Physical activity helps manage weight and is critical in preventing weight gain. If you wish to lose weight, you need to reduce your calories AND increase your energy expenditure. It's very difficult to shed pounds by increasing your physical activity alone! To lose weight and keep it off you should know a few basics:
One pound = 3,500 calories.
Shoot for losing only 1 to 2 pounds each week. Severe calorie restriction slows your metabolism and can cause you to lose muscle rather than fat. And that's not good because in addition to looking more firm than flabby, muscle also burns more calories.
You'll be more successful if you think about reducing calories by about 250 calories a day (or a bag of chips) and increasing energy expenditure by 250 calories (or walking briskly for 2.5 miles), a total of 500 calories a day. In 7 days that's 3,500 calories or one pound! Overweight or obese people can significantly improve their health by losing 5 to 10 percent of their body weight. For someone who weighs 300 pounds, that's 15 to 30 pounds of weight loss at a rate of 1 to 2 pounds a week.
If weight loss is your goal, you should work toward a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity nearly every day. Work to integrate small changes into your life by making healthful food substitutions and spicing up your daily routine by adding short bouts of physical activity.
Here are some tips:- Walk to class or work instead of taking the bus.
- Take active breaks. Do yoga stretches or stairs or go on a walk for 5 or 10 minutes when you've been staring at your computer for what feels like too long. Aim for a break every 30 to 40 minutes.
- Pick up the pace of your walks.
- The more intense the physical activity, the faster you expend calories.
- If you're not accustomed to vigorous activity, start slow and gradually increase your intensity.
- If you've lost weight from being previously overweight or obese and want to maintain the weight loss, you may need to get up to 90 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity nearly every day.
YOU CAN DO IT!
One pound = 3,500 calories.
Shoot for losing only 1 to 2 pounds each week. Severe calorie restriction slows your metabolism and can cause you to lose muscle rather than fat. And that's not good because in addition to looking more firm than flabby, muscle also burns more calories.
You'll be more successful if you think about reducing calories by about 250 calories a day (or a bag of chips) and increasing energy expenditure by 250 calories (or walking briskly for 2.5 miles), a total of 500 calories a day. In 7 days that's 3,500 calories or one pound! Overweight or obese people can significantly improve their health by losing 5 to 10 percent of their body weight. For someone who weighs 300 pounds, that's 15 to 30 pounds of weight loss at a rate of 1 to 2 pounds a week.
If weight loss is your goal, you should work toward a minimum of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity nearly every day.
Work to integrate small changes into your life by making healthful food substitutions and spicing up your daily routine by adding short bouts of physical activity.
Here are some tips:
- Walk to class or work instead of taking the bus.
- Take active breaks. Do yoga stretches or stairs or go on a walk for 5 or 10 minutes when you've been staring at your computer for what feels like too long. Aim for a break every 30 to 40 minutes.
- Pick up the pace of your walks.
- The more intense the physical activity, the faster you expend calories.
- If you're not accustomed to vigorous activity, start slow and gradually increase your intensity.
- If you've lost weight from being previously overweight or obese and want to maintain the weight loss, you may need to get up to 90 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity nearly every day.
YOU CAN DO IT!