Principles of Diet and Weight Loss
A lot of people have a lot of different interpretations of what the word ‘diet’ means, some people think it’s a general way of eating, some people think it’s what you do when you want to lose weight. Well, both interpretations are correct. But I would like to focus more on the weight loss side of diet in this article.
But why do people want to lose weight? Sometimes is because they have some health issue that can be resolved or lessened if they drop a few pounds, sometimes it’s just too look and feel better. Both are great reasons to lose weight.
When you make the decision to lose weight you need to ask yourself a very important question, “Am I doing this so I can weigh less or so I can fit into a smaller pair of pants?” That may seem like a silly question but it’s actually very important and will determine what you do on your diet. Too many people depend fully on what the scale tells them, not on how well their clothes fit. Multiple problems can stem from this; one of the main ones is the issue of losing muscle as well as fat. If what you’re looking to do is slim down and fit into smaller clothes then basing your progress on your scale at home will only slow you down.
This brings me to a big issue I have with many diets: the fact that weight loss and good health can often be at odds with each other. All too often diets will heavily restrict certain types of foods or call for a huge reduction in calories. Neither of these are types of diets are healthy and should be avoided.
How Weight is Lost
L et’s cover briefly how weight is lost, and by weight I’m talking about fat, not water weight (which is all too common). Fat is just excess energy stored for later use, so to lose weight basically all you have to do is provide your body with less energy than it wants. So, by depriving your body of calories (the energy that it uses to run) you will force it to pull energy from other sources, including fat and muscle. This is where a bit of exercise comes into play. Yes, you can lose weight without any real activity however you will be more likely to lose more of the weight from muscle loss, this is a poor quality weight loss, it won’t help your toning, and in the end will only slow your progress.
So, keeping all the muscle that you currently have, or even adding some will greatly assist you in your weight loss endeavors. Unlike fat, your body needs to burn calories to keep muscle around, so, by adding some muscle through light resistance training, you will be upping the amount of calories your body needs to burn every day just to stay going. So, by not exercising, your body will think that it doesn’t need all the muscle you have, thus burning it for energy, and when that happens you will use less energy just to stay alive, thus making it even harder to continue losing weight.
So as much as we hate to do it, exercise is critical in losing weight, so do it. Find a partner, find a sport or activity, anything you can do to keep that muscle around will greatly assist you in achieving your weight loss goal.
Weight Loss & Dieting Videos
Weight Loss & Dieting News
Going Online May Help Overcome Hurdles to Weight Loss - FOXNews30 Jul 2010 at 1:34pm
CBC.ca
Going Online May Help Overcome Hurdles to Weight Loss
FOXNews
Spending time on specific websites can help people lose weight by keeping them accountable and connected, Time.com reported. Investigators at the Kaiser ...
Can Surfing the Internet Help You Lose Weight?TIME
Website Helps Dieters Keep Kilos OffVoice of America
Recording Weight Loss Online Could Help You Lose MoreRTT N...
Drew Carey on 80-Pound Weight Loss: "It Sucks Being Fat" - Seattle Post Intel...
30 Jul 2010 at 12:53pm
New York Daily News
Drew Carey on 80-Pound Weight Loss: "It Sucks Being Fat"
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Once I started losing weight, again, like once I started dropping a couple pant sizes, then it was easy 'cause once you see the results, then you don't ...
Drew Carey's dramatic 80 pound weight loss, before and after photosExaminer.com
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Patients Lose Weight After Total Joint Replacement - WebMD
30 Jul 2010 at 1:56pm
About.com: Health
Patients Lose Weight After Total Joint Replacement
WebMD
July 30, 2010 -- Osteoarthritis patients who were obese lost weight after undergoing total knee or hip replacement surgery, according to ...
Many Osteoarthritis Patients Experience Weight Loss After Knee or Hip ReplacementAbout.com: Health
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Lessons Learned From the Biggest Loser - Huffington Post (blog)
31 Jul 2010 at 6:03am
phillyBurbs.com
Lessons Learned From the Biggest Loser
Huffington Post (blog)
The lure and drama of quick weight loss is hard to resist. Although I give the show credit for inspiring some people to start a weight loss program who ...
'The Biggest Loser' casting teams come to ColumbiaWIS
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Drew Carey Dishes On Weight Loss - TheCelebrityCafe.com
31 Jul 2010 at 12:30pm
PerezHilton.com (blog)
Drew Carey Dishes On Weight Loss
TheCelebrityCafe.com
Once I started losing weight, again, like once I started dropping a couple pant sizes, then it was easy 'cause once you see the results, then you don't ...
Drew Carey Weight Loss:Diabetes Cured?Health Related Infos (blog)
Weight Loss of Drew Carey Caused Speculations of Diabetes CureDaily Freshies (blog)
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