bottle or exotic diet that will make those extra inches disappear, with little or no effort on their part, and stay gone for good.
Life-long weight loss, though, isn’t that simple; but losing weight and keeping it off is entirely possible if people keep certain guidelines in mind.
Calories, Exercise, and Weight Loss
Some people are impractical when it comes to their weight-loss goals. For example, they might want a diet that will enable them to lose a pound a day. The reality, however, is that each pound of body weight is equal to 3,500 calories; therefore, in order to lose a pound a day, they would either have to consume 3,500 fewer calories per day than their body needed to function or else expend 3,500 additional calories.
Again, this goal is impractical and for one simple reason: It takes an average of 10 calories per pound for a person to exist, meaning someone who weighs 130 pounds must consume a total of 1,300 calories per day if he or she is as physically active as a vegetable. Add any physical activity whatsoever, though, even walking across the room, putting out the cat, or brushing one’s teeth, and that person’s caloric needs increase correspondingly.
Losing Weight Safely and Naturally
People can reduce their caloric intake by a reasonable 500 calories a day and lose one pound in seven days; but if they wish to lose more weight over a week’s time, they can both reduce caloric intake and increase physical activity.
For example, if someone decreases caloric intake by 500 calories per day and, at the same time, increases physical activity by 500 calories per day, for a total of 7,000 calories per week, it will result in a total weight loss of two pounds per week. Of course, if a person either decreases caloric intake or increases physical activity to a greater extent, it will naturally lead to an even greater weight loss.
Calorie Expenditure During Exercise
The calories a person expends during any type of physical activity are directly related to his or her body weight. In other words, it takes more calories for a 180-pound man to walk a mile than for a 110–pound woman to walk the same distance. In contrast, a 130-pound male or female will burn approximately the same number of calories while participating in identical activities, for example:
- General house cleaning = 207
- Mowing the lawn with a riding mower = 150
- Mowing the lawn with a self-propelled mower = 275
- Mowing the lawn with a push mower = 425
- Walking 4 miles = 236
- Walking 8 miles = 475
- Bicycling 10 miles = 236
- Running 5.2 miles = 531
- Running 10 miles = 1,021
(NutriStrategy, 2008)
The Best Diet for Effective Weight Loss
There are countless diets available and new ones coming out all the time, for example, the Mediterranean Diet, Adkins’s Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, No Sugar-No Flour Diet, Grapefruit Diet, etc. However, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, the healthiest diet is one that includes all the items in its established Food Pyramid:
- Whole-grain breads, crackers, pasta, rice, etc.
- Dark-green and orange vegetables, plus dried peas and beans.
- Fruit, preferably fresh, frozen, canned, or dried, but go easy on fruit juices since most contain high percentages of sugar.
- Milk or cheese products, either low fat or fat free, although if people cannot consume milk products, they can substitute lactose-free products.
- Low-fat and lean meat and poultry, preferably baked, broiled, or grilled.
The key, of course, even when following the USDA’s Food Pyramid, is moderation because, regardless of what some fad diets may claim, calories do count. With this in mind, people would be wise to purchase a reliable calorie-counter or else visit a site like caloriecounter.com, which provides the caloric value of most foods, along with the number of calories expended during most activities. Then, thus equipped, people will be far more likely to lose excess pounds and inches and keep them off for good.
References:
NutriStrategy; Calories Burned During Exercise; retrieved March 15, 2009 from nutistrategy.com
United States Department of Agriculture, Steps to a Healthier You: Food Pyramid, retrieved September 25, 2009 from mypryamid.gov
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