How Do You Lose Weight? - Understanding How To Make Weight Loss Happen

If you want to lose weight it is important that you have a clear understanding of what it takes to make weight loss happen. Most people may know that they get fat from eating too much food, but it is important to know that some type of foods lead to weight gain more quickly than others and losing weight does not happen by just being physically active, but by allowing your level of physical activity to surpass the amount of food required to maintain it. Apart from food and physical activity, there are other underlying factors that may affect each person's weight differently. Therefore, it is important to approach losing weight with a willingness to learn and stay determined.

How Food Leads To Weight Gain

The body uses the different properties in the foods we eat for different functions. One of the main things it does with food is use up it's calorie content as energy. Calories are the units of energy contained in the foods and drinks we consume. Calories are burned by your body to do everything it needs to do, from circulating blood to intense physical activity like running. Calories can also be stored as fat if too much were consumed.



When Would Calories Be Stored As Fat?

As you already know, we supply our bodies with calories through consuming food and beverages. Your body requires a certain amount of calories per day in order to maintain your current weight. This is called your calorie maintenance level and it is determined by various factors such as your age, height, level of physical activity etc.  Whenever you consume the exact number of calories that your body needs each day, your weight would remain the same. If you consume more calories than your body needs for maintenance, it will store the excess calories as fat.

How Do You Lose Weight?

Since consuming excess calories (caloric surplus) lead to weight gain, whenever you consume less calories that is needed for your maintenance level (caloric deficit) weightloss will happen. For exam ple, if your body needs 3000 calories for maintenance and you consume only 2000 calories you've achieved a caloric deficit and normally you will lose weight.

So what do you do to achieve a caloric deficit? Basically, you can make this happen by consuming less calories and/or increasing your level of physical activity. Whatever you do that allows you to burn more total calories than you are consuming, wheather it's by excising more or eating less, is the path to weightloss. In order to lose one pound of fat you have to burn 3500 calories. However, it's not recommended to use extreme measures to lose weight fast such as eating very little calories per day or spending hours doing intense exercise. There are serious side effects that comes with taking this approach to lose weight.

The best way to lose weight is slow and gradually. By simply modifying your diet and increasing your level of physical activity to burn 500 calories per day you'll lose 1 pound of your body weight per week. This is quit realistic and would allow you to lose weight without putting pressure on yourself.

Simple Way To Start Making Weightloss Happen

Start losing weight by cutting your intake of foods that are high in calories and low in healthy nutrients. These include fried foods, sweet drinks, ice creams, chocolates, sweet snacks and all other junk foods. Also, increase your level of physical activity so your body can burn more stored calories. Walking is a simple, convenient, cheap yet very effective way to get exercise. Try waking up early to walk early in the morning for at least 30 minutes 5 days or week. If you can't do that try walking more during the day such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking your car at the far end of the car park, walking around while talking on the phone and other creative ways that will allow you to get more exercise into your daily routine.

Try using these tips to start losing weight and see what results you'll get. Remember, different people will get different results even when using the same diet and exercise program because everyone's body will repond differently. If you tried the basics and got no results or you think you have a problem losing weight you'll need to opt for a more effective weightloss plan that consist of the right exercise routine and meal plan to lose the fat.